LIVERMORE, Maine — A mother from Livermore is one step closer to reviving dilapidated tennis courts in RSU 73 in memory of her son.
Deb Roberts lost her son, Michael Holland, in 2015. He was one of the 33 crew members on board the cargo ship El Faro when it sank in a hurricane after departing Jacksonville, Florida.
Holland attended what was once Jay High School, now Spruce Mountain, and played football.
Roberts has been raising money for a memorial scholarship since the tragedy, through a variety of community events, most notably the HollandStrong Ice Fishing Derby. The scholarship is annually awarded to graduating seniors from one of three HollandStrong community high schools: Mt. Blue High School in Farmington, Spruce Mountain High School in Jay, and Leavitt Area High School in Turner.
She is also using that money to fix the tennis courts at Spruce Mountain High School that have fallen into disrepair. Roberts said the total cost is roughly $604,000. Through in-kind donations of labor and materials, as well as a 50/50 matching grant from the National Park Service, Roberts has helped raise more than $444,000 for the project.
She said the cost has increased significantly since the NPS awarded them the grant in 2020. She said she has requested the NPS to increase their match, and is waiting for a response.
"I started thinking about this the day the U.S. Coast Guard called off the search [for the El Faro crew]," Roberts said. "It's been hard for people to see the fruits of our labor."
Roberts said she expects crews to break ground on the facilities in late September or early October, but they are still short roughly $160,000.
The baseball, football, track, and tennis teams cannot host home games at Spruce Mountain High School, and have to travel to nearby facilities to do so. Her goal is to have the tennis courts finished by October 2025, which will mark 10 years since the ship sank.
People who would like to donate have multiple options: send money through the hollandstrong.org website, send a check to the address on that website, or e-mail hollandstrong@gmail.com to get in touch for donating services or materials.
"Every dollar donated or dollar of labor provided goes towards our 50/50 grant match," Roberts said. "It would not be possible without all of our community partners."
