November 28, 20233 Submitted by Hingham Sports Partnership
The Hingham School Committee reviewed and approved the name of the proposed new wellness and fitness center to be located at Hingham High School. Once built, the facility will be called The DOCK. The School Committee further approved proposed donor recognition signage for the building in honor of Jim and Anne Davis, owners of New Balance Athletics. The Davis family recently committed $150,000 to The DOCK to be used to inspire and launch the Community Challenge phase of the current capital campaign, which is being run by Hingham Sports Partnership (HSP).
To honor the Davis family’s incredible generosity, HSP was inspired to match their gift with another $150,000 to rally the community to donate and enabled all contributions up to $300,000 to have double the impact. As a result of this generosity, the building’s signage will feature “The DOCK” and include text underneath that reads “Powered by New Balance” with the New Balance logo (subject to School Committee review of existing policies).
“Having the support for The DOCK from a family associated with a world-class global footwear and apparel brand and a strong decades-long reputation for generous philanthropy for health and wellness causes is incredible,” said HSP president Deb McCarthy. “We extend our immense gratitude to the Davis family for believing in this effort and helping to enhance the health, fitness and wellness of Hingham students for decades to come.”
“This project is being funded entirely through philanthropy and is coming to fruition due to steadfast support from Hingham Public Schools, the School Committee, HHS and its athletic department, and many generous supporters,” said Kevin Quilty, The DOCK campaign co-chair. “To date, we have achieved over $1 million in commitments toward our $1.5 million goal. We hope the community will continue to be inspired and help us cross the ‘finish line’ with fundraising by this spring.”
The modern 2,500 sq. ft wellness and fitness center, being developed as part of HHS athletic complex, will be a bright and welcoming environment to encourage exercise and well-being for students of all ages, genders, and developmental abilities. Once fundraising is complete, HSP hopes to begin construction in 2024 and could complete the building by January 2025.
Last year at Town Meeting, residents voted to allow renaming of town facilities. This allowed the Town of Hingham to put guidelines and processes in place. The naming of The DOCK is one of the first new building names.
“An HSP Board member came up with ‘The DOCK’ name to honor the seaside location where Harbormen and Harborwomen gather to socialize and work together. As a harborside community, HSP feels that naming this proposed facility ‘The DOCK’ is in keeping with Hingham’s traditional and currently held values and sensibilities,” said Quilty.