Greensboro Parks and Recreation 2023-24 Annual Report

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GREENSBORO PARKS AND RECREATION Annual Report | 2023-2024

Adaptive Mountain Bike Trail, Keeley Park

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Greensboro Parks and Recreation and many key partners work to provide exceptional services, programs, and facilities while promoting health and wellness, advancing equity, and supporting conservation and economic development.

Phil Fleischmann Director, Parks and Recreation City of Greensboro

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Country Park

2023-2024 has been a busy year for Greensboro Parks and Recreation! Our annual report reviews many initiatives our department has undertaken over the past year. Our work wouldn’t be possible without the City’s emphasis on being a “Hub of Entertainment and Recreation”, “Youth Sports Capital”, and “Safest City”, three areas identified by our City Council as priorities directly related to the facilities, programs, and services we provide. Our success is linked to strong support from our City Council, City Manager’s Office, and community. We share in these positive accomplishments and thank you for your support! This year, the Greensboro Parks and Recreation Commission and department leaders collaborated to develop and share awareness about deferred maintenance and capital needs. We identified $9 million in projects that need funding as soon as possible. The list of needs included in an unfunded capital improvement program is valued at $280 million and growing. Fortunately, through the advocacy of the Commission and support of the City Council, several parks and recreation projects will move forward thanks to an allocation of over $5 million. This includes replacement of the boardwalk at the Bog Garden, lake bulkhead repairs, support for implementation of the master plan at Gillespie Golf Course, and limited playground replacement. The department has engaged a consulting firm to develop a full lifecycle replacement plan for amenities, which will be used to inform future decisions about upkeep and replacement. This work will enable us to better plan for action and funding before features become unsafe or unusable. Greensboro Parks and Recreation celebrated several awards, recognitions, and milestones this year, including turning 90 years old! Other achievements include: • Serving a record high of 366 participants in the 2024 events, the Greater Greensboro Senior Games and Silver Arts program received the Peak of Greatness and Record Breaker awards from the NC Senior Games. • Now with 18 courts, the J. Spencer Love Tennis Center is the largest public clay court facility in North Carolina and among the 10 largest in the South. It

was a national winner of a US Tennis Association Outstanding Facility Award, which recognizes excellence in construction and renovation of tennis facilities. • $24.3 million in external funds have been committed to develop of the Windsor Chavis Nocho Community Complex, an innovative new facility being developed collaboratively by the Greensboro Public Library and Parks and Recreation. Guilford County pledged $15 million toward the project. Cone Health has also committed $5 million to further advance health equity in East Greensboro. The City received a $4.3 million Outdoor Recreation Legacy Program grant for improvements to Nocho Park, which will be renovated through the completion of the Windsor Chavis Nocho Community Complex. Finally, I invite you to get involved in YOUR parks and recreation department. Participate in a program, visit a park, trail, or recreation facility, consider volunteer opportunities that we have available, or give to aligned organizations such as the Greensboro Parks Foundation, Greensboro Beautiful, or Greensboro Downtown Parks. Private funding is becoming increasingly relevant to how we can advance projects in the future. We are grateful to the Greensboro Parks Foundation, an aligned philanthropic partner for identifying Gillespie Golf Course, Mabel D. Smith Community Park, and summer camp access as priorities while continuing to receive contributions for a host of other causes. Greensboro Beautiful continues to enhance our four botanical gardens and support clean community and tree planting efforts. Greensboro Downtown Parks is redefining its focus on fundraising to benefit LeBauer and Center City Parks. Greensboro Parks and Recreation is only as successful these key partners are in advancing their support in alignment with our mission. I encourage you to consider giving to one today. The accomplishments over the last year would not have been possible without the support of City leadership and our community. Thank you!

