Last summer, a group of Peoria golfers set out to raise $2,000 to turn a tree stump at Newman Golf Course into a work of art.
During a Peoria Park Board of Trustees meeting on Wednesday, Peoria Park District director Emily Cahill announced the golfers hit par — the money's been raised, and district staff have already reached out to local tree carver T.C. Gill to schedule a carving date.
"Thank you to everybody who supported the effort," she said. "We look forward to being able to celebrate that completion sometime in the spring or early summer 2022."
Volunteers with the Peoria Park District Golf Advisory Committee plan to have Gill turn the Newman stump into an 8-foot piece that displays the park district's yellow and green leaf-shaped logo.
Last summer, lifelong Peoria golfer Jackie Petty told WCBU the course has lost quite a few trees over the years.
She said she couldn't think of a better way to preserve the stump. "There's a lot of memory in that tree for some people," she said. "Plus, it's a beautiful carving. ... It will be there forever."
Peoria Golfers Raising Money To Turn 10-Foot Tree Stump Into Giant Carving
Those who donated $25 or more will receive their name on a plaque that will be displayed inside the Newman clubhouse at 2021 W. Nebraska Ave.
Petty said she was impressed by Gill's past stump carvings that include bald eagles, morel mushrooms, dragons, corn stalks and more. Known as "The Stump Carver," Gill has been carving trees into works of art for years.
Learn more about this project on the Peoria Park District's website.