Leadership Belton completes group project at Miller Heights Park

July 31, 2025

By Harvey Jackson Oss

The Belton Journal

Leadership Belton’s Group of 2025 unveiled their annual community project at Miller Heights Park on Tuesday, July 29. Leadership Belton participants raised $16,250 from program sponsors to improve the basketball court, install new benches, plant trees, and implement a series of dog waste stations. The event consisted of a ribbon cutting, followed by complimentary refreshments from Scotti’s Italian Ice. Belton Chamber of Commerce President Randy Pittenger opened the ceremony by speaking. “My favorite thing that the chamber does is the Leadership Belton program,” said Pittenger. The program provides opportunities for locals to become more engaged with the community and give back. The improvements at Miller Heights Park follow an earlier project by the Group of 2025 that improved safety and security at Yettie Polk Park. Pittenger explained what Leadership Belton is. “Leadership Belton is a program of the Belton Area Chamber of Commerce to help leaders and aspiring leaders in our community to become better connected and better informed.” Leadership Belton is a 10-month program, beginning in September and ending in June. Program students participate in monthly informational sessions where they learn about community goings-on. Each year the group is challenged with conceiving and completing an original project to improve the Belton community. “This is a perfect example of what we want for our Leadership Belton participants… to give back to the community, to do something that makes a difference,” explained Pittenger about the Miller Heights renovations. He emphasized the permanent nature of the group project, noting that the improvements will continue to serve the community for generations to come — “that lasting influence is really what we’re looking for.” The site of Miller Heights Park was suggested by Chad Riff, a pupil of the Leadership Belton program. “I used to live in this neighborhood, and I used this park all the time… it just felt like this park needed a little bit of love,” said Ruff. He discussed the challenge of completing the project within the deadline — “back in September it didn’t seem like we were going to be able to get this done, but we persevered, the group worked really hard, and our sponsors came through for us.” Sponsors included Covington Real Estate, First Community Title, Vista Real Estate, Pinnacle View Roofing, Paysee Insurance, Tejas Land and Title, Bulldog Auto Detailing, Extraco Banks, First Texas Bank, Texell Credit Union, Creekside Cigar Lounge, Kelly Realtors, Belltec Industries, H2 Realty, Shine Branch, Don Ringler, and Randy and LaGay Pittinger. Program participant Jennifer McCaslin discussed her experience in Leadership Belton. “I really learned a lot about our little community and made a lot of great connections” said McCaslin. McCaslin is new to the Belton area, and enrolled in the program to get to know her new home better. Another participant, Leah Hodges, shared her feelings about the project. “I really did not even know that the park was here… I think that there’s going to be so many people that will be able to enjoy it, it’s a beautiful park.” Hodges is the Team Leader for project sponsor H2 Realty Team, which seeks to expand its area of influence to the surrounding neighborhoods. The H2 logo features prominently in the center of the repaved basketball court.