Our Leaders

Greensboro Parks and Recreation Leadership Team • Phil Fleischmann, Director • Kobe Riley, Deputy Director • William Brown , Right of Way and Public Space Maintenance Division Manager • Charles Jackson, Community Recreation Services Division Manager • Tony Royal, Park Operations Division Manager • Josh Sherrick, Events and Engagement Division Manager • Shawna Tillery, Planning & Project Development Division Manager • Tonya Williams, Business Services Division Manager

Parks and Recreation Commission • ChesKesha Cunningham-Dockery, Chair • Cecile Crawford, Vice Chair • Sue Henshall

• Anthony Izzard • Walter Johnson • Emily Linden • Scott Neely • Robert Nudelman • Blake Odum

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Downtown Greenway Run and Block Party

Greensboro City Council • Nancy Vaughan, Mayor • Yvonne Johnson, Mayor Pro Tem • Marikay Abuzuaiter, At Large • Hugh Holston, At Large • Sharon Hightower, District 1

• Goldie Wells, District 2 • Zack Matheny, District 3 • Nancy Hoffmann, District 4 • Tammi Thurm, District 5

Thank you to our sponsors and partners who have supported Greensboro Parks and Recreation within the last year. To see a complete list, please visit our website at: www.greensboro-nc.gov/sponsor

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By the Numbers

Gardens Visits 489,168

Recreation Center Visitors 265,540 Value of Volunteer Hours $988,122 Regional Park Visits 3,056,370

Total Volunteer Hours 29,505 Total Volunteers 4,370 Active Adult Center Visitors 64,368

Pool Visits 10,271

Sprayground Visits 74,639

Yoga at Tanger Family Bicentennial Garden

Growth in Social Media Followers Facebook 23,278 Instagram 7,121 14%

Ballfield Rentals 492 Trees Planted 275 Youth Cheerleader Participants 290

Adaptive and Inclusive Recreation Programs Offered 80 Rounds of Golf at Gillespie 16,682

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“Growing up, sports played a pivotal role in my life. It was the vehicle for me to express myself, receive a free college education, and grow in my passion, which ultimately led me to a career in Parks and Recreation.”

Monique Floyd, athletics superintendent

Co-ed Kickball at Carolyn Allen Park

Women and Girls Belong in Sports Women’s and girls’ sports are booming in both participation and popularity all across North Carolina – as well as around the country. Because of this, Greensboro Parks and Recreation continues to grow and offers a variety of programming to keep the community’s women and girls involved in sports. 3-on 3 basketball, slow-pitch softball, co-ed kickball, and co-ed softball are offered

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in-house for women. Girls may participate in cheerleading, co-ed basketball, and co-ed baseball, in addition to opportunities offered through partnership programs. “Greensboro Parks and Recreation is currently working internally, through partnerships and conversations with the community, to provide more opportunities specific to girls and women,” said Monique Floyd, the City’s athletic services superintendent. “We are currently in the planning stage of developing various clinics and programming opportunities.” What once was a traditional 5-on-5 league has now become a women’s 3-on-3 basketball league for individuals. Women may now participate without having to be associated with a team. As a part of registration, participants are given their own uniforms and don’t need to bring anything other than appropriate athletic wear. The same approach is taken for women’s softball as well – with the biggest difference being Greensboro area softball teams are competing against other local parks and recreation departments, such as Kernersville and Burlington. Meanwhile, co-ed kickball and co-ed softball differ slightly, as registration is by teams. Individuals may to join a free agent list that provides an opportunity to be “picked up” by an existing team that registers. As women’s sports continue to grow, expanding girls’ sports has become a priority for the department. According to a report from the Women’s Sports Foundation, 40 percent of teen girls do not participate in sports compared to 25 percent of teen boys. Additionally, by age 14 girls are dropping out of sports at two times the rate of boys. “It’s imperative that the City do the work to help close the gap,” said Floyd. “We are working to provide girls the opportunity to engage in girls-only clinics, leagues, and programs,” Floyd said. “We are in the planning stages of an event on February 5, 2025, in honor of National Girls and Women in Sports Day, which will focus on providing girls with an introduction to sports like basketball, volleyball, lacrosse, and pickleball to name a few. Following this event we plan to offer a girls basketball league in the Spring and host additional clinics and programming opportunities.” Be sure to follow the Greensboro Parks and Recreation Department on social media, and on the City website, to stay up to date regarding information about future opportunities regarding women’s and girls’ sports.

