Recreation Spotlight

The official grand opening for Effingham County’s new state-ofthe-art recreation gym was held November 1. The gym is in the Clarence E. Morgan Central Recreation Complex in Springfield, Ga.

A ribbon cutting event was held at the nearly 30,000 square foot building that houses almost 18,000 square feet of playing surface. Clarence E. Morgan, the Director of Effingham County Recreation and Parks Department, says, “This is something tremendous for the residents of Effingham county to enjoy for many years to come. The new gym is at the level of a new high school or college-level facility. It’s not even close to what is standard in a county recreational park. I don’t think we could have comprehended what we were going to get until we saw it completed.”

The new gym has everything needed in a modern sports center. Designed by Hussey Gay Bell, there are two fullcourt basketball courts, with synthetic vinyl flooring, which are divided by a curtain that can be raised and lowered electronically. The curtain can be taken away and the basketball courts can be transitioned into three volleyball courts. There are two basketball goals on each side of the full courts so there are four baskets in each section or eight baskets all together. There is seating for 250-300 onlookers in each section.

Full locker and dressing room facilities are in the back of the gym. In addition, there is extra storage space, large bathrooms, a work area, and office space as well as new concession stands. In a nice touch, one section of the gym is highlighted in Effingham County High School’s team color blue and the other section highlighted in South Effingham High School’s maroon.

The new gym facility is in addition to the six athletic fields, the Josh Reddick Stadium (an artificial-surfaced field built for specialneeds children), the ADA playground, and the batting cages already built and in use. The entire complex sits on a 120-acre parcel of land owned by the county.

Funding through SPLOST

The Industrial Development Authority issued bonds for the construction of the $4.5 million gym and the bonds were repaid through a voter-approved, penny-per-dollar Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST), which is a special-purpose localoption sales tax used for funding capital outlay projects in Georgia. It is an optional 1% sales tax levied by any county for the purpose of funding the building of parks, roads, and other public facilities.

Mr. Morgan says, “SPLOST is why we have a great facility.” He also stresses that the county Board of Commissioners played a huge role in making this happen. Morgan says residents can “thank the Board of Commissioners because starting in 2014, past commissioners Wendell Kessler and Vera Jones, as well as commissioners Reggie Loper, Jamie DeLoach, Phil Kieffer and Forrest Floyd and then Roger Burdette and Wesley Corbitt in 2016-2018, did a lot to get it off the ground, along with the commissioners presently serving the county and County Manager Tim Callanan. Without them none of this would have happened.”

In addition to the SPLOST funds, several large donations contributed to the facility. The Josh Reddick Stadium was funded by a $1 million donation from county native Josh Reddick, a professional baseball player with the Houston Astros. The six scoreboards at the athletic fields and the four indoor scoreboards were donated by the Coca Cola Company and paper products and dispensers were donated by Georgia Pacific.

Residents Reactions

“People say this was years coming, and they wish we had had it years ago,” says Morgan, “but they are glad the grandkids have it now.”

Approximately 250 people attended the grand opening of the new gym and Morgan says Effingham residents are both proud and amazed at the high quality of the fields and the gym.

Clarence Morgan’s Legacy

“I don’t know why or how it happened,” says Mr. Morgan regarding the facility carrying his name. “I see it, but I prefer to give recognition instead of receiving recognition.” Mr. Morgan has devoted decades of service to Effingham county and it is indeed a well-deserved honor. But he says, “This complex was built for the recreational use for the people of Effingham county and any recognition of me takes a back seat to the work done here. I don’t love any praise, that’s not what’s important, the people here in Effingham county have a world class facility to use and be proud of—that’s what’s important.”

A Facility for Everyone

The Clarence E. Morgan Central Recreation Complex is being used by many residents already. Summer and spring baseball season were played at the fields, Monday through Friday for six weeks, and the complex has hosted district and state tournaments. The Effingham Navigators

GRAND OPENING of the RECREATIONAL GYM

Story by Cindy Reid | Photos by Tonya Perry

(a special needs sports organization) play sports most Thursday nights—basketball in the winter, and in the spring and fall they will be outside playing baseball.

The numbers for recreational activities are up, and more are predicted to participate in recreation sports and activities in the spring. Morgan says socialization plays a big part in athletics and every family needs to consider what’s best for their children. Regarding Covid-19 issues he says, “If your heart says play, then let your child play. If your heart says not now, then let your child sit out a season. You must be happy with your season, it doesn’t matter what I think, it matters what you as a family think.”

Fall sports have been extremely busy—the county doubled the numbers in volleyball and the basketball program participation is up 15-18%. Morgan says, “I think they saw the new gym and really wanted to use it and be part of it. Indoor sports participation is way up.”

He also notes that the county population is growing and that the increase in population means that they will have more teams to accommodate the new residents. But he says, “Our level of participation has always been extraordinarily strong. Of course, a great facility is nice, but Effingham County

always has an extremely high level of participants.” Morgan attributes some of the population increase to the great local school system and of course the recreation department. “They are a couple of good reasons the county has grown—we produce a good program and contribute to the quality of life here. We built the athletic fields for the people of Effingham and we built the gym for the people of “The new gym is at the level of a new Effingham.” The work continues. The high school or college-level facility. complex started as a 10It’s not even close to what is standard year project and is in year 5 now. Morgan said there are in a county recreational park.” plans for four to five more baseball fields and four to six soccer/lacrosse fields. Always looking ahead, he says “Pickleball has been on my radar since the 90s,” so look for pickleball coming soon! In the meantime, come out and visit the new gym and all the wonderful facilities at Effingham’s pride and joy, the Clarence E Morgan Complex. n

EFFINGHAM REC SPORTS REGISTRATIONS

LACROSSE BASEBALL & SOFTBALL

REGISTRATION DATES: 12/27 – 1/18 LEAGUES: Boys 14 and under, Boys 12 and under; Girls 15 and under AGE CONTROL DATE Sept. 1, 2021 REGISTRATION DATES: 1/2 – 2/1 LEAGUES: Boys and girls ages 3 above: boys up to age 17 and under: girls up to age 16 and under; AGE CONTROL DATE Sept. 1, 2021

YOUTH TRACK

REGISTRATION DATES: 1/28 – 2/18 LEAGUES: Youth track, ages 7-14 AGE CONTROL DATE Dec. 31, 2021

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