End of an Era

Tim Coley retires from Henry County Parks & Recreation

by MONROE ROARK

With his retirement in December 2022, Tim Coley marked nearly half-a-century of involvement with the Henry County Parks and Recreation Department.

He started working for longtime director Charles Bledsoe while he was attending Henry County High School. “He had one office in the old county administration building,” said Coley. “He was the only full-time employee. All the rest [of us] were high school kids.”

After college Coley went to work in two other locations in Georgia before returning to Henry County in the summer of 2003. He succeeded the retiring Bledsoe to become director, making Coley only the second director of this county department in 46 years.

Since Coley took the helm the parks and recreation scene has undergone explosive growth both in facilities and personnel.

Coley has about 60 full-time employees plus 100 or so seasonal and part-time staff. At least a dozen key people in the administrative section of the department have been working for the county as long as he has.

Two decades ago, the only real indoor recreation facility was an old building at Windy Hill Park that is now used for fire department training. Today, in all parts of the county, there are multiple recreation centers and event centers, as well as newer parks and outdoor amenities, all of which were developed or acquired with Coley’s input and leadership.

“We built a lot of parks and a lot of buildings,” he said. “I’ve seen a lot of kids who were playing ball when I first got here and, now, they are coaching their kids.”

Coley still lives in the Hampton area, near where he grew up. His father, R.W. Coley, was mayor of Hampton for several years until his passing in 2013.

For the most part, he is looking forward to having some flexibility to travel outside the county or the state and leaving the day-to-day duties behind for others to take up. But it will be different.

“There are pluses but also minuses,” he said. “When you work somewhere for 19 years, you develop relationships with people. I’ll miss that.”