Alex Colson
Alex Colson was a friend to everyone. He spent time with his friends and was a mentor to younger kids, but above all, he welcomed anyone whose path crossed his.
Last August, he died in a hiking accident at Hocking Hills, leaving an impossible-to-fill hole in many hearts. A few days later, a petition was started to build a skate park in New Albany in Alex’s name. Today that petition has more than 2,000 signatures and a committee of 50-plus members to back it up – proof of how special Alex was, and the impact he’s made on the community.
The Alex Colson Skate Park Committee
Committee members (left to right) Mitchell Neff, Gavin Williams, Alex Shroyer, Cameron Jones and Evan Monroe.
It all started with the online petition. Colson’s friend and fellow skateboarder, Julius Perez, created it on a Sunday night and by Monday morning everyone was talking about it. From there, it snowballed into the movement it is today.
From the first meeting of a few friends gathered around a kitchen table to monthly meetings in the community room at New Albany Intermediate School, the committee has been hard at work. Each month or when possible, they meet to go over updates, talk about their efforts and figure out what to do next.
At any given meeting, at least seven adults and twice as many teens are present and contributing passionately to the conversation.
In March, the committee met and talked about how important it is to commemorate their friend.
“Having the skate park in Alex’s name is a symbol of his passion and determination and who he was as a person. This is letting that live on in his community,” says Chloe Delma, a committee member. “He wasn’t just a boy who was skateboarding, he was the kid who was skateboarding.”
“It’s hard to put into words just how impactful Alex was and how much better he made my life,” says Tyler Yee, a committee member. “It would be really cool for people to be like, ‘Wanna go to the Colson later?’”
Alex’s classmate and close friend Cameron Kisiel says it’s about remembering and honoring their friend.
“He was deprived of the rest of his life,” he says. “This is the least we can do to commemorate him.”
The committee isn’t just students, though. Some of the parents are involved and talk about how important it is for New Albany to have a skate park.
“As a parent I think it’s important to have a safer place, a designated place, for the kids to go to skate,” says Melissa Patterson. “It’s an individual sport where they compete at their own pace. And, it gets them outside.”
Many young, local skaters wouldn’t have to travel out of town to skate and the new area could be a place to hang out.
“There are more and more people skateboarding,” Yee says. “We’re just trying to do our thing and have a safe place to do it.”
New Albany’s Skaters
The day after Colson died, local skateboarders got together to remember their friend.
Everyone has seen them outside, in the neighborhoods, on the streets and in the parking lots: the skateboarders. Don’t let stereotypes from the ’90s fool you, though. These kids are nothing like the troublemakers that Hollywood paints them to be.
“If anything, skateboarding is helping people take better care of their mental and physical health,” Yee says. “It’s an outlet to turn all the stress into something more positive.”
New Albany’s skateboarders are a resilient group of dedicated kids who love spending time outside and see skateboarding as both an outlet for stress and as an art form. These athletes get a lot out of the sport: balance, dedication, resilience and goal setting.
“It takes just as much as a musician or a football player,” Perez says.
The local skating community is as diverse as it is welcoming.
“It doesn’t matter; BMX, scooters, skateboarding, everyone’s in it. It’s not just a skateboarder helping a skateboarder, it’s everyone,” says Alex Shroyer, another skater and committee member.
The Alex Colson Skate Park Committee is dedicated to encompassing Colson’s genuine and accepting spirit by making the park accessible to everyone. This means building a park that’s welcome to all ages and skaters, including WCMX, or wheelchair motorcross, skaters.
“There’s no great wheelchair-accessible skate parks in the area,” says Karyn Hasler, a parent and committee member. “We want to be all-inclusive, just like Alex was.”
The skateboarders and young adults of New Albany are working on solidifying a location, and quickly. More and more parking lots are putting up strict no skateboarding signs, and some people aren’t happy to see the kids skating in their neighborhood.
“A skate park in New Albany would get us out of their hair a bit,” says Perez. “There’s a lot of places for younger kids to go have fun, but a lack of places for teenagers and young adults. If we had a place to go, it would help with the community.”
In the past few years, a number of communities around Columbus have built skate parks and seen great success from them. New Albany strives to be an active and engaged community and a skate park is working to be the next agenda topic.
How Can You Help?
- Donate to the skate park committee by dropping some coins in the donation jars around the city, or visit its Gofundme at www.gofundme.com/f/alex-colson-skate park.
- Give time, resources or expertise by contacting the committee through its social media: Instagram @acskatepark and Facebook at Alex Colson Skate Park.
- Check out Alex Colson Skate Park merchandise like custom sweatshirts and wristbands, also on its social media.
- And, of course, join the committee!
Sarah Robinson is an editorial assistant. Feedback welcome at feedback@cityscenemediagroup.com.
