SportsEvents is edited for those who plan tournaments or other sports events.
Issue link: https://sportsevents.epubxp.com/i/634578
www.sportseventsmagazine.com January 2016 23 R E C O G N I T I O N I S S U E t Award Winning Parks & Recreation Professionals Much of the sports events industry's success can be atributed to the quality of available sports events venues. SportsEvents readers nominated several parks and recreaton professionals who are taking care not only of their venues but also of the partcipants and rights holders who use them. ASHLEY SMITH, CPRP, CYSA Market Development Director Irmo Chapin Recreation Commission Columbia, SC 2 Years In That Position Weather is an unavoid- able—and uncontrol- lable—element for any parks and recreation professional. But in Ashley Smith's community, the weather did more than create an inconve- nience last year. In October, Columbia expe- rienced a "thousand-year food," where as much as 20 inches of rain led to multiple dam failures, extensive fooding, property loss and even death. However, the Irmo Chapin Recreation Commission utilized one of the city's parks in a unique way to make a positive impact and help residents in their time of need. " One of our parks, Seven Oaks Park, was established as an emergency shelter by the Red Cross and operated as such for around two weeks," Smith says. "We also ran a cloth- ing and food bank for citizens that were afected by the food, accepting donations and distributing to those in need. All ICRC staf pitched in to help, and I feel we came out of it with an even stronger community." The weather afected the ICRC in other ways too, causing construction delays on the completion of new parks. "Although we have no control over the weather, it has had a great impact on our business," he says. "This year seemed to be one of those years in which it rained almost every day. At times we asked ourselves if we were in Columbia, South Carolina or Seattle, Washington. Luckily, the weather did not greatly impact our tourna- ment play, but did impact our facility devel- opment." DENNIS K. HODGES, CPRP Assistant Manager of Parks and Recreation Columbia County Parks and Recreation Grovetown, GA 15 Years In The Business Dennis Hodges uses his extensive experience in the industry to assist with the administration of parks and recreation services in Grovetown, part of the Augusta metropolitan area in northeast Georgia. It's one of the fastest growing counties in the country, so that would present some unique challenges without the help of county leaders. "Over the next three or four years, Columbia County will be spending nearly $60 million ►