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PrintA Step in the Right Direction
Lucy Adams
On any given weekend, Stacie Adkins can be found in the bleachers at a baseball tournament, on the sidelines of a soccer game or court side at a basketball game. Her four children, Caroline, 16, Ben, 13, Will, 11, and Jackson, 10, keep her plenty busy. If she’s not cheering them on, she’s supporting her husband, Trevor, in his coaching efforts with the Columbia County Chaos, a travel league baseball team, or she’s encouraging one of her nieces or nephews in an athletic endeavor. But she also carves out a little recreation time of her own, competing alongside Trevor on co-ed softball and volleyball teams and against him on the tennis courts.
Adkins grew up with four sisters in a very competitive family. Richmond County’s Fleming Athletic Complex was across the street from her childhood home. “Our front yard was a ball field,” she laughingly remembers. Her parents, also athletically inclined, coached many of their daughters’ recreation teams. The five sisters all played basketball and softball for Butler High School. In fact, for the longest time, Adkins thought every kid in America spent their spare hours outside of school on a sports field or court of some kind. It comes as no surprise that leisure time well spent is a priority for her and her family.
She takes this personal priority to work with her every day as the manager of Columbia County’s Recreation and Events Department. “I recognize the importance of recreation,” she says. “It’s a quality of life component. It’s important for a community to offer these kinds of services.” With a marketing degree from Augusta State University, she first brought her talents to the county in the special events division. During her 10 years of implementing the county’s community events, offerings grew from about 12 functions each year to approximately 31.
In January of this year, when long-time recreation department director Charlie Beale’s retirement opened a door to new possibilities, the decision was made to name Adkins as the interim manager of that department while she continued in her role on the community events side of leisure services. By May, the advantages, primarily economic, of merging the two departments under one manager became clear. Adkins was hired to head up the newly formed Recreation and Events Department. She’s aware that the combination of tasks may require some juggling and straightening of kinks. Adkins says, “My personal challenge is probably managing time for both. For years, my sole responsibility was just events, so now I am learning to readjust my time and learning to give up some tasks I was accustomed to doing.”
One of the first major community events Adkins will oversee in her redesigned position is the dedication of the 5,000-seat amphitheater and stage at Evans Town Center Park. On October 28, Lady Antebellum, for whom the amphitheater is named, will perform. Group members Charles Kelley and Dave Haywood grew up in Columbia County and graduated from Lakeside High School. Even though this is home for the boys of Lady A, bringing an act of this caliber to the stage requires behind the scenes orchestrating beyond simply selling tickets.The recently completed Evans Town Center Park not only provides a venue to attract top entertainment talent, but it also boasts amenities citizens can use and enjoy day-to-day, year-round. Grassy lawns invite pick-up ultimate Frisbee contests, games of catch between parent and child or a relaxing respite on a blanket under a blue sky. Picnic shelters are the perfect places for small or large gatherings and a dog park makes it possible for the family pet to join in the fun. There’s even a splash pad to help kill the heat on hot Southern summer days.
Or folks could enjoy an afternoon or a weekend at Wildwood Park on the lake. “The lake is a special asset for the county,” says Adkins, noting its economic impact through its draw of several national fishing tournaments each year. The mega-ramp system allows for the launching of several boats at one time making Wildwood Park an ideal location to stage major competitions. As a result, Columbia County’s economy benefits from the use of local hotels, dining establishments and retail stores.
Wildwood Park is more than a place to fish, though many local tournaments are hosted there each year as well. It’s also the home of the International Disc Golf Center and Hall of Fame. Disc golf enthusiasts can play one of the three Wildwood courses or the course at Patriots Park. Campsites, horseback riding trails, picnic areas and a beach present additional recreation options.
Other facilities in the county also help citizens take in some fresh air and get back to nature. Reed Creek Nature Park and Interpretive Center, tucked off of Furys Ferry Road, with its hiking trails and ecology classes is easily accessible but worlds away from the bustle of every day. In addition to Wildwood Park’s boat ramps, Riverside Park also has a boat ramp on Betty’s Branch, a tributary of the Savannah River, plus a fishing dock. Walkers and runners frequent the 7.5-mile trail at Savannah Rapids Park, where water tumbles over Reed Creek Falls before flowing into the Augusta Canal.
Along with fantastic choices of prime spots for enjoying self-directed activities in the great outdoors, Columbia County also has top-notch athletic facilities designed for competitive team sports. Located at Riverside Park, Patriots Park and Blanchard Woods, the county boasts a whopping 24 baseball/softball fields, 12 tennis courts and 10 football/soccer fields. The gymnasium at Patriots Park also has two basketball courts, four volleyball courts and four racquetball courts.
