A Helping Hand

MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. -- The way Mark Bolle sees it, everybody can help out in their own way.

Bolle is a Central Michigan supporter, a member of the 1100 Club, and a Kelly/Short Stadium suite holder. He fully recognizes the value of athletics within the educational realm and the importance of the Chippewa Champions Alumni Center.

To that end, Bolle has thrown the resources and manpower of his company, Bolle Contracting, behind the project.

"I was interested in doing the project because I wanted to help," said Bolle from his business' offices in Clare. "It's something that is going to be there for 30 or 40 years. Kids now can grow up and use it for years to come. It just makes you feel good that you can help out, give them a hand and get it going."

Bolle's gift-in-kind – his company specializes in residential and commercial demolition – will get the Chippewa Champions Alumni Center project off the ground. It is the first gift-in-kind of this nature to a capital project in the history of Chippewa Athletics.

Bolle Contracting will perform demolition and abatement services on the existing building at the north end of the stadium. It's the first step in the process to an end that Bolle, and everybody else associated with it, knows will be the foundation of greater things to come.

"If you're going live in the community and stay here you should do something to help the community or give back and improve what you have.," said Bolle, a Clare native. "I think the project at CMU is something that's going to be there a long time."

Bolle's business recycles and reclaims materials wherever possible, and he has lent his support on many occasions to community projects.

"We try to re-use or reclaim any and all the materials that we can out of a building," he said. "Some things can be recycled and some can be re-sold."

Bolle said that attending CMU athletic events over the years has meant a lot to him in terms of camaraderie and in building friendships.

"I've made some good friends over the year," he said. "People come and go and you still stay good friends with them."

Related Videos