JOHNSON CITY PARKS AND RECREATION - NEW WINGED DEER SPORTS COMPLEX A GO! -
ADMINISTRATION HIGHLIGHTS
~ ATHLETIC DIVISION HIGHLIGHTS ~ PARK SERVICES DIVISION HIGHLIGHTS ~ GOLF DIVISION HIGHLIGHTS ~ RECREATION SERVICES DIVISIN HIGHLIGHTS
A Walk in the Park Your Parks and Recreation Connection I S S U E
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New Winged Deer Sports Complex a Go! On April 21, the City Commission approved a $17,634,000 bid by Kingsport’s Goins, Rash & Cain Inc. for construction of the new Winged Deer Park Sports Complex. The 37-acre expansion will take place adjacent to the park’s current ballfields and boost Johnson City’s capacity to host softball and soccer games and tournaments and reduce the need for late-night games. Five years ago, 11 city officials, including Parks and Recreation Advisory Board members, hopped into a passenger van and visited two world-class facilities in South Carolina to gather information and apply it to the creation of a new tournament and tourism-centric venture in Johnson City. Following years of considering possible partnerships, costs, locations and field designs, construction has begun with the entry road off Bristol Highway as well as storm water and sewer lines. “It is exciting to have a board of commissioners who have the vision and the support for parks and recreation,” said Parks and Recreation Director James Ellis. “This becoming a reality 30 years after opening the Winged Deer Park complex will benefit economic impact by hosting tournaments and events, but also will also benefit our citizens by providing them high-level playing fields and giving staff the opportunity to schedule weeknight league games at more appropriate times. “Lastly, this gives our maintenance staff the opportunity to close down certain fields for maintenance as this is not possible currently. This literally Knocks It Out Of The Park!” The complex will include four new diamond-shaped synthetic turf softball fields that can be converted to soccer fields, restrooms, concessions, 346 paved parking spaces, a maintenance and umpire facility for larger tournaments, shaded picnic tables and a playground. The city also plans to build two rectangular synthetic turf soccer fields next to the softball facility, which will bring the total number of fields at Winged Deer Park to 18 – nine diamondshaped fields and nine rectangular fields. Completion is tentatively set for May 2023. The USA Softball Girls’ 18-Under Class A Fast Pitch Nationals is scheduled for Winged Deer Park July 17-23, 2023, a tournament that could bring 50-60 teams and generate more than $1 million in visitor spending.
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Administration Highlights ~
Parks and Recreation Master Plan Committee and PRAB had a joint park and facility tour on April 28
Parks and Recreation Department Appreciation Cookout was held April 27 with City Manager Cathy Ball in attendance.
May 26 is the last Parks and Recreation Advisory Board meeting until Aug. 25.
Athletic Highlights ~
Youth soccer and youth softball seasons wrapping up in May. Soccer had more than 1,300 participants; youth softball had 115.
Tennis camp registration ongoing. Camp begins June 1. .
Park Services Highlights ~ Beginning preparation of Winged Deer Park fields for national softball tournaments in July.
Golf Highlights ~
Wrapping up new skills development program for individuals with special needs.
Recreation Services Highlights ~ Langston Centre The Langston Centre’s “Latinx Community Task Force” changed its name in March to “Junt@s” (Juntos) which is “together” in Spanish [FYI the @ symbol is purposely used to express inclusion].
Junt@s formally aligned with Catholic Charities of East TN, a 501c3 organization, to submit an application to United Way of the East TN Highlands’ social innovation program, which provides seed funding to “start up” community projects. Junt@s received $10,000 to build its programming, and they plan to conduct their workshops at the Langston Centre. The group will target the variety of immigrant populations living in Johnson City through quarterly informational workshops addressing workforce development, community education (financial literacy, health, homeownership, etc.), youth academic success and English as a second language (ESL) classes.
A WALK IN THE PARK YOUR PARKS AND RECREATION
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Recreation Services Cont. ~ MPCC
Hosted Mother/Son date Knight on May 6 with 100 participants. Staff made shields from cardboard which the sons decorated. They also blew up balloons which were used as swords and later watched “The Sword in the Stone.”
