Sally Buffalo Park organizers and elected officials cut the ribbon at the grand opening ceremony on Friday afternoon.

CADIZ — Beautiful weather and music heralded the grand opening of a new playground at Sally Buffalo Park on Friday.

More than 100 residents came out for the grand opening ceremony of the newest addition to the park on Friday afternoon.

The ceremony was led by the park’s organizers and contributors. Speakers included Harrison County Commissioner Paul Coffland, Encino Energy Director Jackie Stewart, Village of Cadiz Mayor Ken Zitko, Encino Energy Chief Operating Officer Ray Walker, and Ohio Senator Frank Hoagland, R-Mingo Junction.

“This has been a very long process,” Coffland said. “It’s been years trying to raise the funds and with Senator Hoagland’d help, we were able to secure some Capital Bill funding, and we’ve had a few other major donors. Of course, Encino stepped up. They wanted to be new to the community and show how much of a community partner they are.”

The park board collected approximately $220,000 in order to build the playground for the community. Encino Energy made the final contribution to the construction of the playground in May by donating $25,000.

Encino Energy wanted to become involved in the community, which is why the energy company made such a generous contribution to the project, Walker said.

“There’s some pretty core values at Encino, besides making money, safety and environmental protection. One of those is being good stewards in the communities where we live and work. Part of that is getting involved with projects like this that influence a lot of people,” he said.

Hoagland concluded the speeches by saying that he had recently flown in from a fundraiser in New Hampshire and was thinking about playgrounds.

“I grew up in Panama, this is where I learned how to start interacting with other kids, this is where I got over some of my fears, my anxieties,” Hoagland said. “This is how I learned how to communicate, how to lead or how to follow. This is how I learned to get hurt and heal. This is going to be a park for every young kid that’s going to get out here and play. What we need to do is get (kids) out of the house, get them into this environment, put down the cell phones and have as much fun as we possibly can.”

Once Hoagland cut the ceremonial ribbon, face-painted children immediately began enjoying the freshly built equipment, sliding down slides and swinging on monkey bars.

Mike Chadsey, director of public relations with the Ohio Oil and Gas Association, said he is proud of all the work the contributors put into the building of the playground.

“We really appreciate them doing this for the community. … We are just so proud of members, like Encino, and them showing such a commitment to the communities that they operate in. This is the fun stuff we don’t usually get to do very often. This is the fun stuff that matters,” he said.

Chadsey’s daughter, 4-year-old Madeline, said the park is “kid-approved!”