(The Pierce County Recreation Board discussed and/or voted on the following during their monthly meeting Tuesday, September 3.)
Fall sports: Recreation Director Maureen Brown gave a report on fall sports programs. The recreation department currently has 174 participants in football, 141 in soccer, 74 in volleyball and 40 in cheerleading. Coach Brown said all the numbers are down slightly from 2023 season, with the most dramatic decrease in volleyball. The number of participants declined by 55 compared to last year. Coach Brown said the reason for the decline is due the season starting later last year, rules and regulations related to district and state all-star participation and age requirements for students at the middle school level. Brown said opening date for all sports was slated for yesterday, September 10. She announced plans for a joint tournament with Pierce, Brantley and McIntosh Counties for October 12.
Expansion project: Chairman Johnny Thigpen Jr. announced there have been no developments on the recreation department’s proposed expansion project. Planning for the expansion is currently underway. Brown said she hears lots of positive feedback about the expansion project. Board member Timothy Griffis echoed that statement. Griffis shared with board members feedback from a citizen highlighting the City of Suwannee’s facilities, built in 2022. The facility includes an archway highlighting the community’s trophies won during the recreation competitions. Griffis said a citizen asked the recreation board to consider a similar feature in Pierce County’s park.
Security at recreation events: Board members asked Brown if she has made arrangements for security to be present at all times during recreation events. Brown said law enforcement is present at all recreation events, though they may come and go at times. Thigpen expressed his desire to have security in place at all times as a deterrent to bad behavior.
Volleyball participation: Thigpen asked Brown to consider new alternatives to build the numbers for the volleyball program. “I would rather have kids participating in the volleyball program than winning district or state all star competitions,” he said. Board member Barrett Boatright suggested having a volleyball season in between winter and spring sports to build participation.
Coaching and umpire clinics: Brown announced that coaching and umpire clinics were recently held for the recreation departments programs. Coach Clint Hodges conducted the football clinic, Coach Hilton conducted the soccer clinic, Coach Robbie Spires conducted the volleyball clinic and Jason Bradley, Mitch Hall and Reese Turner conducted the umpire clinics.
Board member information packets: Fourth district commissioner David Lowman suggested from the gallery that Brown provide all board members with an information packet covering all items to be discussed at recreation board meetings. Lowman said providing board members with the packets would help them be better informed and would improve the flow and speed of board meetings.
Next meeting: The next monthly meeting will be held at 8 a.m. Tuesday, October 1, at the Southeast Georgia Regional Agriculture Center (SEGARAC) on College Avenue.
