Page 24 - mch0417_Magazine

MWR Photo Credit: Cindy Macdonald, MWR, SUBASE Kings Bay.

The CRAB

A Hit at Kings Bay

he new Community Recreation
Activities Building (CRAB) at
TNSB Kings Bay, Ga., is a young
child’s dream.
The CRAB, as it is known in the
community, is home to a large indoor
playground, bounce houses, a craft
room, movie room, party rooms and
children’s library. For adults, there is
a coffee space serving Starbucks, and
a snack bar.
An indoor playground is something
that the folks at Morale, Welfare and
Recreation (MWR) had wanted to have
for some time. “We did an outdoor play-
ground project,” said Bo Hutchens,
operations director. “We had a large
community following that used it, but
being in Southeast Georgia, there were
simply times when it was too hot, too Photo Credit, Chris Hesling, MWR, SUBASE Kings Bay
buggy or too cold to use the playground,
so we always had this wish of putting
in an indoor playground somewhere.”
That playground, Under the Pines Play Park, drew a lot wanted to
of members of the young military families on base. “When see in the
we put that one playground in, it just went crazy,” said MWR space. “We
Director Bob Spinnenweber. “It is a large playground. With started doing a lot of research of outside agencies and busi-
all of the factors we wanted a space for indoor recreation. nesses that had indoor playgrounds and what they do there,”
We were also looking at trends in indoor playgrounds. All said Spinnenweber. “Understanding our population, we did
we needed was a space.” a lot of market analysis on where they would take their kids
Then, luckily for MWR, the resource center on base was outside the gate in rural Southeast Georgia for a birthday party.”
closing. “It used to be the old base library, but it was the re- Parents had to drive long distances to find a good party
source center,” he said. “It was really like this building that place. “We are in a community of about 50,000 in Camden
fell into our lap was the perfect space for it.” County, Ga., and about 30,000 have ties, whether they are
MWR did a great deal of research on exactly what they military, retired military, contractors or civilians that work

24 MILITARY CLUB & HOSPITALITY | APRIL 2017