Hosted the second annual Ride ‘n’ Roll Spring Car Show on May 14. Door prizes were awarded. Freddy’s hotdogs set up a tent and Isaiah 117 House was on hand along with Knoxville TVA Credit Union to hand out goodies.
Carver
May 12 Carver Awards Banquet saluted graduating seniors who applied for the Melvin Stevens & Jeremy Stevens Scholarship program: Michaeus Rowe, who accepted his uncle’s scholarship (Jeremy Stevens) attending E.T.S.U. McKenzie Casey, Northeast State; Dalvin Mathes, Northeast State; Bryson Rollins, Maryville College; Ethan Taylor, Northeast State; LeBron Riddle, Maryville College and Skylar Adams (not pictured), E.T.S.U. all received the Melvin Stevens Scholarship. American & Import Auto Repair is contributing $10 of every oil change done and matching donations of up to $500 for the Carver Recreation Center Summer Program.
Nature - Johnson City bested Knoxville in this year’s City Nature Challenge. Quite a feat considering Smokey Mountain National Park is in our competitor’s territory. Johnson City still managed more total observations overall. This recorded data of living plants and animals using
iNaturalist, is time and location stamped. It can now be utilized by environmental scientists. Citizen Science at its best!
Senior Services Highlights ~
More than 100 dancers joined Senior Services for Dancing through the Decades at MPCC.
The Step into Spring program had 16 participants who logged 3,625,168 steps in a one month period. Yes that is correct, more than 3 million steps,
Fifty-two individuals took advantage of the Hiwassee River Train trip.
Program coordinator Michelle Jenkins led a group of seniors to a hike at Lower Higgins Falls on May 12.
“To catch the reader's attention, place an interesting sentence or quote from the story here.”
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Administrative Office - Winged Deer Park - 4137 Bristol Highway - Johnson City, TN Phone: 423-283-5815 Fax: 423-283-5829 Email: jcparksinfo@johnsoncitytn.org - Website: www.johnsoncitytn.org Like us on Facebook and Follow us on Twitter and Instagram
Upcoming Events May 28,29 - Memorial Day Classic - Winged Deer Park
July 26 - Girls Softball Registration Begins
June 1 - Youth/Adult Tennis Lessons Begin
July 26 - Adult Fall Softball Practices Begin
June 3,4,5 - USA Gold Qualifier - Winged Deer Park
July 27-31 - USA Softball Class B Southern Nationals Winged Deer Park
June 7 - High School/Adult Fastpitch Registration Ends
Aug. 6 - Adult Softball Registration Deadline
June 11,12 - USSSA Tri-cities Slugfest - Winged Deer Park
Aug. 6 - Youth Soccer Registration Concludes
June 17,18,19 - Milligan Summer Showcase - Winged Deer Aug. 12 - Teen Night! Glow-in-the-Dark Nerf War - MPCC Park June 21 - High School/Adult Fastpitch League Play Begins
Aug 13 - USA Line Drive Classic - Winged Deer Park
June 25,26 - USA Firecracker Classic - Winged Deer Park Aug. 13 - Tot Triathlon - MPCC June 28 - Adult Fall Softball Registration Begins
Aug. 16 - Youth Soccer Practices Begin
July 1,2,3 - WDP Complex Closed For Holiday
Aug. 20, 21 - Fall Ball Clash - Winged Deer Park
July 5 - Youth Soccer Registration Begins
Aug. 23 - Adult Softball League Begins
July 9,10 - USA Mid-Summer Classic - Winged Deer Park
Aug. 25 - Youth Soccer Coaches Meeting
July 14-17 - Future Stars Sports Fastpitch World Series Winged Deer Park
Aug. 27 - USA Labor Day Classic - Winged Deer Park
July 20 - MPCC Night at TVA Credit Union Ballpark
Aug. 27 - Girls Softball Registration Concludes