Operation Love and Hope hits a home run with new fields at Veterans Park
Professional groundskeepers build big league quality playing surfaces for Swannanoa Valley youth
Fred McCormick
The Valley Echo
November 25, 2024
Nate Fiore presents a home plate signed by everyone who worked on the Operation Love and Hope project, which constructed three new baseball and softball fields in Veterans Park, following Tropical Storm Helene. Photo by Fred McCormick
In the aftermath of Tropical Storm Helene, all that remained in Veterans Park, where hundreds of Swannanoa Valley children play baseball and softball each fall and spring, were piles of debris, river silt and an overwhelming sense of despair and uncertainty regarding the future of youth sports in the complex.
It was replaced with gratitude and celebration, Nov. 24, when Operation Love and Hope, a campaign launched by a team of sports field management professionals, unveiled new fields, ensuring Charles D. Owen Babe Ruth League will play its spring season. Organizers hosted scores of area residents for a smoked turkey meal to commemorate the project, which included grounds crews from the Miami Marlins, Pittsburgh Pirates, Asheville Tourists, Winston-Salem Dash, Hickory Crawdads, Knoxville Smokies, Kannapolis Cannon Ballers, Charlotte Knights and University of Alabama.
The ambitious endeavor to design and install high-end playing surfaces by Thanksgiving in the Town of Black Mountain park, which was severely damaged by flooding from the adjacent Swannanoa River, was announced, Oct. 21, by BioSaphe CEO Don Clark.
“What we wanted to do from the very beginning was build the best youth sports fields in the area,” Clark said. “These fields were built by the best in the business, using the best products in the business.”
Clark and a crew of 17 groundskeepers arrived in Black Mountain, Nov. 21, and began working the following day. They slept on cots in the Grey Eagle Arena, where Owen Babe Ruth volunteers, assisted by Ingles, fed the workers.
“They woke up Friday morning and there was snow on the ground, but they were out here an hour before the sun came up,” said Owen Babe Ruth Treasurer Tyler Atkins. “Just a couple of days later we have three playable fields, which is something that didn’t seem possible just a few weeks ago.”
Operation Love and Hope crews finish work on Field 3 at Veterans Park, where volunteers constructed three new playing surfaces after the facility was destroyed by flooding from Tropical Storm Helene. Photo by Fred McCormick
Local businesses, including Godfrey Grading, CB Land, Trillium Creek Property Enhancement, Gilliam Timber and Land, LLP Construction, Blue Ridge Waterscapes, cleared the land of debris and river wash, creating a “blank canvas” on which to construct new fields, according to Atkins. They removed more than four feet of silt covering the entire complex.
“All of this work was donated, so there was little cost to the league,” he said. “This is such an important gift for the children of this community because now we can start the spring season on schedule next year. We still have to raise money for fencing and other things around the park, but the majority of the work is done, thanks to this crew.”
The construction included laser grading of three clay infields, new outfield sod and installation of home plates. More than two dozen companies contributed to the project, according to Clark.
“I’m so proud of everyone involved in this,” he said. “From the folks who came from as far away as Pennsylvania or Florida, to the (Town of Black Mountain) staff, local volunteers and the Owen Babe Ruth League. Everyone really came together to make this happen for the kids of this community.”
The decision to get involved was easy for University of Alabama Field Manager Jacob Youngblood.
“Any time Don calls we’re willing to help, and once he told me about what they were planning here, I didn’t event hesitate,” he said. “He probably got less than five words out before I said, ‘we’ll be there.’”
Youngblood and his coworker, Andrew Batts, drove from Tuscaloosa to Black Mountain to assist with the work.
“I played baseball all my life, and I met people who I’m still friends with to this day,” Batts said. “When I found out about this I wanted to come here and help in any way I could, because to me it seemed important for these kids who have been through all this to have a place to have fun and be kids.”
Operation Love and Hope crews remove a portable pitchers mound from the shrubbery in Veterans Park, where flooding from Tropical Storm Helene destroyed much of the athletic complex. Professional from the sports field management industry unveiled three new fields, Nov. 24. Photo by Fred McCormick
Asheville Tourists Sports Turf Manager Joey Elmore served as the foreman for the project, filling a crucial role in coordinating the local effort and facilitating deliveries of supplies, according to Clark.
“I wanted to be involved in this because this is home,” Elmore said. “It’s as simple as that; this is home.”
The completion of the first phase of Operation Love and Hope was punctuated by a Thanksgiving lunch, featuring 50 smoked turkeys and side dishes. Nate Fiore, a former Winston-Salem Dash grounds crew member who suggested the project to Clark, presented the Owen Babe Ruth League with a home plate signed by everyone who participated in the project.
“We wanted to give this to you guys as a special thank for the honor and privilege of allowing us to work here,” said Fiore, who arrived in Swannanoa days after the storm to assist residents mucking homes.
Prior to the presentation, he called his experience working on the fields a “magical” one.
“I really feel like so much of this came together just from me happening to be in the right place at the right time,” Fiore said. “I was lucky to meet Josh Parker, who is involved with this league, and when he told me about these fields I thought this was something we could do to help.”
He credited Clark’s network of professionals and the dedication of local residents for building fields local children can be proud of.
Three new fields were unveiled at Veterans Park, Nov. 24, as Operation Love and Hope rebuilt playing surfaces destroyed by Tropical Storm Helene. Photo by Fred McCormick
“The people of the mountains are incredibly resilient, and that’s something we’ve all seen in the months after the storm,” Fiore said. “But, the way the locals came out and worked so hard to get everything ready, how the Town of Black Mountain was so accepting of this idea and the Owen League’s hospitality has made this whole thing something I’ll never forget.”
While there is more work to be done at the facility, the new fields give the nonprofit Owen Babe Ruth League a significant head start on rebuilding the complex, according to Atkins.
“In a lot of ways this project puts us on better footing than ever,” he said. “We now have products on and under the ground that some minor league teams don’t even have.”
The base clay material, provided by Pennsylvania-based Genesis Turfgrass, and DuraEdge infield mix complement the R-19 sod installed in the outfields.
“These materials are as good as you’re going to get, and a huge upgrade over what we had here before,” Atkins said. “They have really increased the value of this park and gave our kids some the nicest playing fields around. We’re so grateful to everyone involved in this.”
Clark fought back emotions as he addressed the scores of local residents who attended the unveiling.
“We know you all have been suffering, but we want you to know we’re all Americans and we’re pulling for you, and we love you,” he said. “We wanted to give you something that would bring you a little hope going into Thanksgiving and Christmas. This is a symbol of our love.”
Owen Babe Ruth will continue its fundraising efforts through Operation Love and Hope. Donations, which will assist with rebuilding the fourth field, installation of fencing and bleachers and renovating the concession stand, can be made at loveandhopenc.com.
“Everyone involved in this project came into it with the idea of giving love and hope to the people of the Swannanoa Valley,” Clark said. “But, in the end, this community gave us love and hope going into the holidays. This is truly an amazing place with amazing people.”