By Dennis Minich
Officials from Cass Regional Medical Center were joined by local officials and community leaders for the groundbreaking for a new walking trail to be located on the hospital grounds.
The ceremony was held June 18 and was the official start of construction on The Floyd and Franceline Parris Community Trail.
Sonya McLelland, Cass Regional Medical Center, administrative director of the foundation, marketing and public relations, was the speaker at the event and outlined the history of the project.
She said the idea was first raised four years ago at an employee wellness team meeting as something which could benefit both the staff and the community. The idea was to use charitable gifts to pay for the project that will cost about $380,000.
A major portion of the funding comes as part of The Floyd and Franceline Parris Trust.
The couple lived in Pleasant Hill for all their married life and together they built the Parris Farm.
After Floyd’s death in 1993, Franceline moved to Harrisonville and joined the CRMC Auxiliary. She was a member of the auxiliary for nearly 25 years before her death in October 2017.
Through her trust, she left a significant gift to the foundation and in January 2019, the foundation board voted to use $150,000 of her gift for the trail and to name the project The Floyd and Franceline Parris Community Trail.
Another major contributor was the Sunderland Foundation which provided a $50,000 grant.
The trail will be built on an eight-acre site directly behind the main hospital building.
The trail is expected to open later this summer or early fall.