{"id":15165,"date":"2025-02-06T17:28:44","date_gmt":"2025-02-06T17:28:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/?p=15165"},"modified":"2025-02-06T17:28:44","modified_gmt":"2025-02-06T17:28:44","slug":"the-superior-made-rv-resort-is-opening-this-spring","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/2025\/02\/06\/the-superior-made-rv-resort-is-opening-this-spring\/","title":{"rendered":"The Superior Made RV Resort Is Opening This Spring"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"By Fletcher Word<\/em>
\nThe Truth Editor<\/em><\/p>\n

Nathan and Alicia Lawson recently purchased the former Big Sandy Campground in Swanton, OH and for the nearly 175 individuals or families who are renting lots in what will become the Superior Made RV Resort, the changes that the Lawsons are planning will enhance the camping experience enormously.<\/p>\n

The Lawsons completed their purchase of the Big Sandy in December but they are not new to campground ownership and management. The longtime Toledo residents \u2013 Macomber and Woodward graduates, respectively \u2013 first became involved in the campground business back in 2019 when they purchased a campground in Talladega, Alabama and turned it around over the next few years \u2013 using their sales and marketing expertise to increasing membership opportunities; cleaning and upgrading the 20-acre site and transforming an eyesore into a neighborhood gem.<\/p>\n

They sold the Talledega business several years ago in order to return home and begin the search for a similar property close to Toledo. They eventually found just the right site after getting in touch with now-State Rep. Erika White, who brought them together with Shanda Gore, EdD, CEO of Mays and Associates, Ltd, who then put them in touch with Dave Zenk, executive director of Metroparks Toledo. Metroparks and the Lawsons teamed up to acquire the property that Big Sandy was part of.<\/p>\n

The Lawsons\u2019 entrepreneurial adventures began in earnest in 2008 during the Great Recession\u2019s housing bust. Nathan, a former truck driver, and Alicia, a former pharmaceutical rep, began buying rental properties \u2026 and it went well. After about a half dozen years of buying and managing their properties, they decided that it was time for another adventure, an adventure that might require a bit less hands-on caretaking.<\/p>\n

As Alicia recalls, they settled on the notion that a campground would be an ideal purchase and management experience and they laid out four criteria as they began their search. First, they wanted an area of between 15 and 20 acres; then, they wanted something in the South because they were looking for more sunny days; the space should be no more than five miles from the nearest interstate highway and it should be affordable enough that they could pay for it in cash and avoid taking on too much debt.<\/p>\n

After putting out the word, their contacts eventually pointed them in the direction of Talledega, Alabama, not a place they were familiar with, nor a state either had ever even visited. Eventually they came around and took on the challenge of building a campground business just off the Interstate 20 and, by chance, just across the street from a NASCAR racetrack event site. The Time Away RV Resort was off and running.<\/p>\n

However, after about three years living in Alabama in their own upscale RV and turning their campground into a profitable venture, the Lawsons decided it was time to return home. For one thing the sun was \u2026 well, a bit too much sun in the Alabama summers. In addition a \u00a0family illness provided an incentive to return. \u201cWe\u2019ve got to go home,\u201d they said.<\/p>\n

The Lawsons returned to Toledo and made an investment in three downtown buildings and a parking lot, which they turned over to their daughters, Arlinda Self and ShirleyAnn Lawson-Roland, to run. (See The Sojourner\u2019s Truth, August 23, 2023 at thetruthtoledo.com) And they looked for another campground \u2013 this one to be named Superior Made RV Resort.<\/p>\n

Clearly the Lawsons have taken an entrepreneurial route atypical of the path most Black investors take. Campgrounds are not only NOT typical investments for the Black community, they are also NOT the types of recreational activities that many Black vacationers partake of. This fact, of course, is not lost on the Lawsons.<\/p>\n

Having invested in a campground in Alabama and across from a NASCAR racetrack at that, the Lawsons spent their time working with a mostly white clientele, while trying to increase the Black campground audience as well.<\/p>\n

They will try to replicate that effort in Swanton but they realize that Superior Made RV Resort will remain a primarily white recreational experience. But they also hope and expect that through their marketing efforts and their ability to provide a welcoming experience that future visitors will include an increasing number of campers of color.<\/p>\n

However, every visitor and camper will be able to take advantage of the Resort\u2019s partnership with Metroparks. The connection with Oak Openings will enable campers to have access to over 5,000 acres of nature and outdoor recreation.<\/p>\n

Contact Superior Made RV Resort at 567-457-4930<\/em><\/p>\n

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 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Fletcher Word The Truth Editor Nathan and Alicia Lawson recently purchased the former Big Sandy Campground in Swanton, OH and for the nearly 175 individuals or families who are renting lots in what will become the Superior Made RV Resort, the changes that the Lawsons are planning will enhance the camping experience enormously. The […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":15167,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,21],"tags":[],"wf_post_folders":[279,23],"class_list":["post-15165","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-economy","category-cover_story"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15165","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15165"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15165\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15168,"href":"http:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15165\/revisions\/15168"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15167"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15165"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15165"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15165"},{"taxonomy":"wf_post_folders","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wf_post_folders?post=15165"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}