Salem Campground will be holding its 182nd meeting from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. July 9 – 16. Those attending the meeting will be delightfully surprised when they see the campground’s new look.
Salem Campground Board of Trustees Chairman Sam Ramsey and his wife Becky have built a brand new picnic and shuffleboard pavilion, in memory of their parents C.D. and Mary Frances Cowan Ramsey and John and Ella Mae Loudermilk Griffin.
During his time as mayor of Covington, Ramsey worked to bring Nyloboard LLC, a new kind of green industry, into the city. Gratefully returning the favor years later, the company has donated some of its decking materials to Salem Campground that will be used to build picnic tables for the new pavilion.
Nyloboard manufactures building material that is engineered completely from recycled carpet fibers. The material strongly resembles and acts like wood, without the pains of mold, mildew, decay, water damage
and termites.
“This is a great example of how local people help their community,” Ramsey said. “The Salem Board of Trustees wants to thank Kevin Guthard, vice president, Stuart Dimery, technical sale manager, Danny Hartman, plant manager, Kimberly Cole, inside sales, David Ballard and Mark Vaughn, production associates, Jermaine McLemore, production supervisor and Danny Shellnut, maintenance manager, for all of their help.”
The company has also previously made several contributions to the local community, including materials for the Porterdale Community Gardens and Rockdale Career Academy.
“We have an open door policy in the company and we’re happy to help out with the community in any way we can,” said Kevin Guthard, vice president of operations of Nyloboard. “Anybody with a project, even something like science fairs, we invite that kind of request and are glad to do it.”
Along with the pavilion, Ramsey also has enhanced the stonework of the famous Salem Springs. Ramsey hired David Ellis, a local masonry installer, to give the spring a beautiful new look.
“David asked me why I chose him and I told him that Wale, Charles and Clifford Ellis of Oxford built my house in 1984 and did a great job and that Elizabeth Ellis of Oxford is one of my favorite cousins, so I knew anyone named Ellis would do a great job,” Ramsey said, smiling. “And he did.”
Founded in 1828, the historic campground was placed on the National Historic Register in 1998. The tabernacle, which still features wood shavings on the floor, is on the national Building Survey of the Library of Congress.
The pavilion will be dedicated on Friday at 6 p.m., the opening night of the 182nd Salem meeting. Dr. Doug Gilreath will have a dedication service followed with a church picnic at the pavilion provided by Covington’s First United Methodist Church. Dr. John Ed Mathison of the United Methodist Church and Dr. David Swanson of First Presbyterian Church will be the featured speakers at the meeting.
For more information, visit salemcampmeeting.org.
