Photo by Shelley Hanson Scott Blass, lawyer with Bordas & Bordas, presents a $10,000 check to Eriks Janelsins, president of the Oglebay Foundation, for the foundation’s Access to Parks, which is a program that provides free passes to school children to use park amenities year-round.

WHEELING — The Oglebay Foundation’s Access to Parks program received a $10,000 boost thanks to the Bordas & Bordas Amateur Golf Classic.

Funds raised during the golf tournament held in June were presented by Bordas lawyer Scott Blass to Eriks Janelsins, president of the Oglebay Foundation, on Thursday at the park.

Janelsins said the money helps pay for passes for Ohio County school-aged children to use amenities at Oglebay and Wheeling Park.

“It ensures local children in Ohio County get free use of the parks year-round,” he said. “Coming up they will get to ski and ice skate during the winter months. Twenty-thousand visits are supported by our Access to Parks program with 19 different activities across the two parks.”

The golf tournament is one of the oldest-running amateur tourneys in the region and is organized by members of the Oglebay Men’s Golf Club.

“It’s an incredibly high-quality event for the community. And then the proceeds from that help invest in future generations’ love of the park,” Janelsins said, noting the tournament has raised $80,000 for the foundation during the past eight years.

The foundation works with the local West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources in getting Access to Park program applications to the local children.

Blass said it is “very rewarding” to be able to raise money for the program via the tournament.

“It’s a blessing that we’re able to raise $10,000 for eight straight years for the Access to Parks program,” he said. “It’s a lot of work by a lot of people, but Oglebay is a big part of it.”

Blass said he is thankful for the support of the park, its maintenance workers and the golf club. Blass noted he moved to Wheeling from Morgantown in 1987 after graduating from law school. His family has enjoyed the park for many years.

“I have two sons who grew up here and worked at the park, and my wife worked at the park,” he added. “A lot of us take it for granted, but it’s a jewel.”