By Robert Williams

Editor

Imagine being asked out of the blue to spearhead a $5 million fundraising campaign for the betterment of your town. No matter how good the project looks on paper, one would have to be a little crazy to jump in and just start up the fundraising.  ¶  Lucky for the community of Perham, they already had four, unique women who have since banded together as a group and ultimately said “Yes, we’ll do it.”  ¶  The quartet consists of: Kellie Smith, owner of Kellie Smith Floral; Gathering Grounds Owner/Operator Ashlea Clifton, Hairstylist and Co-Owner of Sunny Bay Resort Nicole Preussler, and North Pines Market Owner Veronica Marpoe.  ¶  “We each collectively thought about it and then as a group if this was something we wanted to take on,” said Smith.

The four were approached in the spring of 2024 and took some time to think about it. By fall, they had gathered ideas, spoke to people and made a gameplan.

The first thing to check off for this group is a way to have fun doing it. Fun really matters with them.

“That’s what we’re all about,” said Smith.

In a similar vein, it is equally important that the project be seen to its fruition.

“We can say with certainty that a building will be built,” said Preussler.

Balancing a sense of humor with purpose comes from an original meeting set up by Clifton.

None of the four women are originally from Perham. They are transplants from around the country. 

Preussler is from the Chicago area, Elgin, Illinois, specifically. A job change for her husband, a Minnesotan originally, brought Luke, Nicole and their three kids to the area.

Smith grew up on a ranch in Colorado and her grandparents owned a resort outside Frazee. When they wanted to retire, Smith agreed to run it for a year and that ended up lasting a decade. She met her husband here and settled in Perham.

Veronica was raised in a military family in Missouri while spending summers in Rhode Island. Her husband Jeremy is a Perham native and Perham was the perfect small town like she wanted to live and work in. Marpoe made a big social media splash in 2024 with her cardboard signs she used to market local businesses.

Clifton was the last to arrive in Perham in 2020 after spending her early years in Texas to her family’s home town of East Grand Forks then moving to South Minneapolis for middle and high school, travelling to Southern California to study Fashion Design in Los Angeles and living in San Diego through her 20s before moving back to Minnesota to raise her children.

Ashlea wanted to get together with different women from the area she had connected with already and that happened one special night, stories were told, and later, in the course of recapping the night, portions of all those stories created what all four thought was a terrific band name “Catfish Larry and the Lady Pants,” basically a conglomerate of inside jokes.

Even funnier given none of the four women possess any musical talents to help forge an actual band.

However, their team-first and group centric shared perspectives gave the band another real purpose.

“Maybe since we don’t have musical talent this is our band’s calling to help fundraise this community that we have all grown to love,” said Preussler.

“We all have children of all ages growing up here and we see a lack of stuff we need and also how many benefits Perham has,” Smith said. “We all felt if we can have a hand in continuing the growth of Perham, why not?”

The project was already in place through the Perham Area Youth Hockey Association (PAYHA) and a collaboration with city officials a few years ago, but the pandemic stalled further planning.

“They were really just trying to revamp the project and the effort and they knew they needed some outside help for fundraising and being a face to the project and the fundraising efforts,” said Preussler.

PAYHA is a non-profit organization, which allows donations to the project to be tax deductible.

While the ice rink appears like a centerpiece to the project, it is really the whole of the 6,000-square foot facility that will become the heart of Arvig Park.

PAYHA plans to use the rink five hours per week as it continues its Mites hockey feeder program, which will allow public skating the remainder of the week and add a great outdoor amenity to the park in winter.

“It will be open to the public more than it will be used by the hockey program,” said Preussler.

Hopes are that area youth hockey associations from Wadena and Detroit Lakes could compete in tournaments held at the rink also.

The Trail Head facility will be something Perham residents and guests can use all year long.

“Arvig Park already has a whole bunch of amenities, but there is so much potential that the park and that area has,” said Preussler. “A trail head facility would only help enhance the things that are already there. Having rentals for pickleball, a space or bathrooms, a place to warm up and concessions when kids are sledding. Some people don’t realize that this is a year round facility too. We like to stress that.”

