toledoblade.com --

TEMPERANCE - A generational torch has been passed within the organization responsible for repaying the $1 million loan used to build the Bedford Community Stadium.

And the two men who've accepted responsibility for directing the Bedford Alumni Association's efforts to pay off the rest of the bill are a pair of 21-year-olds who have dedicated themselves to getting new blood infused.

"That's one of our main goals, to get a new generation involved," said Dustin Cress, who took over as the Alumni Association's president this year, succeeding longtime president Chuck Faller. "Maybe with that new generation involved, it will be enough to put us over the top."

Mr. Cress and new association vice president Robert Watson, another 2001 Bedford graduate, said they are eager to tackle the challenge of paying off the $341,000 still owed on the facility. "Our biggest responsibility is to continue raising money to pay off the stadium. All of our major fund-raisers are geared toward that," Mr. Cress said. "A lot of the original people that were involved with the original effort are sticking with it until we're done with it, so we'll have a lot of experienced help."

Raising the money to repay the note has been an almost non-stop job for the association's members since the stadium was built in 1997.

This month, for example, the association will sponsor a charity basketball game pitting faculty and staff against a media team Saturday night. They'll also be holding a reverse raffle and poker tournament at Dusseau Hall on March 19, and have scheduled University of Toledo Football Coach Tom Amstutz to speak at the annual spaghetti dinner on April 14.

Mr. Cress came late to Bedford, moving into the district from North Carolina before his junior year of high school. But he said he quickly adopted his new community and became determined to become involved.

"I knew I was going to get active [in Bedford]. I just didn't know when or how," Mr. Cress said, adding that he was inspired by Mr. Faller to become involved in the alumni association.

"I've known him since I moved here," Mr. Cress said. "I was pretty much always the youngest person in the room."

Township trustee Dennis Steinman, who served as the alumni association's treasurer between 1996 and 2003 when the stadium project was launched, said he has complete confidence in the organization's new generation of leaders.

"Maybe with Dustin as the new president, it will give [the alumni association] new appeal. He's a very enthusiastic young gentleman," Mr. Steinman said. "Hopefully, we can get more people involved."

Ted Magrum, Bedford's assistant superintendent for finance, said the outstanding balance of the $1 million stadium loan - for which the district is ultimately responsible if the alumni association would fail to make a payment - is $341,756. He said the alumni association has historically paid well in excess of the minimum $75,000 annual payment necessary and last year paid almost $100,000 extra toward its principle.

"Fortunately, they've got concerned volunteers," Mr. Magrum said. "There's nothing to say they're not going to continue their obligations. Everybody's made their payments, so as far as having any justified concern, there isn't one. My hope is that they obviously continue."

The association isn't focusing solely on the stadium. Its 100 or so members have begun raising funds for a pair of $500 scholarships that they plan to award each year to Bedford graduates. The new scholarships will carry Mr. Faller's name, in recognition of his service, Mr. Cress said.

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