DONATIONS STILL NEEDED TO PAY OFF CENTRAL GYM FLOOR

Kermit "Moose" Meystedt is elated with the sparkling gym floor at Cape Girardeau Central High School's Tiger Field House that he helped get installed in 1993.

Now, almost five years later, Meystedt is hoping to close out the chapter regarding his involvement in the Cape Central Gym Floor Fund.

Meystedt, a basketball standout at Central in the early 1960 who later went on to star at Southeast Missouri State University, was one of the original movers and shakers when the gym floor fund was started.

For one, he wanted his sons Jay (who graduated from Central two years ago) and Aron (a senior on this year's Central basketball team) to have a nice floor to play on. Likewise, he felt all Central athletes as well as regular students deserved a good floor to either play games or participate in gym class on.

"In the summer of 1993, we just obviously saw the need for a replacement in the old synthetic floor," said Meystedt. "There were a lot of injuries. The surface was just horrible. There was no cushion to it and it was thin. The longer it stayed there, and the more use it had, the thinner it got, which would lead to even more injuries."

So Meystedt, directing the gym floor fund, sought to do something about it. The total cost of the project would be $79,075.00. In October of 1993, Meystedt and his wife Sandy signed a personal note at NationsBank guaranteeing the loan so construction could begin immediately.

"We basically knew the school system did not have the funds to make the change," he said. "We just kind of wanted to fill that need and do it immediately. We went ahead and signed a line of credit for the note, so it (construction) could begin immediately. Then we started raising funds to pay off the loan."

The new gym floor was in place for the basketball season of 1993-94 and this year marks the fifth season that Central's teams are using the floor along with physical education classes at the school and other events.

But the Meystedts have still not been able to raise enough money to pay off the loan. To date, Kermit Meystedt said he has received $39,884.48 in tax deductible contributions, meaning the unpaid balance stands at $39,190.52. The Meystedts have been paying the interest, which is now approximately $215 monthly, until the debt is paid in full.

"There were a lot of interested people who donated money and made contributions, but obviously it would have taken a long period of time. You see what it's taken so far," said Meystedt in explaining why he wanted to get the new floor put in before all the necessary funds were raised.

Meystedt is hoping to pay off the debt by the end of this year, meaning he would need a lot of contributions in a short period of time.

"The floor is for the entire school. It's not just a basketball floor, it's for gym classes and everything else," he said. "This floor will be around for generations, for children, grandchildren and beyond. It's a great investment for the future."

Any businesses or individuals wishing to make tax-deductible contributions should call Meystedt at work (335-2275) or home (334-3310).