Tools, Teamwork, and Transformation

Business Acumen and Community Efforts Help Drive Park Rebuild

By UNC Asheville

June 19^th, 2024

Standing in a shipping container that has been refurbished into a tool shed, sporting Bulldog Blue and doling out carefully barcoded and itemized tools is Brian Hickey ‘24, a business and accounting major and tools coordinator for the Rebuild Jones Park project.

Jones Park, a playground just over a mile from campus, had been demolished for safety issues. Then the surrounding neighborhood stepped up. The project, led by North Asheville resident David Rodgers, partnered with the original architects, Playgrounds by Leathers, to design the new park and source all the materials, but the equipment gathering and labor were entirely volunteer-led.

“Getting involved in this community finally makes me feel that Asheville is my home. I chose this city as my home a long time ago, but now I really feel it,” Hickey said.

After five days of work and over 1,000 volunteers, the park, now the Candace Pickens Memorial Park, is open to the public.

Brian Hickey, tools coordinator for the Jones Park Renovation project, hands tools to young volunteers. Photo courtesy of Brooke Heaton.

Some of the volunteers were members of the UNC Asheville community, including student athletes from the soccer and swim teams, among others. All were wearing their UNC Asheville gear so they could recognize each other in the crowd. Hickey said he hopes more students get the chance to meaningfully participate in their community.

“This is an avenue where the University can gain more exposure with the local community. We can be a much better positive force for good,” Hickey said.

“The day the crane was there putting the cones on top of the structures, the kids at Jones Elementary were up at the edge of the playground jumping up and down, cheering. There wasn’t a dry eye in the park that day. That's a memory I'm going to carry for the rest of my life and I hope other people get the opportunity.”

A UNC Asheville student and other volunteers help lower tops onto the playground structure. Photo courtesy of Brian Hickey.

Taking the Classroom into the Community

Hickey became involved with the project through the request of his neighbor, but quickly found a way to engage project management skills from his business degree. This project was an experiential learning opportunity, Hickey explained, a chance to put ideas into practice.

“A big part of my educational journey is to learn things by doing,” Hickey said. “Finishing up this degree, taking what I’ve learned, the minutiae I'm getting from the business department and applying it to things that I thought I already knew, has helped me understand the processes better.”

As tools coordinator, Hickey created a spreadsheet of all the tools they had and helped spread the word, asking for tools still needed, updating their inventory as the donations poured in. He meticulously tracked use of every item on work days using a barcode system.

“We had drop-off days, somebody came in and donated 45 pieces of his own personal equipment including circular saws, hand drills, hand saws. It was really miraculous to see,” Hickey said. “We managed to inventory 875 individual tools, but there were definitely more than a thousand items that were in use.”

Brian Hickey, middle left, working on a project for Rider Box as part of a consulting practicuum through the Business Department. Photo courtesy of Rafael Aguilera/UNC Asheville.

Two shipping containers were modified to to be tool sheds for the playground renovation project. Photo courtesy of Brian Hickey.

Using this carefully cataloged inventory, all borrowed tools went back to their original owners and all excess tools were re-donated to the Asheville Tool Library, a non-profit tool rental service. Alex Hooker, a North Asheville resident who co-ran the tool shed with Hickey, is a regular volunteer with Asheville Tool Library, a connection that benefited both the project and the tool library.

“At least 30 brand new drills and impact drivers that built this park are now continuing to serve the Asheville community through the tool library,” Hickey said.

Even after the project was over, Hickey used the data collected from checking tools in and out on work days to do research on the effectiveness of his system and finding ways it could improve.

“Typically, when speaking about accounting, you think of the numbers. How much did this cost or how much are we saving? But accounting also plays into inventory management. How many tools do we have on hand, how many went out, how long did they stay out?” Hickey said. “Looking at what time of day we issued or returned the most tools, and if that will naturally coincide with a shift change or do most tool issues coincide with a certain type of work?”

Brad Bilsky, assistant professor of business, sponsored the research project and Drake Thomas, lecturer in the department of business, assisted with utilizing AI and learning the programming language necessary to complete the project.

UNC Asheville students volunteer their time to rebuilding the playground, which is now the Candace Pickens Memorial Park. Photo courtesy of Brooke Heaton.

Hickey, a non-traditional student, said he came back to get his degree because he wanted to utilize his GI Bill benefits from his time in the Navy, and he felt like he wanted to round out his knowledge of business management.

“Apart from boosting my self confidence, earning a bachelor's degree is proof that I fully realized the investment I made in myself when I enlisted in the Navy,” Hickey said. “The business degree is definitely flexible and accounting is beneficial to understanding how the numbers work to make a business grow.”

Having years of real-world experience under his belt was beneficial not only to him but also to other students in the classroom. He could contribute to discussions and team projects in different ways than traditional students.

“I brought lessons from my entire life to my college experience. My desire to learn more isn’t fueled by a need to be an expert in any one thing but to allow me to see the bigger picture a little more clearly,” Hickey said. “Non-traditional students who have the skills to engage with others — often do so to improve everybody's experience, not just their own.”