The organizers of the Shelby Skate Park renewal project at Veterans Park want it to be completed by the end of October after receiving $50,000 from ArcelorMittal Tubular Products.
Skate Ohio nonprofit cofounders B.J. Price and Adam McElroy, who are spearheading the effort to create a new skate park at 160 W. Park Drive, were joined Thursday by executives from ArcelorMittal, who brought with them an oversized check to what Price called "a celebration."
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The revamped skate park will be named for Louis "Louie" W. Beach. Beach died at the plant in January 1995 in an industrial accident while on the job. A plaque in the past was erected on a large rock at the park entrance in memory of Beach by then-Copperweld in 1995.
The weathered, rusty skate park is still standing but soon will be fixed and updated, Price said.
Price said he hopes to build teams and partner with people to make skateboarding an official school sport. He has a lot of plans for helping teens who are not interested in traditional sports such as basketball, baseball and football.
McElroy said he and Price started the project more than a year ago.
"We decided we should be doing something in the community, seeing what we can do," he said. "It kind of started a roll from there."
McElroy said Skate Ohio's goals are to get the skate parks in Richland County updated. The organizers said they partnered with the city of Shelby to get the project going.
Price said the nonprofit wants to get kids involved in skateboarding, make it affordable and give them skateboards and T-shirts.
"It's been a long journey with a lot of shut doors in our faces," he said.
Price said ArcelorMittal listened about getting the skate park back to its glory days.
"And they decided to partner with us," Price said.
Tom Lally, ArcelorMittal plant controller, said he was once a skateboarder.
"When I was a kid, I was on church parking lots. ... I can't tell you how many restaurant parking lots I was chased off of," Lally said. "This would've been really nice for me. It will mean a lot to a lot of people."
Rick Gruver, ArcelorMittal plant manager, said the "Tuby," as the plant is often called, initially built the skate park with some of its own employees developing the idea for one of its employees who lost his life in an industrial accident.
"We get to honor again redo it on behalf of Louie," Gruver said. "His wife and daughters are here, so that's great. I'm blessed to be involved in another community project."
Ed Vore, CEO of ArcelorMittal North American Tubular Products, also attended the event.
He said Price's proposed skate park upgrade really touched everyone at ArcelorMittal and they felt it was important to reinvest in the community.
"It really does reach a population that doesn't always make the front page. ... They need social outlets. This helps them socialize rather than just being keyboard bandits all night or holed up," he said, noting the physical aspects are good but more important is socialization.
"Even though we're a steel tubing company, our business is still people-to-people interaction," Vore said. "If you can't communicate or interact with people, you're not going to be successful. This maybe helps people overcome maybe a little bit of lack of confidence or the things that maybe they're not in the popular group in the school cliques that emerge, and it gives them opportunity to have their own community and success."
lwhitmir@gannett.com
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This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: ArcelorMittal's $50,000 donation will make upgraded Shelby skate park a reality
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