While Blanchard Woods is the annual home of the Peach Belt Conference (NCAA) soccer and cross-country championships, and it will serve as the host site of the 2012 and 2013 NCAA Division II men’s and women’s soccer national championships, the primary focus of the recreation side of the Recreation and Events Department is youth sports. “It gives the youth something to do instead of roaming the streets,” says Athletic Supervisor Ken Warner. “They form friendships. They form social skills as well as athletic skills.” Adkins seconds Warner, saying, “It’s not so much the rules of a sport or how many wins, it’s more what children get out of it. That’s more important in the big scheme of things.” About 4,500 children participate in baseball, softball, football, soccer and basketball annually and according to Warner that number continues to grow each year. On top of that, the adult softball leagues attract about 30 teams in the fall and close to 40 in the spring.
Following Beale, who very successfully served as head of Columbia County’s Recreation Department for more than 30 years, is no easy task. But Adkins is not one to shrink
from a challenge. And the facilities and programs built under Beale’s leadership provide firm footing upon which to stretch and reach and expand. “What we already do,” says Adkins, “we do very well. I just want us to think outside of the box.” Her lifelong involvement in athletics combined with her in-depth knowledge of special events planning and promotion give her the skills she will need to meet her goal of broadening the scope of offerings. Primarily, she strives to meet the recreation and leisure needs of the population as a whole. Recreation and leisure impact and enrich all citizen’s lives, not just the lives of those with athletic interests and not just the young.Adkins intends for the programs and events that the county’s citizenry currently anticipate and enjoy to remain the same. POPS! Under the Stars with Symphony Orchestra Augusta, second Saturday concerts at the library amphitheater, movie nights at Wildwood Park, the Easter Egg Scramble at Blanchard Woods, the Columbus Day Festival at Memorial Garden and the July 4th celebration at Patriots Park, among others, are staples of Columbia County’s community events calendar. That doesn’t mean, however, that change isn’t on her mind.
First things first, she wants to improve the department’s ability to get the word out about programs. Development of a new brochure for the recreation division tops her to-do list. And she wants to take it to the people instead of waiting for the people to come looking for it. Improving the on-line registration process will simplify the act of getting involved. Yet Adkins believes that holding registration events in the community where citizens live, work and shop will increase awareness of what the Recreation and Events Department can do for them; thus increasing registration for and participation in programs and activities.
Paying attention to trends both locally and nationally is another strategy Adkins uses to keep up with interests and needs in the area. “It’s not just baseball, softball, basketball and football,” she acknowledges. Lacrosse is a growing sport and she plans to hold a summer lacrosse camp to test interest in forming a league. She’d like to do the same for tennis. In addition, she hopes to expand the adult athletics offerings to include a men’s basketball league. Volleyball leagues may be on the horizon too.
Both Adkins and Warner appreciate that recreation programming should include more than athletic competition. Adaptive programming would cast an even wider net to serve a greater percentage of the population. Adkins sensitively notes, “If we diversify our programs enough, we’ll reach the majority of our citizens.” Warner says he would like to see the Recreation and Events Department become a full-service agency that provides a gamut of activities for senior citizens, older teens and other groups. “We all have to work,” says Adkins, “but what we do in our leisure time is a choice.” She and Warner want to give the public more from which to select.
The events side of the coin is just as active. A fall 5K may be penned in this year or next. Adkins is also working to bring a national timbersports competition to Wildwood Park and a national disc golf tournament. Attracting these major events requires all of her marketing talent, as Adkins presents the county resources in place to accommodate participants, fans and sponsors.
From Savannah Rapids Park at the historic Augusta Canal Headgates to Wildwood Park on Clarks Hill Lake, from Lonnie O. Morris Sr. Park in Appling to Blanchard Memorial Park in Martinez, excellent recreation and leisure facilities blanket Columbia County. These places anchor self-guided leisure pursuits, such as kayaking, running and biking, as much they do organized activities. But the population continues to grow, putting pressure on the capacity of these facilities. In looking to the future, Adkins hopes to eventually add another gymnasium for indoor recreation. The department is also exploring the placement of an adaptive playground. On the current agenda, the Recreation and Events Department looks forward to the fruition of a partnership between the county and the Board of Education to develop the Lakeside Athletic Complex. Upon completion, says Adkins, the recreation department will acquire five new fields and Lakeside High School will have a new football stadium and baseball complex.
Moving forward, Adkins’s position as head of recreation and events will require dexterity and balance. “My role,” says Adkins, “is to oversee the programs of the recreation department and the activities of community events. I manage budgets and employees, solve problems and attend to daily operations.” She views herself and her department as stewards of community resources, including tax dollars, and as providers of community services. Her aspiration is for Columbia County’s Events and Recreation Department to be the benchmark for similar departments around the state. She sets a high standard.
In Adkins own words, “If I’m going to play, I want to win.” She will. Warner has confidence that Adkins possesses the poise and purpose to do the job, saying, “I think that special events being involved in [the recreation] department is a step in the right direction.”
