Kit Sawers is a woman on the go with a formidable academic background followed by heading up a number of not for profits charities. She earned a BA degree from UVA and then received her JD from SMU. She oversaw the Bickel & Brewer Foundation and was an organizer of the Super Bowl which was held at the AT&T Stadium. After serving as the chief development officer for the United Way of Metropolitan Dallas she became the executive director of the Klyde Warren Park in 2018.
We are all aware of the great success that our downtown park overarching the Woodall Rodgers Expwy. has been locally and nationally(Incidentally Mr. Rodgers was a member of our club).On May 19th Ms. Sawers gave us an insight into the operation of the park including the annual budgetary requirements. The City and the Texas Dept. of Transportation each contributed $20 million coupled with $55 million in private donations to construct the park. Last year the budget was $3.7 million which included maintenance and 24 hour security. Since 2012 Klyde Warren has had an economic impact on the economy of between $2.5 and $3 billion while increasing the tax base for the City.
The park has a diversity/equality task force dedicated to creating programs to serve all ages,races and backgrounds of the citizens who frequent and use its facilities. Success breeds more success. An expansion phase, giving the park additional space on the west end, is scheduled to be completed in 2025 and will have two decks-one being a ballroom topped by a roof top venue which will be available for weddings and other celebrations. Your reporter was pleased and relieved to learn that our Centennial project-the Learning Tree- is the most popular feature of the park and will remain for children for years to come.