Sartell Breaks Ground on Basketball Courts In Memory of Tommy Bearson

(KNSI) – A groundbreaking ceremony for three new basketball courts was held at Pinecone Central Park on Thursday afternoon.

The Tommy Bearson Foundation donated $150,000 to the project in honor of the 2014 Sartell High School graduate who was killed shortly after starting his freshman year at North Dakota State University. Tommy’s father, Greg, is the foundation’s president and says this is a fitting tribute to his son.

“I don’t think we can come up with a better way to do something in memory of our son. Tom’s true love was basketball. And he excelled at basketball. He loved playing it. So, I think having these courts is a great way to memorialize him and actually capture a little bit of who he was.”

This is the biggest and the last project for the Tommy Bearson Foundation. Greg says the foundation will no longer actively fundraise and he thanked all those who’ve donated over the years.

“The residents and the people of the great city of Sartell have been so generous and kind to us over the years and supported our foundation. It has given us so much strength and a reason to get up in the day and do something positive for our community.”

He says the foundation will continue to support youth wanting to participate in activities at Sartell’s high school.

Sartell Mayor Ryan Fitzthum grew up next to the Bearsons and talked about his memories of Tommy.

“My memories of Tommy as a kid were as we would be going out of town, Tom would be the one to come over and take care of our family dog. He was just a very special kid. He was always out shooting hoops in his driveway. The Bearsons always had a basketball dribbling in the driveway, and so, to see this now come to light for many others in our community, I couldn’t be more proud or more excited.”

The city hopes the new basketball courts and other future expansions at the park will make it a premier destination in Central Minnesota.

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