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| Rippy named president, CEO of Discovery Park of America |
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Posted: Wednesday, March 6, 2013 9:08 pm
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By GLENDA CAUDLE Special Features Editor For a little more than 33 years, Jim Rippy insured people, real estate and possessions, becoming chief executive officer of the consistently expanding and successful Westan Insurance Co. As of Jan. 1, his emphasis has changed and he’s now busy ensuring success. His particular focus is on Discovery Park of America, a project some initially described as an unattainable reach for the sky. The Union City native has been involved with the project since its inception, but his most recent title — president and chief executive officer — and an on-site office at the 50-acre, multi-million dollar education and entertainment venue place him precisely in the middle of the action on a day-to-day basis. Rippy’s first involvement with the project came when he handed the idea off to a man who has been one of his best friends since childhood, Robert Kirkland. The proposal for extensive commercial development built around a museum of some sort had gained traction with the Obion County Chamber of Commerce and the Obion County Industrial Development Corporation in 2006. The goal was to make the local area a tourist destination. The idea had several backers and generated a lot of enthusiasm, but it soon became apparent it was not a project the organizations could pull together because of funding issues. When Rippy saw the dream fading away, he mentioned it to Kirkland, knowing his interest in exploring new territory and taking on uniquely focused projects. Then the busy executive promptly forgot about it. Kirkland did not, however. In 2007 he came back to his friend and said he had been thinking about the original concept and had some new ideas.
He had in fact, according to Rippy, changed the original vision almost 100 percent and expanded it considerably. Furthermore, he was anxious to get started.
By the fall of that year, the two had a plan in place and were ready to go public with Kirkland’s dream. The goal encompassed a multi-million dollar education and entertainment complex that would attract a large volume of visitors each year. The centerpiece of the layout in Union City’s northwest quadrant would be a building guaranteed to garner attention from miles away. It would eventually be designated Discovery Center. The entire complex would come to be known as Discovery Park of America.
Kirkland brought several ideas to the table early on, including the desire for a truly unique and eye-catching structure to house many of the exhibits and learning opportunities he envisioned the project offering. His most exciting proposal, however, was one which would ultimately shape the adventure in ways no one had considered before.
Rather than allowing experts to decide what would be showcased in the area, Kirkland decided to invite his friends and neighbors to get together and discuss the things they wanted to see displayed. He asked Rippy to oversee the project and named him president of a board of directors. The new job was a volunteer effort Rippy managed to carry out in his spare time in excellent fashion.
To date, more than 200 other locals with volunteer status have been involved in planning DPA’s multiple exciting exhibits. Some of those have moved on to employment opportunities on site as the project has taken shape.
The unique building Kirkland envisioned is nearing exterior completion, thanks to the architectural efforts of Louis Sirianni and his team at E. Verner Johnson and Associates in Boston. Exhibits suggested, researched and shepherded through the acquisition or construction process necessary to make them realities are being put in place on the grounds and in several storage facilities. The interior of Discovery Center is also a beehive of activity as space is readied for an amazing variety of items that will entertain and educate visitors when the doors open in the fall of this year.
Since January, Rippy has been on site and working in his new and very official capacity to make his friend’s dream a reality. He is a volunteer no longer.
“My vision is to complete the project and get it open,” he says. “That’s my job. We need to get up and going and then as we find what people like and what they don’t like, we’ll make changes. We want it to grow every year. Discovery Park can only be successful if it is a place to have events. So we want to get people in here in at least 12 major events a year and 100 or so smaller ones like class reunions, weddings or receptions. Discovery Center will have four rooms for convention use and will be able to handle up to 400 people, with facilities for providing food in Dinosaur Hall.”
Making sure schools, businesses and special events customers will be educated, entertained and well-provided for is essential, Rippy says. The catalog of major draws includes concerts by well-known artists; cookoffs, such as the always-popular barbecue competitions; car and boat shows; and more.
“Major events bring people in,” Rippy says, adding that people who are initially attracted to some free events set on the grounds of Discovery Park may then decide to check out the fascinating exhibits and opportunities available in other areas of the complex.
DPA’s new executive sees his biggest challenge as getting the tourism magnet open and functioning smoothly and then keeping the crowds coming.
Plans call for the park to welcome guests every day but Monday, with Sundays offering a noon opening time and 10 a.m. to be the hour for unlocking doors on other days. Closing times at night will vary, depending on events scheduled to take place. Four holidays — Christmas, Thanksgiving, New Year’s Day and one other — will be quiet times at DPA, but there will be plenty of action both heralding those special times and providing an antidote for post-holiday letdown.
Anticipated attendance is at least 150,000 visitors per year for the full-day venue. A thorough appreciation of what DPA has to offer will actually require two days, according to Rippy. With that guest list in mind, he suggests the area has a need for hotels, sit-down restaurants, RV parks and other entertainment attractions such as a water park and similar family-focused opportunities. Shopping centers should also be a big draw, given the number of visitors expected at DPA, he says.
Efforts to forge alliances with other tourism-based venues such as Reelfoot Lake, Kentucky Lake, the Mississippi River Corridor plan, Columbus-Belmont Park in Kentucky, Casey Jones Village in Jackson and Twin Cities train museum are well under way, and developers of marketing plans are also looking to the University of Tennessee at Martin and Murray State University as locales that could work in partnership with DPA to the benefit of both.
“Jim Rippy has been excited about this project from the beginning and has devoted countless hours to getting the concept to this point. I know my hopes for Discovery Park are resting in good hands as he comes on board full time now. It’s great to be able to share my own goals and my excitement with someone who has already shown such a commitment to the success of the effort. Old friends come in handy in many ways,” says Kirkland.
Having overseen the development and growth of a highly successful insurance business with multiple offices, Rippy is now excited about the opportunity to make an even more thrilling reality of Robert Kirkland’s dreams. Even when those dreams appear to be efforts at reaching for the sky. After all, Rippy need only look outside his office to see a very real “reach for the sky,” in the form of the soaring Discovery Center tower. That eye-catching structure once was nothing more than a gleam in his best friend’s eye. So as far as the Kirkland-Rippy duo is concerned, the sky really is the limit.
Mrs. Caudle may be contacted at glendacaudle @ucmessenger.com.
Published in The Messenger 3.6.13 |
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