Oxford officials seek wide support for 'fitness court'

Oct. 9—MUNFORD — When the city of Oxford discovered how much it would cost to ship the components of a new concept in outdoor recreation to Choccolocco Park, it could have been a game changer. It could have stopped the project harder than a gymnast's landing.

However, it turned out that the company producing what amounts to a workout playground is located just down the road, in Munford. The owner of Alabama Specialty Products Inc. told city officials he would be happy to just "put them on some flatbed trucks and bring them over."

The story of what's known as a "fitness court" demonstrates how a city's goal of benefiting the public coincided with the passion of a local entrepreneur to build his business.

How it began

Assistant Fire Chief Ben Stewart tells the story of getting notified by the mayor's office of a grant being made available by Blue Cross/Blue Shield's National Fitness Campaign.

"This is something they are trying to get going throughout the entire country," Stewart said. "We were awarded $30,000 toward this project and they actually said Oxford would be a great place for this. In the first meeting we had with them, they already had our parks pulled up and knew more about Oxford than some of us knew about Oxford."

The campaign's research showed Choccolocco Park had all the makings of a great location, noting it had "everything we would like to see in this."

The fitness court

Parks and Recreation Director Don Hudson said the fitness court "puts a little different spin on things" for Choccolocco Park.

"We pride ourselves on offering different recreational activities whether they be active or passive," Hudson said. "This gives you an opportunity to go outside and exercise and be in a place where you already have resources. I've seen people walking and doing exercises on their own."

He said the department used to have exercise stations around Oxford Lake, "but they weren't as sophisticated as this."

Hudson said the fitness court will be something that can be used by "people with special needs, those of the older generations, the young, middle aged, boys and girls."

"This is something anybody can do and might set you into a regular activity that can better your health," Hudson said. "We have had people ask for something like this and we think this is providing that need."

"This is not an Oxford project," Mayor Alton Craft stressed. "This is a regional concept. We want everybody to enjoy the park. It may have been built with Oxford tax dollars, but it's meant for everybody."

Craft added the workout, which is aided by a downloadable app to a phone, takes only seven minutes and is "as strenuous as you want it to be."

"You can't say you're too busy," Craft said.

The flooring of the court will have a pad to soften any spills and "is compatible to any age group," Hudson said. "It's not a hard surface. It's firm enough to have traction."

The railings and rings are constructed with a "cool aluminum" to keep them from getting too hot from sitting out in the sun.

"They even designed the arms and stuff to make sure water didn't puddle up somewhere," Craft added. "They have put a lot of thought into this."

"It was three meetings in with the grant people, we found out these courts were made in Munford," Stewart said. "The national folks didn't realize that. They were focused on Oxford and didn't know this company was in our backyard."

Getting it made

Alabama Specialty Products Inc. (ALSPI) started 43 years ago in the backroom of a laundromat, but it was their successful business "in our backyard" that made them an ideal partner for the Oxford project.

CEO Tim Johnson said the company was born after his Air Force veteran father lost his job at a major company in Louisiana four decades ago.

"Instead of him being a victim, he moved to Alabama, took out a loan to buy equipment and worked in the back of his uncle's laundromat," Johnson said. "We still have the machine he bought."

"Everything that has happened to us is opportunity to build up or build down," he said.

Johnson said the business outgrew the laundromat within the first year and an uncle, who dealt in real estate, lived in the area and led them to the property in Munford.

"My father knew it was near the interstate between Birmingham and Atlanta," he said.

The company now has four divisions — Alabama Laser, Alabama Laser Technologies, Alabama Research and Development and Metal Samples Company — and employs more than 200 people.

"The reason we do a lot of laser fabrication is instead of cutting with a saw, my father decided to invest in a laser — the first actually in the South," Johnson said. "There have been several similar companies within 60 miles that have been born off of our company. We also know this is a big world and the Lord supplies a lot of people and he has."

Fabricating courts

"The person who started this fitness court concept began making them out of wood," Johnson said. "He later saw he could make something more of this that was art and he combined that with his love for fitness and health."

Johnson said the concept's originator was on the internet searching for someone to manufacture the fitness courts and found a company in Georgia. That company, however, could not handle the load.

"That company told them of someone they worked with who could do it for them. They called us and that's how we landed it," Johnson said.

ALSPI has now been making the courts for five years and is on the verge of making five court sets per week.

"One thing in my DNA is you don't turn away work," Johnson said.

He said the courts "are all about people and keeping people safe and it needs to look good."

"I think this rebrands fitness," Johnson said.

Johnson also said the opportunity to help with Oxford's fitness court is another way "we want to be part of our community."

Getting it together

"Even though this is a fitness campaign, the employees there that build this equipment live here and work here," Stewart said. "It is their product that will be on display and they get to show their families, 'This is what I do.' These people live in Oxford, Anniston, Wellborn — it's theirs."

Stewart, who has a background in industry, said the thing that sold him on ALSPI was its above-standard industry rating.

"They have a quality product coming out that's meeting standards," he said.

Sponsors

The total cost of the fitness court is well over $100,000 and, although the City Council has given the go-ahead, the city's health authority is setting up a non-profit fund where people and businesses can donate to aid in the costs not covered by the Blue Cross/Blue Shield grant.

"We are a very blessed city, but we believe people should feel like they have some skin in the game," Craft said. "It causes a pride in ownership and people tend to take better care of the things they own. This is definitely an asset of which I think this region will be proud."

Officials indicated they believe the fitness court will be opened before the end of the year. Those who are interested in becoming sponsors of the space can contact the Oxford mayor's office at 256-831-7510.