In the shade of a newly constructed pavilion, Jasper Mayor David O’Mary looked out over what was once a bare patch of land. That’s now been replaced with fresh mulch and gravel, picnic tables, new swings and a renewed and restriped soccer field.
The new Jasper Centennial Park is the result of a partnership between United Way of Central Alabama (UWCA) and the Jasper community.
“United Way of Central Alabama, thank you for visiting this community. Thank you for making the investment,” O’Mary said. “My commitment, as mayor of this city, is to support usage of the facility and make sure we maintain it in a way that we can all be proud of.”
O’Mary was one of many civic and political leaders present, alongside UWCA staff, at the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Walker County Centennial Park last week.
The Walker County project is the third of six planned parks — one in each of the six counties served by UWCA — set to be renewed or built from scratch to celebrate United Way’s 100 years of service to, and partnership with, communities throughout Central Alabama.
Since May, when work on the park began, more than 200 volunteers pitched in to make the park a reality. That volunteer labor came in many different forms. Drew Langloh, President and CEO of UWCA described the wide variety of people who helped: “We had volunteers of all skill levels,” he said. “We had volunteers who are really good with a rake and a shovel and a wheelbarrow, but we also had folks put up these swing sets and all the playground equipment. O’Neal Steel donated all the metal tubing.”
Additionally, Langloh said, apprentices from two different unions‑‑International Union of Operating Engineers Local 312, the Union IronWorkers Local 92 and United Mine Workers Association District 20—helped put everything together at the park. Drummond Company also helped with finishing touches.
Taking ownership of the project was critical, Langloh said, pointing to the volunteers as well as sponsors of the project, which include the Walker County Chamber of Commerce, Heidelberg Materials, Walker County Recycling and Yorozu Automotive Alabama.
“The whole concept behind this is that it’s a community effort,” Langloh said. “I want to thank hundreds of volunteers who came out and helped put this together and all the sponsors.”
John Martin, Senior Vice President of Resource Development at UWCA, said the park is a “physical manifestation of work that this community does through United Way every single day.”
“We’ll continue to use this park,” Martin said, “and we’ll continue to support the people in our community that rely so heavily, not just on the physical things that we provide, but on the mental healthcare, the interventions for young children and providing for those who are hungry in our community.”
This is the most recent completion of a UWCA Centennial Park. Other parks up and running are in Jefferson and Shelby counties, and work is set to begin in St. Clair County later this year.
Parks not only bring communities together but encourage and enable healthy recreation through playing sports, doing physical activity and spending quality time outdoors. For more information about how United Way supports Community Health and Well-Being across Central Alabama, visit https://www.uwca.org/impact/community-health.
