The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
District gets $2M donation
Funds from Great Lakes Cheese, Epprecht family to go toward new athletic facility
As a 1972 graduate of Berkshire High School in Burton, John Epprecht remembers well the soggy turf at what is now Dr. William A. Reed Field.
The cinder track that encircles the football field, the dim lights that tower above it, and the grandstands aren’t much different than they were in 1972, either.
Thanks to the Epprecht family the days of those athletic accommodations at Berkshire are on borrowed time.
The Epprecht family, along with the Great Lakes Cheese Co. that the family has owned since 1958, made a $2 million donation to Berkshire Schools on April 13 in a special ceremony held in the Berkshire High School Gymnasium.
An oversized $1.5 million check was presented by Great Lakes Cheese Co., based in Troy Township, with another check for $500,000 coming from the
family itself.
“It’s a great day,” said John Epprecht, who was joined at the news conference by Kurt Epprecht and Matt Wilkinson of Great Lakes Cheese. “We are Berkshire alums. Just to come back in this building and do something like this, it’s right up there as one of the great days in Great Lakes’ life.”
Berkshire Athletic Director Brian Hiscox said the plan is for a new artificial turf football/soccer field, new stands and lights, to be built at nearby Kent State University Geauga in Burton Township. Additionally, the current cinder track will be replaced by an eight-lane all-weather track.
Schools Superintendent John Stoddard indicated he was in awe when he first heard about the Epprecht family’s intentions. He said the new athletic complex, coupled with what he hopes is a successful passage of a 3.65-mill bond issue in the May 8 Primary Election that would fund the building of a
new school, would be a “giant step forward” for the school district and the community at large.
Stoddard said if the bond issue passes on May 8, there would be a year of planning for the school and athletic facility’s construction.
“With three years of construction, this school facility and athletic facility along with it will open in August of 2021,” Stoddard said.
When Epprecht announced the donation and the $2 million figure, students seated in chairs in front of the dais looked at each other with their mouths dropped open.
Even though they project won’t be completed until after they graduate, they know what the donation means long-term.
“It was a huge surprise to all of us,” said junior Ky Bowman, a member of the Berkshire football team. “It’s really enlightening to hear.”
Added junior cheerleader Hayley Kumher, “It’s a very exciting to be able to expand our community and our schools.”
Great Lakes Cheese has been a local fixture since it was founded in 1958 by Swiss immigrant Hans Epprecht when he began his neighborhood cheese-delivering
business. The privately owned business now employs over 3,000.
Epprecht was in Wisconsin on April 12, the day before the presentation at his alma mater, where Great Lakes Cheese has four plants in four different school districts. He and his family take great pride in supporting the school districts in which their facilities are located.
The importance of athletics, he said, teaches lessons such as teamwork, dedication and hard work that are carried on through life.
“This just reinforces the pay-it-forward mentality,” Stoddard said. “Someone paid for all of our education. We’re just paying it forward to future generations. This is a legacy project. This will be here for generations to come. This will set our students, our graduates ad our community apart from everyone else.
“It’s a great day to be a Badger.”