MUSC gets Menard’s name

WASILLA — The Wasilla Multi-Use Sports Complex has a new name — the Curtis D. Menard Memorial Sports Center.

In a unanimous vote Monday, the Wasilla City Council decided to name the facility in honor of Menard, who was serving as borough mayor when he passed away March 2 after a long fight with cancer. He was a well-known dentist and former state legislator serving the Valley.

Wasilla City Councilwoman Nancy Hall said naming the facility after Menard simply made sense.

“He put the work into it and had the idea and was the instigator and I think that’s important, people need to step up and do that in their community,” Hall said.

Mayor Verne Rupright echoed Hall’s sentiments. The Sports Complex, which offers an indoor turf field, a hockey rink and other amenities, came to life through a ballot initiative under the administration of then-Wasilla-mayor Sarah Palin. But most agree it wouldn’t have happened without Menard.

“He was probably pretty much the key guy in getting that on the ballot and pushing it,” the mayor said. “He was always involved in youth activities and youth sports in the Valley.”

A section of the facility — the hockey rink — had already been named after Menard’s son, also named Curtis, who died in a plane crash. That won’t change.

Rupright said the city will look into commissioning some sort of plaque emblazoned with Menard’s likeness. He first wants to talk it over with Menard’s widow, Linda, who is a state senator.

“We’ll have a regular dedication sometime the is spring, summer,” he said. “We’ve got to decide what kind of a plaque and sign we’ll put up there.”