FUNDRAISING GOAL OF $8,000 SET FOR BOULDER BEACH WALKING PATH

A new recreational amenity at Boulder Beach received a boost with a $28,000 commitment of funds raised at the 2026 Friends of Lake Panorama Beach Ball. Now just $8,000 is needed for construction of a walking path at Boulder Beach.

A total of $20,000 from the 2025 Beach Ball originally was split between walking paths at Boulder and Sunset beaches. The LPA board had approved the proposed walking paths as a way to create safer walking options at Lake Panorama.

This spring, with agreement from the LPA, the Friends board voted to focus fundraising on a single path at Boulder Beach. Once this project is complete, the possibility of a similar path at Sunset Beach will be explored.

With money from two Beach Balls, plus private donations, about $52,000 has been raised for the Boulder Beach path.

The concrete path will be 6-feet wide, 5-inches thick and one-third mile long. The main entrance is through an opening in the existing fence south of the parking lot. The path will wind past the shelter houses and playgrounds, then along the lake before looping back to the north side of the parking lot.

Bids were solicited in 2025 with Caliber Concrete being awarded the project. Caliber Concrete is owned by Jason Martin, who has a home at Lake Panorama on Andrews Terrace.

On June 26, LPA staff requested an updated bid from Martin for a trail at Boulder Beach that is a bit shorter than originally planned. The new bid is $60,000. Martin said his company can install the path this September.

Now Friends of Lake Panorama has set a goal of raising the remaining $8,000 needed by mid-August.

All donations are tax-deductible. Donors of $500 or more will be recognized on a sign near the start of the walking path, and on the Friends website.

Checks can be made payable to Friends of Lake Panorama and mailed to PO Box 488, Panora, Iowa, 50216. Direct donations also can be sent via Venmo @Panorama-Friends. Donations of securities (stocks, mutual funds, etc.) are welcome. Credit cards are accepted on the Friends website.

2026 BEACH BALL RAISES $38,000

The 2026 Friends of Lake Panorama Beach Ball had a profit of $38,000. The event was held June 12 at The Captain’s Pick at Lake Panorama National Resort, with 190 guests in attendance.

For the sixth year in a row, individuals and businesses became Friends Beach Club members to support this event. Those who joined at one of these levels paid a little extra to get a little extra by making a direct donation to Friends of Lake Panorama. Friends Beach Club members were listed in the program.

There were 15 businesses and groups of individuals that spent $1000 to join the Premier level of the Beach Club. Seventeen couples spent $300 to be in the Couples Beach Club, with nine businesses, couples or individuals donating $200 to sponsor a table.

There were 72 items donated for the silent auction, which brought in $6,765. The live auction of 11 items raised $11,575. Proceeds from a 50/50 raffle and a half-card-draw game netted $3,045.

At a meeting June 16, the Friends board of directors voted to earmark the $38,000 Beach Ball profit for two projects.

A total of $10,000 goes to the Lake Panorama National capital campaign for golf course improvements. A forward tee box renovation project is planned for this fall, pending donations. The tees included are holes 1, 2, 4 and 15. This project would complete the forward tee box work on the front nine, and make a start on needed work on the back nine.

The remaining $28,000 will go towards a hard-surface walking path at Boulder Beach.

Friends of Lake Panorama is a nonprofit charity dedicated to improving recreational amenities at Lake Panorama. It was established in response to LPA members asking for ways to give back to the Lake Panorama community with an estate gift or other tax-deductible donations. The IRS granted Friends 501(c)(3) nonprofit status in July 2014.

This year marked the ninth Beach Ball fundraiser organized by Friends of Lake Panorama. Those nine events raised a total of $261,000. Beach Ball funds, combined with private donations from more than 300 couples, individuals and businesses, have financed an impressive list of completed projects.

Those include playgrounds at all three beaches, sports courts at Boulder and Sunset beaches, dog park, south shore recreational area that includes trails, disc golf, benches and a picnic shelter, enhancements to the Panorama West Nature Trail, tree plantings at the lake’s west entrance, updated tee boxes and driving range at Lake Panorama National, more than 20 new benches at beaches and golf courses, and several smaller projects.