Photo By Sgt. Adena McCluskey | Alabama National Guard staff receives a tour of facilities at GameTime, a commercial...... read more read more
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FORT PAYNE, Ala. – The Alabama National Guard (ALNG) presented GameTime, a commercial playground company with PlayCore, certificates signed by the U.S. Ambassador to Romania, Oct. 24, 2024, for donating playground equipment to Romania as part of the State Partnership Program.
The State Partnership Program is a Department of Defense program that pairs National Guards from the United States with military forces from other countries with the goal of increasing regional security, advancing U.S. interests and improving interoperability.
“With our State Partnership Program, we do a lot of military-to-military engagements, but we also try to get as many businesses as possible to start talking,” said Lt. Col. Chuck Dillbeck, former ALNG Bilateral Affairs Officer for Romania. “Those ties make for a stronger partnership because there is more skin in the game.”
GameTime builds commercial playgrounds, custom play spaces and outdoor fitness equipment under the umbrella of PlayCore, a purpose-driven health and wellness-focused company.
Dillbeck explained how the project to build playgrounds in Romania sparked so much interest in the community that it was a key topic for discussion among Romanian leaders.
“There’s a lot of things that had to happen for all of this to come together,” said Justin Manning, GameTime Director of Design. “There was a lot of logistics and learning between us and the military to coordinate.”
Due to size, materials needed to be transported on a C-17 Globemaster III, a large and flexible cargo aircraft. However, securing a C-17 required an extensive approval process through the Denton Humanitarian Assistance Program.
“There was a lot of extra paperwork GameTime had to do that wasn’t a part of their job, and they did it out of the goodness of their hearts,” said Dillbeck.
GameTime employees said they didn’t think twice about the extra work.
“The end result is what makes it all worthwhile,” said Wendy Cooper, GameTime Customer Service Director. “It’s why we do what we do.”
The city of Făgăraș and the village of Merghindeal in Romania received playground equipment sets from GameTime to install for children at the local kindergartens as well as for the community to enjoy.
“One of the great things about GameTime is that it is community-oriented, so we do custom playgrounds that fit the needs of the community, which is really rewarding for everyone involved,” said Tim Ballinger, GameTime Project Manager.
According to Dillbeck, children in these areas previously held their playtime on vacant dirt lots or wherever there was space.
“With all of our compliance checks and the way we build, the parents will have peace of mind knowing that they have a safe spot for their kids to play,” said Jerry Wigley, GameTime Shipping Supervisor.
To show appreciation for GameTime’s contributions to the State Partnership Program, the Adjutant General of the Alabama National Guard, Maj. Gen. David Pritchett, presented certificates to the GameTime staff who helped facilitate the project.
“Partnerships is one of my main focuses, so we really appreciate GameTime’s efforts,” said Pritchett. “We know the Romanians do as well because their kids will have a lot of great times thanks to them.”
| Date Taken: | 10.24.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 11.07.2024 15:32 |
| Story ID: | 484875 |
| Location: | FORT PAYNE, ALABAMA, US |
| Web Views: | 18 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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