A new basketball court is finally set for construction in Gardner — thanks to fundraising efforts and a $50,000 T-Mobile grant — to honor the late Ashley Gorney, a former teacher and coach at Gardner Edgerton High School.
Gorney, then 41, died in 2022 after a seven-year battle with breast cancer. After her death, her family wanted to honor her somehow, and what better way than to build a basketball court at Winwood Park, said her husband, Jerad Gorney.
“Ashley, she loved our town,” Jerad Gorney said. “We would walk our kids at that park, and she would always comment about how this park ‘just needs a basketball court.’”
The family and the City of Gardner were awarded the $50,000 check Monday night at Gardner City Hall. This award adds to the family’s $53,000 raised, bringing the total to $103,000.
Gardner was among 25 cities selected from a pool of more than 900 applicants for T-Mobile’s Hometown Grant. Since the initiative started in 2021, the company has provided more than $570,000 to 13 municipalities, according to a T-Mobile news release.
“This project will not only honor a remarkable individual, but also provide lasting value to the entire Gardner community,” said Mayor Todd Winters. “Ashley was more than a teacher and coach; she was a mentor, a motivator and a role model whose influence reached far beyond the classroom and court.
“She believed deeply in the potential of every student and athlete, and she poured her heart into helping young people grow into confident, capable individuals,” Winters added. “Her legacy deserves a tribute that reflects the values she lived by- inclusion, perseverance, teamwork and community.”
The Gorneys moved to Gardner in 2008, when Ashley Gorney started teaching at the high school. During her tenure at Gardner Edgerton High, she taught Spanish and coached girls basketball and volleyball. Shortly after Ashely Gorney’s breast cancer diagnosis in 2016, she stepped back from coaching, Jerad Gorney said.
“Tonight (Monday night) is just, it gives us a light at the end of the tunnel,” Jerad Gorney said. “Whenever you work toward a goal for years, it just feels like a slog. So getting the grant and tonight’s proceedings (receiving the check), it just gives us optimism that we are almost there.”
Keep reading Gardner Edgerton area news: Gardner Edgerton breaks ground on new elementary school