“We’re looking to create some excitement and buzz,” Smith said.

One easy way to do that is bullet points on how the facility can benefit Perham.

“It’s a place too where jobs will be created,” Preussler said.

Another big bullet point is how much it will cost Perham taxpayers.

“No taxes will be added to Perham residents for the project,” said Smith. 

The original goal of raising just over $1 million to get the project going has quickly changed to financing the entire operation in full. The group began the year with $50,000 in donations and have grown that number to $500,000 in just a few months.

“As we discussed taking on the whole facility and the ice rink we decided to just go for the whole, full amount,” said Smith. “That would see the building complete, ice rink up, the parking lot—everything. We’re just taking it on.

“It grew into this passion project because the community doesn’t have a space with public restrooms for people to use around that area that are year round. It started with the idea of the rink, but we realized there are a lot of gaps we can fill by making a full trailhead facility there.”

Clifton, Marpoe, Preussler and Smith’s efforts also mirror what has been going on in the lakes area when it comes to groups of women spearheading big community projects like Project 412 bringing Thomas Dambo’s Troll Project, led by Executive Director Amy Stearns. The Troll Project’s success has brought national attention to Detroit Lakes and the project also has shared that limelight with Frazee with its own troll and portals in Perham and Fargo.

The Perham group reached out to Stearns when beginning the fundraising process.

“Those four women are so cool and they’ve got big dreams and a big vision and I just kept encouraging them,” said Stearns. “They’ve got this. They know how to do it. They’re so vivacious and have such a deep-rooted belief in what they’re doing and in Perham and how they want to make Perham better. I think that enthusiasm is catchy. I think they’re delightful and I hope they exceed their goals.”

Pruessler has a personal connection to Frazee’s Karen Pifher, who has nearly singlehandedly changed the face of Frazee from her time as Executive Director of CornerStone to creating her own women-led organization Creating Community Consulting, which is currently making an impact in communities in multiple states.

“I’ve seen her for the past eight years have this dream and watching from the sidelines has been amazing seeing her work,” said Preussler.

Looking for a sense of how Pifher has created all of the success around her company and Frazee’s incredible community center for kids was also something the Perham group wanted to hear about.

“Part of what I shared with them is that if we could raise the money to launch CornerStone in Frazee you can do this too. You have to have a lot of faith and no fear and maybe only a little bit of common sense,” Pifher laughed. 

Those words ring true for “Catfish Larry and the Lady Pants.”

“So far, we’ve laughed together, cried together, we’ve been overwhelmed together, underwhelmed together,” Preussler said.

“That’s also what has made it easier for us to do this because we’re so close, have the same sense of humor and we’re really good at bouncing things off each other and dealing with things,” said Smith.

Pifher has similar words of encouragement, much like Stearns’ comments, when it comes to believing in each other and spreading that belief to the community.

“Really, just help inspire them, help them think about relationships, who can help, and what are the most critical things that they need to fund,” Pifher said.

Pifher asked a lot of questions to find out what the barriers are to the project, how can they get around them and who can assist? 

“Honestly, I just did a lot of inspiration and cheerleading,” she said. “They have the skills. They can do this. There are resources – and to reach out and talk to people.”

Pifher also discussed the very basics of launching a capital campaign.

“I think women are really inspired to be community change makers and there’s been more room for that in the last 15-20 years than there was historically,” Pifher said. “There has been a lot of focus in the region on how to grow women in leadership and we’re seeing the results of that.”

It is very difficult to argue that point when looking at the success that has been achieved in both DL and Frazee.

“Women get stuff done,” Stearns said. “I love everything Karen is working on in Frazee and I think it’s super important that all of us women lift each other up. We can figure things out and get things done. I love men, but perhaps at times, we’re a little more nimble and resourceful and tenacious. I think women are all about community-building and want to make our communities the best place possible for our families, for where we choose to work, for our friends, and I’m enthused about what Perham, Frazee and DL are doing. I think it’s all great. What’s good for Perham is good for Frazee and DL and vice versa.”

