-
New recreation director Taylor Woodard has numerous projects she’s overseeing for the department. She is pictured with programming director Mitchell Green.
Larry Griffin
lgriffin@thesmokymountaintimes.com
Barely six months into her job, Swain County recreation director Taylor Woodard is looking at big new projects and digital-age upgrades to improve the department.
Woodard rattles off a list of various projects coming up. There are the new floors coming to the inside of the recreation center, which Woodard estimates will be done by next spring, and they need new basketballs. They need to cover the batting cages as well as the bleachers for the softball field. And several playgrounds need upgrades, along with the trail system and concession stands.
The pool has also recently opened for the season, being open until 11 p.m. on weekends and available for private party bookings in the evenings on weekdays. Woodard said everything is still the same, though individual day passes are $1 more.
That may seem like a lot, but Woodard is also helping to usher in a new online website-based system for everyone’s park-related needs. It will help them track local events and will be “more convenient” for people overall, rather than forcing them to look for information in old manual ways, she sad.
“If you wanted to see if the pool is reserved for a certain day, you’re gonna be able to see if it is or not, you won’t have to call us every time,” she said. “Eventually you’re gonna be able to reserve it online, too. It’ll have all of our new programs on there, it’ll have adult programs, classes, when we get new equipment, when we get different stuff, we’ll be able to notify people.”
One idea Woodard had was to host a fundraiser to help out fund the improvements, which could happen this fall.
Woodard is nothing if not up to the job. She’s familiar with the territory – she’s been working with the department in some capacity or other since she was 14 years old, supervising various sporting events. At 18, she had a job at the front desk. While attending college at Western Carolina University, she had three recreation department internships. She also worked at a summer camp in Cashiers.
She said there are differences between her old job as a programmer with Swain County Department of Social Services.
“It’s very different, going from a programmer to director,” she said. “It’s very new to me, but I’m trying to do the best I can to improve the community.”
Overall, she doesn’t sound stressed about the prospects.
“I like being able to reach kids,” she said. “They can socialize, and we can offer different resources and programs.”