Chris Burch spoke Tuesday at Water Works Park. (Photo: Jeff Nelson)
By Emmett McMenamy
With a Champagne toast, the Des Moines Water Works Park Foundation’s new director, Chris Burch, unveiled the design for a new sculptural donor-appreciation sign during a reception Tuesday at the park’s Lauridsen Amphitheater.
Plans for the new sign, designed by Latitude Signage + Design of Grinnell, feature five blue arches that frame cut-out waves with space to engrave the names of donors who have contributed to the 1,500-acre park’s ongoing evolution as a space for outdoor events and recreation. The sign will be installed next year just south of the amphitheater, near the glowing “River Constellation” sculpture that went up in 2019.
Burch was hired as the foundation’s first full-time director at the end of August, after serving in previous roles as the director of operations for the Principal Charity Classic and director of the IMT Des Moine Marathon. At Tuesday’s event, the Des Moines native and Drake University graduate said he was honored to take on his new role at the park and credited his parents, who were in the crowd, for teaching him the value of community involvement.
He also shared a few personal memories of the park, which he has enjoyed since his high school days. He and his wife once bundled up and biked through the Jolly Holiday Lights on a night when the temperature dipped 20 degrees below zero.
“I’ve heard from folks that they grew up going to Water Works Park and thought, ‘Oh, I did that too,’” he said. “We all have something in common.”
Now it’s his job to oversee the park’s current operations and help shape its plan for the future. He said his first priority is to schedule artists for next year’s concert season at the amphitheater. Then he’ll focus on further park expansion.
“Everything you see or want in the park, he is the person to talk to,” said Crystal Franke, the president of the Water Works Park Foundation board of directors. “He is so passionate about what this park is and what it could be.”
