Saturday, March 29, 2008

Highway 80 West



In a few minutes I'll be driving down highway 80 from Montgomery Alabama, through Selma - first to Newbern, Alabama - World Headquarters for AU Rural Studio, then to Greensboro, Alabama. Highway 80 is best known as the The Selma to Montgomery National Voting Rights Trail.


Today is the grand opening of Phase II and Phase III of Lions Park in Greensboro, Alabama.

Phase II is a theses project by AU Rural Studio architecture students Mark Dempsey, Russ Gibbs, Pamela Raetz, and Adam Kent. They built amazing public restrooms using sustainable materials and fabricated a device to direct the gutter water into culverts for use in the bathrooms. The bathrooms have the most amazing concrete sink - designed and built by these students. Can you tell I love these students and think they ROCK! Their BLOG is a must read.

Phase III is a theses project by AU Rural Studio architecture students Joey Aplin, Lindsey Butler, Adam Woodward, and Anthony Vu. They are known as the Lions Park Surfaces Team. Their job was to take the original site plan designed by Lions Park Phase I, and complete the “Surface, Edge, Entry, Signage” It evolved into a landscape project and the manipulation of the surface treatments within the park. It is beautiful, and has - quote me on this! - "The coolest signs in the world!" I WILL post a picture when I get back. Their BLOG is amazing and detailed and its first entry is fall 2006! All eight of these young people have devoted two years - one year after they graduated - to these projects and the people of Greensboro, Alabama.

Phase III's most exciting recent news is that we received a grant from The Tony Hawk Foundation for $25K to include a free public skatepark. I've been working on the final paperwork all week.

This is what I love about my job - I get to work with and around creative and talented young people who use their knowledge and skills to make the world (West Alabama) a better place.

I'll be donning my Greensboro Allstars game shirt complete with DENNEY on the back that was given to me at the opening of Phase I. Most of Phase I was paid for by a grant from Baseball Tomorrow Fund.

We're expecting 300+ people today - I can't wait to let you know how it goes.

2 comments:

Eleanor said...

This is all just awesome, Melissa! Your pride in your "product" just shines through.

What a beautiful day you had for this, too! (At least I HOPE you had the sort of weather we did..)

Cheesecake Maven said...

You have one of the BEST jobs in the whole world!! The Rural Studio is a great humanitarian effort for a great state! Keep up the fine work!