Wilco recreation department beginning a brand-new experiment

The tipping point came last September.

It was the opening weekend for football at the Wilkinson County Recreation Department (WCRD) outside of Gordon. All was not well, however. The numbers on the new flag football jerseys already were peeling. Some of the new cheerleader uniforms were still held up in the mail.  Coaches and players were filling up bottles out of a water spigot. The quality of the restrooms wasn’t exactly five-star, to say the least.

The county commission apparently heard enough about it from enough people and subsequently called a meeting with the recreation department board and parents. That meeting led to further discussions, and the county commission ultimately chose to take relatively drastic action, changing the entire structure of the WCRD.

Beginning with this upcoming baseball and softball season, the recreation department essentially will be “volunteer- and parent-led.” 

“It’s the same model that several other communities in this area with successful recreation department programs use, mainly Jones County,” said Commissioner Flint Shepherd. “Any recreation department is only as good as its volunteers and support from the community.”

Catelynn Duncan is leading the volunteer group previously tabbed by the county commission to oversee the recreation department. Duncan still has very fond childhood memories of playing ball at the park as a little girl.

“It was booming back then. So many people in the community were involved,” Duncan said. “That’s what we’re trying to get back to.”

Registration for baseball and softball continues through March 1. There will be two more in-person registration sessions at the ballfields, one this Saturday and another on March 1. The times are 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. for both days. Or, parents and guardians can register their children through an online form, which includes all of the necessary paperwork and fine print. The link to the form can be found on the “Wilkinson County Rec Department” Facebook page.

Duncan has volunteered at the recreation department for the last two years. Now, she and her team of roughly 20 community members are in the process of forming a non-profit organization. A board is being formed, thanks to help from local attorney Donald Roberts. 

Fundraising will be essential. The county government has completely removed “recreation funding” from its budget, although the county government still will cut the grass and provide maintenance at the facility. The county commission previously allocated $100,000 annually for “recreation” and staffed a full-time recreation director. That money is gone and the previous director has been re-assigned, however, and now it’s all on the parents and volunteers.

“A strong recreation department means a strong community,” Duncan said. “We want to bring everybody together and bring back the glory days.”

Anyone interested in donating, becoming a volunteer and/or anything else can text or call Duncan at 478-233-1959 or leave a message on the WCRD Facebook page.