PETERBOROUGH — In 1981, sports fan Mike Crowe, a 1975 graduate of ConVal High School who had played soccer there and went on to coach soccer, became convinced that something was missing from his alma mater’s athletic program.

Unlike some of the teams they competed against, ConVal athletes had no lights at their home field, making Friday night football or evening soccer games impossible. That was a situation Crowe was determined to remedy, and although it took him nearly 30 years, he persevered, eventually leading a committee that raised $230,000 through donations and grants to bring bright lights to the school’s stadium field in the fall of 2009.

On Saturday, Crowe was honored at a surprise gathering at Monadnock Country Club, where more than 100 of his friends and supporters of ConVal honored his leadership and persistence in finally bringing the lights project to completion.

“Mike put his heart and soul into this project,” said Barry Echavarria, who served with Crowe on the stadium lights fundraising committee. “He rallied support, got nearly $50,000 in in-kind donations. He ensured that the project would have no impact on the taxpayers. He overcame all obstacles.”

ConVal High School Principal Brian Pickering said the stadium lights have had a significant impact on the school environment.

“I can’t emphasize enough the importance of school spirit,” Pickering said. “Mike has helped us take a critical step.... ConVal meant so much to Mike, but Mike means more to ConVal. He’s a true hometown hero.”

“This project helped create incredible momentum,” Pickering added, as he reminded those in attendance of an upcoming proposal for a bond to renovate the high school gym. “I would ask you to consider that fact as we try to build on what Mike has started. There’s work still do be done.”

After accepting awards from Peterborough Select Board Chair Barbara Miller and ConVal School Board Chair Bart Goodeve and hearing the reading of a proclamation from Gov. John Lynch honoring him for his efforts, Crowe recalled, in a short speech, how his efforts to build enthusiasm for lights at the field fell on deaf ears for a long time.

“Phil Emma, Bob Kukish and I had this idea,” he said. “There wasn’t a lot of support. But I said, ‘I’m going to get this done.’”

He thanked Dick Bergeron, who was hired as the district’s school superintendent in 2007 and quickly became a strong backer of the project.

“He gave me the blessing to get it done,” Crowe said. “Of course, I finally got that blessing in the worst economy in years.”

Fundraising started with School Board approval of $40,000 from the Daniels Fund, and Crowe’s active committee sought out corporate sponsors, got grants from community organizations, spread the word among individual donors, and in two years raised the full amount needed.

“I’m very lucky to be here in a community that has such a healthy heart,” Crowe said.

This article appeared in the Jan. 17, 2012, edition of the Ledger-Transcript.