By T. Scott Boatright
The 10-year dream of building a 20,000 square foot skatepark in Ruston tic-taced closer to soon become reality with the announcement of a $50,000 grant during a Thursday press conference at Railroad Park.
“This is a really generous grant that the T-Mobile Hometown grant program is awarding to the city of Ruston to help fund the building of the skatepark,” said Louisiana Tech School of Design Associate Professor and President of the Friends of Ruston Skatepark Tom Futrell. “The skatepark embodies what the collaborative community really hopes for. T-Mobil’s investing in community development projects like the Ruston Skatepark highlights their dedication to our community and the communities like us that they serve.
“The skatepark will be more than just a place to have fun, although I suspect we will have some fun there, too. It is going to be a place to develop friendships, it’s going to be a place to gather in the community, it’s going to give a sense of adventure all the folks who engage in it and it’s really going to be a place nobody the idea of the spirit of Ruston and the vibrant spirit we have in this community.”
Joey Slaughter, a Louisiana Tech University art professor and executive director for Friends of Ruston Skatepark, said the facility will also bring learning lessons to those using it.
“I’m certain that if I wasn’t skateboarding every day as a kid, I wouldn’t be a professor of art,” Slaughter said. “For me, learning to fall and get back up is an important part of teaching confidence and discipline. The idea of turning the Ruston Municipal Pool into a skatepark started in 2015. We wanted to give Ruston a safe place for skaters to skate and to be creative.
“The last nine years have been eventful in Ruston with, as you know, the tornadoes, hurricanes and COVID, etc., etic., and inflation, which has affected this project. So, to receive this grant is a major milestone for our project.”
Slaughter said the plans for the skatepark were updated last year.
“We have a great design we’re very proud of and we’re ready to get started on it and this grant is going to help us do that,” Slaughter said. “So, we appreciate the journey we have been on. Some of you were little kids when we started this project and you are still with us. So, thank you.”
Christine Lynn, Small Town Rural America Senior Area Sales Manager at T-Mobile, thanked T-Mobile Market Manager Dee Mathews, who handles north Louisiana for the company, and Ruston office manager Kayla Cumby before she and Mathews presented the check to Ruston Mayor Ronny Walker.
“I want to put things into perspective,” Lynn said. “Ruston was one of 800 cities that applied for the grant and you guys were one of 25 projects chosen for the grant. So, congratulations to you all.
“We will make the commitment that once the skatepark opens we will open and come back and have some fun. I do not know if I will be able to move afterwards, but we’re ready to see it come up and come to fruition.”
The $50,000 T-Mobile Hometown grant puts the funding for the project right at the $1.3 million estimated to be needed to complete the project.
Other funding is a $10,000 pledge from Jonesboro State Bank, a $250,000 donation from the Friends of Ruston Skatepark, and $525,000 (amounts of $400,000 and $125,000) from the State of Louisiana General Fund,
“This (the T-Mobile grant) is yet another great partnership involving the city of Ruston, the State of Louisiana, multiple community groups and local businesses,” said Mayor Ronny Walker. “We appreciate T-Mobile being a part of this worthwhile project.”
T-Mobile has provided more than $13 million in Hometown Grants since it kicked off its five-year commitment to small towns and rural communities in April 2021. To date, Hometown Grants has created more than 78,000 volunteer hours, rallying people to come together and uplift their towns.
“Hometown Grants is T-Mobile’s way of giving people in small towns a chance to build a more resilient future, and it’s incredibly inspiring to see the impact it’s had on 300 communities knowing there’s many more to come,” said Jon Freier, President, Consumer Group, T-Mobile. “When we started this program three years ago, we knew it had the power to make a difference, but to see so many people come together for their towns is truly extraordinary.”
