Werk Force Brewing, Plainfield Park District Win Award For Partnership

Press release from the Plainfield Park District:

PLAINFIELD, IL — The Plainfield Park District announced today that Werk Force Brewing Co. is the recipient of the Illinois Association of Park Districts’ (IAPD) Best Partnership Award. Werk Force and the Park District will be honored at the IAPD’s Best of the Best Awards Gala on October 9 at Chevy Chase Country Club.

Werk Force has a storied history of collaborating with the Plainfield Park District.

When the Plainfield Park District’s Disc Golf Course at Avery Preserve was renovated in 2016, an abundance of local volunteers stepped up to help remove brush, clear paths and eliminate woody overgrowth. Among those leading the effort was local brewery owner Brandon Wright, who opened Werk Force Brewing in Plainfield in 2014.An avid disc golfer and longtime community supporter, Wright was familiar with the local courses and saw an opportunity to help restore Avery Preserve to a playable condition.

“Avery Preserve at that time was in very, very rough shape,” Wright said. “So I reached out to the Park District to see how Werk Force could help raise money to fix the course up. We ended up doing a beer to raise awareness and then reached out to local disc golfers to set up a few course clean-up days. We had a great turnout, and we cleaned up the course and got it back to a playable state again.”

That initial collaboration established a partnership that would continue to grow.

When the Plainfield Park District opened a new disc golf course at Van Horn Woods West in 2024, Wright once again stepped forward. He helped organize volunteers to spread mulch, remove weeds and prepare the course for the community. Wright also agreed to brew a collaborative beer with the Park District, with a portion of the sales donated back to support disc golf maintenance, repairs and improvements. The beer was aptly named “For the Love of Disc Golf.”

The following year, the partnership continued with a second collaborative beer, “Van Horn Hefe.” Through portions of the proceeds from the two collaborations in 2024 and 2025, Werk Force has contributed more than $2,400 toward the continued maintenance, repair and improvement of the Park District’s disc golf courses.

“From Day 1 of starting our business, Amanda (wife and co-owner) and I always had the mentality of, ‘It takes a Village’ to help support and grow,” Wright said. “We know that it’s our duty to give back to the community that supports us.”

The partnership soon expanded beyond disc golf.

Shortly after the first collaborative beer was introduced in 2024, the Friends of the Plainfield Park District Foundation was seeking a location for its inaugural “Pints for Parks” fundraiser. Werk Force was an obvious choice. The organizations had already established a successful working relationship, and the brewery offered an ideal setting for the event.

In addition to discounting the rental space, Werk Force donated a gift basket for the raffle. The inaugural Pints for Parks event raised more than $6,000 to provide scholarships for Park District participants in need. The second Pints for Parks, held in 2025, raised more than $7,000, bringing the two-year total to more than $13,000. The third annual event is scheduled for November 2026.

The partnership has also produced significant cross-marketing benefits for both organizations. Social media promotion surrounding the first collaborative beer became the Plainfield Park District’s highest-performing social media post ever, reaching 41,614 users and generating 3,459 engagements and 552 likes.

The impact of the relationship extends beyond dollars and social media metrics. Werk Force has helped mobilize volunteers, promote disc golf as a recreational opportunity, support the maintenance and enhancement of Park District courses, raise funds for scholarships, and introduce new audiences to both organizations.

For the Plainfield Park District, the partnership with Werk Force represents what can happen when a local business and a public agency combine their resources, passion and community connections. What began with volunteers restoring an overgrown disc golf course has evolved into a multifaceted partnership supporting recreation, stewardship, fundraising, community engagement and local business.

“We’re huge fans of what the Park District is doing and the investment they are making in the local parks,” Wright said. “Supporting things we love is important to us. Thus, our support for the Plainfield Park District.”

This press release was produced by the Plainfield Park District. The views expressed here are the author’s own.