Hoofers faces the next challenge
The original Harold C. Bradley Lounge
By Bethany Rahja ’15
The time Hoofers has been eagerly awaiting has finally arrived as the organization is now moving into newly renovated offices, shops and club spaces. For over 80 years, Hoofer members repaired boats and sails, packed for trips, held club meetings, elected leaders and formed lifelong friendships in the basement of Memorial Union. It was a small group of committed students and staff who first made a home for Hoofers possible through relentless fundraising. As the clubs and teams have grown, Hoofers will finally have a new space that will meet their modern day needs and allow the organization to grow and thrive.
Here is a sneak peek into the (almost) finished spaces:
Hoofer lakefront
The new Outdoor UW offices are located just off of the lake entrance and provide a place for guests to sign up for a Hoofer club, rent a canoe or kayak, or sign up for a trip. The new entrance is more visible to facilitate a better and simpler customer experience.
Mendota Lodge
The 1,000 square foot lounge space features lake views and direct access to Lake Mendota. Chelsea Anderson, current Hoofer president, said, “I am personally excited about the windows overlooking the water that we now have and the Mendota Lodge is a great addition since it provides a place for members to meet and spend time together, fostering inter-club relationships and fun.”
Student and staff offices
Hoofers office spaces have been consolidated into one area, which allows for more interaction between club leaders and advisers and increased workspace overall. This area will also feature a conference room for small group meetings.
Hoofer Shop and Boat Repair Facility
The newly renovated and enlarged Hoofer Shop will provide state of the art facilities and a safer working environment for hands-on learning. This modern facility will keep the Hoofer fleet seaworthy and features chemical storage space, locked tool and office space, a sail sewing desk, and a paint booth area.
Through the Memorial Union Reinvestment, Hoofers and Union staff have built a foundation for a new Hoofer space that is more accessible, safe, and functional, but the project isn’t finished yet. While the funds provided through student segregated fees cover a majority of the project, additional capital is needed to finish out projects like repairing the lakefront piers and creating a galley kitchen.
In July, Hoofers launched a facilities campaign targeted at alumni and friends to create awareness about the need for support to finish the project. The goal is to raise an ambitious $500,000 but Hoofer leaders and Union staff are confident the Hoofer community will come together to take on this challenge.
Union Director Mark Guthier said, “Many Hoofer students worked hard on the campaign to pass a student referendum to renovate Memorial Union, and they have continued to provide design concepts that have resulted from a student-led process. We hope alumni and friends will join the students in helping to make their vision come fully to life – especially since the Wisconsin Hoofers have always represented the best of what can happen when students, alumni and community members work together.”
Anyone who has been involved with Hoofers understands it is not simply a club, but a lifetime of experiences. Thousands of Hoofers can share in the memory of trekking to a peak not yet explored, the last sail before sunset, or huddling around a campfire on a cool summer night. It is important to the organization that their community of alumni will come together to support finishing the space as planned so the incoming students turn the newly renovated space into a home.
You are invited to see the new space at the official grand re-opening event on Saturday, October 5, 2013. Stay tuned to Terrace Views for more details about the event as they unfold.
To learn more about giving to Hoofers through the Facilities Campaign, please visit the campaign website.
To read more about how the space will be used by the new brand, Outdoor UW, read Terrace Views article Wisconsin Union restructures outdoor programming.
——————————————————————————————————————————————————
Bethany Rahja is a junior at UW-Madison studying Marketing and Management in the School of Business. She is the Member Relations Intern at the Memorial Union.
