Willard Parks and Recreation | Focal Point Fridays
If you’re a Willard resident (or even a resident of a surrounding community) you likely have benefited from the many services, programs, and events that Willard Parks routinely provides.
The reach that the Parks Department has in our small town is quite impressive, and I’ve found myself wondering on more than one occasion how their team manages to get it all done. Between special events like the upcoming Father & Daughter Dance and the highly anticipated Freedom Fest, to the upkeep of multiple parks (Jackson Street Park, Miller Farm Park, and the Frisco Trailhead) to year-round sports opportunities for our youth, and even special programs like art classes and adult pickleball tournaments.
Knight has an easy answer when it comes to how it’s all done, though.
“My team is fantastic; they make everything happen and it wouldn’t be what it is without them.” Per Jason, his team shows up, works hard, does their best, and most importantly – they care about their Willard neighbors.
That’s no surprise when you see them working 14-hour days leading up to Freedom Fest, putting on unique events monthly, and pouring into the youth who attend special camps or play one of the four sports offered throughout the year – but it was again apparent to me that this was true when I drove by the embankment facing Jackson Street earlier this week. My toddlers looked out the window in amazement, and asked, “why those people had fire backpacks.” When I looked, I saw Knight and Guinn themselves out working on a controlled burn. Later I learned it was to plant wildflowers this spring.
Knight has been with the department since 2013 in an official capacity but completed his practicum with the department in 2009 while he completed his degree in Recreation, Sport, and Park Administration from Missouri State University.
When asked what his favorite part of the Willard community was, Knight took a long pause. He laughed and said there were so many – it was taking him a minute to narrow it down. Finally, he shared that above everything else, the best part of our small town is that regardless of what’s going on, people show up and show out for the rest of the community and will show up for their neighbors.
A great example of this can be seen when you drive by Jackson Street Park and see the work on the Better Together Playground. The playground is officially underway after meeting the fundraising goal of $700k. Funds were raised by a combination of grants, federal funding, and funding from community donors. Alongside donations from community members, the community has continued to step up while construction is underway. All the dirt work has been donated, and Conco Quarries has donated towards construction as well.
The crew at the Parks Department are a wonderful group of people who care deeply about our community – and it would be easy to keep writing about everything they do – but for now we’ll leave it here.
To read more about what’s on the horizon for the Parks and Rec Department, click here: https://www.willardparks.com/
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