The facility is meant to be a focal point at the heart of Arvig Park, which has year-round amenities from the little league baseball fields and softball fields, to the dog park, pickleball, skate park, the sledding hill and is also at the heart of community and school events like summer 5K runs and the statewide-known cross country meets hosted by the Yellowjackets. While it is going to be a big enhancement for Perham, it is also something that can benefit people from nearby towns.

“That’s one of the focuses of the project—not only how will this enhance Perham, but we want it to be attractive to people from other communities,” said Preussler. “Not just be a place for people to pass through Perham, but here is a place where we can stop with activities we can do like go on a bike ride. We have a nice sledding hill in the wintertime and that’s a free activity as well. For people with kids you need a bathroom and a place to warm up or somewhere you can sit and watch your kid without having to be in your car.”

The Trail Head moniker has potential ties both locally and regionally. It is already near the Brave like Gabe Trail that runs around Arvig Park in honor of the late professional runner and cancer advocate Gabriele Anderson Grunewald.

It could also serve as a resource to Heart of the Lakes Trail users when construction is completed on the Pelican Rapids to Perham section. The trail is expected to enter Perham via County Road 34, the Otter Tail Scenic Byway.

All naming rights are also currently open making the facility a potential big mark in town for corporate sponsors.

“The more we’ve delved into fundraising—our passion for the project has only grown and our excitement for it,” said Preussler.

That is despite doing what is often the heavy lifting in raising funds.

“We’ve done a lot of cold calling,” said Preussler.

Every dollar matters in a project like this and smaller donations are looked up as important as potential corporate sponsorship.

“If somebody just pledged $1,000 over a year that’s not that much a month, same as going out to eat,” said Smith.

“And if we got 100 people to donate $1,000, that’s $100,000,” said Preussler.

The group is set on making the donation process approachable for those who want to contribute. 

“Not necessarily big donations we’re looking for but we’re doing different events in our community where people can buy merchandise or just call in a donation,” said Smith.

The group has already held a successful Purse Bingo fundraiser and has plans for music on the hill at Arvig Park later in the year.

“We want people to feel like they are a part of the project by donating and also experience being out there,” Smith said.

Those who cannot contribute can also play a pivotal role.

“Even just sharing the word is helpful for us,” said Smith.

The group has a 15-minute presentation for potential corporate sponsors or companies who want to share the information with their employees.

“We can put on our business pants too,” Smith laughed.

Another big meeting is already scheduled with the Minnesota Wild.

With support from Wild players, fans and donors, the Minnesota Wild Foundation serves as the largest non-member funding source for Minnesota Hockey, and provides fundraising opportunities for youth hockey associations and children’s health and wellness charities across the state. Since its inception in 2009, the Wild Foundation has distributed $5.9 million in grants to hockey organizations and children’s medical related charities and has helped local charities raise over $7.5 million through its Split the Pot Raffle program.

“We’re hoping to get to that mark where we can get shovels in the ground,” Smith said.

The group is also working on fundraising ideas that are outside the box, like their very own Ladypants fundraiser featuring cutouts of headshots that will be put in people’s lawns. Homeowners will pay to have them removed or sent to a friend’s home.

The idea plays on the popular Prom Potty fundraisers, as have been very popular in Frazee, by placing a decorated toilet in a family’s yard and it having to be paid for to move or remove. The fundraiser alone can create a buzz with the help of social media.

Check out some of the zany social media efforts of “Catfish Larry and the Lady Pants” on Facebook by searching Operation Trail Head.

“Every day we work on it we get more excited about it,” said Smith. “Just because we can see the vision coming to life, which is exciting and people getting more excited about it. We just need to continue fanning that flame.”

Find out more information on the entire project at operationtrailhead.com/

The next fundraising event is an old fashioned telethon to be held on Facebook Live. Search for Operation Trail Head Telethon to save the date for Friday, April 4, beginning at 7 p.m.

There will be fun, skits, dancing, singing and even some celebrity appearances.