ometimes an opportunity comes along — even one that seems completely off the charts — and you just have to take it even if you are in the middle of a once-in-a-lifetime pandemic that has severely threatened your business. That is what Kim Hubbard, CERP, owner, Unforgettable Event Planning and Party Rental, Altus, Okla., discovered.
It was July — what should have been an extremely busy time for Hubbard’s rental business with the rental of tents and all the accessories for weddings, family reunions and other events. Because of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, almost all of those events that had been on the books had been canceled.
Photo courtesy of Unforgettable Event Planning and Party Rental
Photo courtesy of Unforgettable Event Planning and Party Rental»
At that time, a man in her town declared that he planned to purchase an older amusement park that had been a staple of the community in years past and which now shared a fence line with a large campground resort she had purchased and turned into rental space for her clients a year earlier. He said his intent was to turn it into an adult marijuana recreational area.
Well, Hubbard wasn’t keen on that idea. She didn’t think it was what her community needed, especially when everyone was cooped up at home and craving some fun outdoor activities.
“Right after that conversation, I went to the owner and bought the entire 26 acres that day. That was in July. We closed on Aug. 24,” she says.
Hubbard, who also serves as a firefighter with the Altus Air Force Base Fire Department, is no stranger to identifying community needs and taking steps to address them. She started the town’s Comic-Con-style event, the Altus Pop Expo, because she noticed that there weren’t enough fun activities for youth, families and other members of her small farming community. The first event took place in her newly purchased 4,200-sq.-ft. building, which is about a mile from her rental business.
Then, last year, she purchased a Christian family campground, complete with two large buildings, one that includes sleeping quarters, an auditorium and a dining room with a full commercial kitchen — a perfect venue for group gatherings and family reunions. The other building includes two large rooms that could serve as venues for parties and smaller receptions.
Even with these past purchases, Hubbard didn’t foresee herself owning an amusement park that had seen its heyday in the 1950s and 1960s.
“The newest piece of equipment at the park was built in 1947. It has go-karts, bumper cars, a Ferris wheel that was built in 1908, a tilt-a-whirl that was built in 1914 and some really cool old rides that are still functional. It has RV spaces, a waterslide and water park, and a racetrack with a stadium. The stadium will seat between 750 and 1,000 people. It has concrete stairs and seating. We even have a donkey and deer who call the park home. In its prime, it was known as Quartz Mountain Fun Park. We even have photos of Minnie Pearl [a mainstay for years at the Grand Ole Opry] performing there. It has a real nostalgia and was well-known in our area,” she says.
“I want to restore it to its original glory and let people rent it,” she adds. “All of the rides have been approved to use by the state, but I want to do more maintenance on some of the rides before we make them available.”
This purchase might have been a true leap of faith and stretch for the company, but Hubbard is glad she took the plunge. The venue, in fact, already has generated $30,000 in revenue.
“We have had people rent it for birthday parties. We did a walk-through haunted park for Halloween weekend. This gives people something to do safely outside. I have my team wipe down every ride and touchpoint after each use,” she says.
So even though Hubbard never dreamed she would have an amusement park as part of her rental inventory, she is grateful to have seized the chance when it presented itself.
“You just have to be open to those opportunities. You never know where or when they will come,” she says.