08/27/2026
🐾 **WELL... LOOK WHAT CAME HOME WITH ME. 😂**
The Wildlife Prairie Park boards are officially **PAID FOR, PICKED UP AND IN ACE HANDS!**
And while I was at the Park, I also got to meet **Mackenzie Perriman, the artist who painted them!**
Mackenzie was incredibly sweet and gracious enough to tolerate me making her pose for a picture with her handiwork. 😂 I think having the person who actually created these one-of-a-kind boards become part of their story makes this whole ridiculous project even better.
So where do we stand?
The boards themselves have officially been purchased for **$260.**
We've collected **WAY more than that.**
I'm deliberately holding off on announcing the final fundraising number because there are still a handful of contributions coming in, and we haven't finalized exactly how everything raised beyond the purchase of the boards will be used.
With some of the people at Wildlife Prairie Park I need to work with currently out on vacation, we simply aren't going to be able to finish that conversation until next week.
That's okay. We've got the boards, the money is accounted for, and there's no reason to rush into a decision just for the sake of making one.
Whatever we ultimately decide, the remaining money is going toward supporting Wildlife Prairie Park.
We're just discussing whether that means a straight donation, putting some of it toward WPP admissions, memberships, lodging or other experiences that ACE can give away and use to continue promoting the Park—or some combination of those things.
I really like the idea that this doesn't have to end when I hand over the money.
I'd love to be throwing on these boards at an ACE event six months from now, give somebody a Wildlife Prairie Park membership or admission passes, and get another opportunity to tell this story and send more people through the Park's gates.
**BUT... before we put a bow on this thing:**
# # # **LAST CALL! 🐾**
If you pledged and haven't gotten your contribution to me yet, **please do.**
And if you've been watching all of this unfold and thinking you wish you'd thrown $5, $10, $20—or whatever—into the pot...
**YOU STILL CAN.**
Hit me up now.
Once everyone's back from vacation, we'll finish working out the details with Wildlife Prairie Park, close the books and reconcile everything.
Then I'll come back and show everybody **exactly how much this crazy little community raised and exactly where it went.**
For now, though...
We started with a set of co****le boards in a silent auction and a slightly ridiculous idea to intentionally pay way too much for them.
We ended up with a community fundraiser, a hell of a story, some truly one-of-a-kind ACE equipment, and hopefully something we can continue building on long after this fundraiser is finished.
**One last chance to get your name into the story before we call it done. ❤️🐾**
And Mackenzie...
**Thank you for the artwork—and for letting the weird co****le-board guy take your picture. 😂**
