Number of Ball State Graduates in Delaware County: 11,081, according to Ball State Alumni Center
Address of the Arsenal: 115 South Walnut Street, Muncie, IN 47305
Phone: (765) 702-9188
B.J. McKay had everything he needed in Muncie, until he discovered CrossFit while out on consulting trips.
Instead of waiting for a local gym to offer the program, he decided to start it himself.
McKay is a Ball State alum who graduated in 2002 with a bachelor’s in telecommunications production and in 2004 with a master's in public relations and sports communication.
He and his wife Erica live with their four children in Muncie. McKay works for Advisa, a business management consulting firm based in Carmel and is the owner of the Arsenal, a CrossFit gym in downtown Muncie.
Even though he travels all over the country for his consulting job, McKay said his ties to the community keep him in Muncie .
“The one unifying factor I find why people stay, why people pick a place to live and stay in a place and actually really engage and fully are part of place is because its community. They get connected with the people that are there and it’s those social circles and relationships that make a place worth staying at,” McKay said. “In Muncie we have such a cool, tight knit place where there’s a lot of opportunity and a really cool community that has a ton to offer.”
Muncie Mayor Dennis Tyler said he wants to encourage more Ball State students to stay in the area after they graduate, and that it’s up to Muncie to provide that encouragement.
“I think the city of Muncie and Ball State and all of us have an obligation to create a quality of place, a quality of life that graduates want to stay in the community,” Tyler said. “II think we’re doing a much better job of that, I’m very excited about the new directions that Muncie is heading.”
Tyler said some of the ways he’s worked to better Muncie is through the public amenities, including the paths and walkways that he’s worked to add during the past few years.
“When I took office in 2012 we didn’t have any bicycle lanes in Muncie. Today we have dozens of miles,” Tyler said. “We’ve also created dozens and dozens of additional miles of walking trails, nature trails, cultural trails in partnerships with our local foundations and the state.”
Tyler said Ball State grads who stay in the area add a lot to the city. He said they draw in millions of dollars of revenue, especially if they start their own businesses, and provide employment for the city. But in his opinion, the most important thing they bring is energy.
“They have such a positive energy, they’re looking forward to life and expanding their opportunities,” Tyler said, “They enjoy volunteering at food banks and at our community centers and at our churches… their energy is infectious.”
McKay became a Muncie business owner after working out with clients at CrossFit gyms during his travels.
“I got into the habit of just working out and going to do CrossFit with clients around the country,” McKay said. “Most of the workouts were two and half hours long, that I would just try to cobble together when I came home and I did this for about three years before the Arsenal was founded. The only place I could not do CrossFit with the community or with a team of people was when I was home.”
CrossFit is a fitness program founded in 2000 by Greg Glassman. Trainees of the program are prepared for any physical situation, through exercises pulled from a variety of sports and training programs.
McKay opened the Arsenal on June 21, 2013, and said he received an overwhelming response.
“We grew from zero to a hundred members faster than any gym that I can find in the entire CrossFit Network,” McKay said. “Muncie’s responded and now we have one of the more successful gyms you’re going to find anywhere.”
McKay said more students should be aware of what Muncie has to offer, in terms of community, employment and location. Ball State, the Ball Memorial Hospital and the proximity to Indianapolis makes Muncie a good place to work, in his opinion.
“Downtown Muncie is almost like living out in a small block of New York City or Chicago. Instead of it being in the middle of a gigantic city, it’s just all by itself. You see people walking at different places and eating at the same restaurants which means you can form relationships because we’re at the same places,” McKay said. “You want to be around the people that fulfill you and in Muncie that’s easy to do, because we’re in a centralized location.”
McKay said the best way for students to learn about what Muncie has to offer is to leave campus.
“One of the first things that you can do that’s relatively easy is basically put on your explorer hat. Leave campus, get a car, get on a bike and just explore and check things out,” McKay said. “The second thing is civic involvement. That connects you with people that are Muncie lovers, the people that live here and understand the city, and it gets you into social circles where you just start learning where things are, what there is to offer, different places to eat and go and see other cool people.”
McKay said he enjoys the sense of community the Arsenal has cultivated and the diversity the company draws in.
“I have people that own companies, doctors and lawyers, and I have people that are my neighbors and workers, all together side-by-side working out, hanging out, sharing stories. They’re all a part of the same team and it’s just really cool,” McKay said. “Now I feel like I’m less of a CEO or owner of a business as much as a steward for a really, really important community in Downtown Muncie.”
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