PINE CITY, MN— Pine City Parks and Recreation will hold a special Park Dedication Ceremony to officially announce the new name for the city softball complex located at 100 Hurley Avenue SE. Family and friends are invited to join city staff and committee members for the unveiling of the LeRoy Samuelson Memorial Park at 5PM on Monday, May 24th.
“The name change has been in the works for a long time,” said Liquor Store Manager Lara Smetana. It was originally discussed in the fall of 2019 by the Parks & Recreation committee and an official resolution by the City Council was approved on April 1, 2020. “By that time, COVID had cancelled almost every event in the community and has been on hold since that time,” continued Smetana.
The resolution states, “LeRoy Samuelson had and still has a major influence on the sporting and athletic culture of Pine City; and … the City of Pine City Park and Recreation Committee and City Council would like to honor LeRoy Samuelson and his family in remembrance of his passing on April 2, 2019.”
One year later the committee discussed getting the event back on the calendar and reached out to the family to firm up a date. While the beginning of April would have marked two years since the passing of LeRoy, it wasn’t a good fit for the family. An alternate date was suggested for Monday, May 24th and the city agreed. “The Samuelson family and friends will have the opportunity to celebrate LeRoy’s birthday with this Park Dedication Ceremony,” said Stacy O’Rourke, Parks & Recreation Director. “We are excited for this special event and look forward to having the community join us.”