Harding Charter Prep High School recently acquired some new bleachers after eight years of attempting to complete the project.

This breakthrough came with the hard work of Dr. Mylo Miller, Coach Wade Wallace, Carole Kelley, and Justin Hunt.

Equally crucial was the generous donation from both Cassie Bowman and the Harris Foundation.

Originally the Harris Foundation offered to give a donation of $35,000, half the cost of new bleachers, if another donor could put forth the other half of the funding.

Thankfully, Bowen agreed to the deal, gifting a whopping $32,000. The next step was purchasing the materials for the bleachers which came out to be $58,500. The additional funds went towards the resurfacing of the gymnasium floor, the electric work needed for the new bleachers, the updating of the scoring system and the purchase of various pieces of gym equipment.

The first step in this labor intensive project was the removal of the wooden bleachers which had been in use for around 55 years.

Junior Jonathan Gonzalez spent part of his summer working on the removal of the bleachers.

“I thought it was going to take forever. At first it was really difficult because we didn’t know exactly what we were doing. Eventually we got the hang of it. It feels good to leave a lasting impression on the school that will benefit future students,” Gonzalez said.

Once the bleachers were removed, the metal was sold at a scrap yard to be re-purposed and the wooden seats are in the process of being sold. Interestingly, a few pieces of the old bleachers were given away and made into pieces of furniture. The full bleacher project took about two months to complete.

“It’s been a long time coming, the bleachers were only 55 years old,” Coach Wallace said.

“I’m excited to have the new bleachers. I believe the athletic program deserves more attention,” Dr. Miller said. “Additionally, possible grants are in motion to further update the school.”