Groundbreaking EXPLORE

I cannot be more excited for the city of Hoover and the entire Birmingham area. It was such an honor to be among those involved with the groundbreaking ceremony for the EXPLORE Playground & Splash Pad that will be a part of the Hoover Met Complex. A 100% completely accessible park for all - children/parents that may have disabilities, they don’t have to worry about any of that here. They just have fun.

And that’s just such a wonderful thing. It was so powerful to hear from Mary Allison Cook, a parent who uses a wheelchair tell her story of how every day, she has to plan because with her disability, not everything is always available to her - from restaurants to restrooms. And after becoming a mother, she realized that she would need to do the same when it came to taking her child to a place to play. She - and parents and children in the same situation - don’t have to worry about being left out with no place to go. I think that kind of stuff really matters.

There is plenty of name dropping and thanks to all involved, but this article does that better than I could. I just want to say that I’m humbled to have played a small part, and that I’m grateful we could get it done. In the meantime, enjoy the pictures.