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Enhance

A Park with Community in Mind

Nestled within the Brice St. area on the far east side of the Lindley Park neighborhood sits Robert F. Mayer Park at 135 Poe St. Simply known as Mayer Park to locals, it was named after Reverend Robert F. Mayer, a pastor at the Ebenezer Lutheran Church in Greensboro from 1961-1972 and chair of the Concerned Citizens for Schools. The 3.5-acre community park has offered a place for people in the community to get out and play since its official dedication on September 15, 1973. Originally funded with a grant from the Land and Water Conservation Fund, there have been a number of improvements made to the area, including an acreage expansion in 1975. A tennis court and playground equipment were added in 1976 through the fundraising of a local community organization. Despite the upgrades of the past, Mayer Park

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Mayer Park

needed significant renovations due to aging amenities, shifting neighborhood trends, and ideas generated by Greensboro Parks and Recreation Department’s comprehensive master plan, Plan2Play. Mayer Park needed a refresh with the surrounding neighborhood in mind. Before, the park included a playground for ages 5-12, a picnic shelter, a tennis court, basketball court, and swings. The community engagement process revealed: 1) No children aged 5-12 live within a 10-minute walking distance of the park. 2) The residents surrounding the park are overwhelmingly college aged, apartment dwellers, and dog owners. 3) College-aged people still love to swing on the swing set. Taking this information, contractor Revington Reaves designed a park for those residents. The park now boasts adult fitness equipment

and games, a dog park, hammock garden, a “grill and chill” area, a new sidewalk connection to Granite St., greenspace, and of course, a swing set. While the park was under construction, there was an immediate uptick in use, even in the hot summer months. People now use the park daily, when before it was practically abandoned. People study under the picnic shelter, work out, play fetch with their dog in the dog park, or grill out on the weekends and play cornhole. Mayer Park was rededicated on October 25, 2024. Greensboro Parks and Recreation is committed to enhancing and improving facilities that we operate to ensure their relevance into the future. Much like we did at Mayer Park. See pages 16-19 for more information on current initiatives.

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Connect

Commemorating History Through Our Parks

Greensboro has been the site of many significant achievements in civil rights history, not only locally, but within North Carolina and nationally. The Parks and Recreation Department is dedicated to advancing equity and fostering inclusion while cultivating opportunities to celebrate individuals and communities of all backgrounds and cultures. Our commitment to commemorate and build awareness of our city’s history presents opportunities for us to recognize these moments in public spaces. This year, the department engaged in new opportunities to honor individuals and communities involved in significant civil rights and world history. This past year saw the development and creation of monuments within Parks and Recreation facilities that showcase the importance of diversity and progress, including the following: Justice Henry E. and Shirley T. Frye Statue On February 20, 2024, a statue honoring Justice Henry E. and Shirley T. Frye was unveiled in Center City Park. The couple met while students at North Carolina A&T State University, and went on to be trailblazers in the state – Henry Frye became the first Black chief justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court and Shirley Frye became a leader and activist in the community. The statue was funded and provided by The Joseph M. Bryan Foundation and community partners.

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Greensboro Six Civil Rights Trail Marker and Mural In 1955, six Black men – led by Dr. George C. Simkins Jr. – embarked on a journey that changed sports and public facility access in Greensboro. That day the six men, now known as the Greensboro Six, defiantly played a round of golf at the then whites-only Gillespie Golf Course, leading to jail time and seven years of numerous court cases that led to the desegregation of Gillespie. Their heroism in the face of discrimination was honored with a NC Civil Rights Trail Marker dedicated on August 23, 2023, and with a mural located on the First Tee Building by nationally renowned artist Vincent Ballentine. “She Wouldn’t Take Off Her Boots” Statue In LeBauer Park in downtown Greensboro, there’s a sculpture that carries both a physical and emotional weight. “She Wouldn’t Take Off Her Boots,” by local artist Victoria Milstein, honors the thousands of Jewish women and children who were massacred in Liepaja, Latvia in December 1941 by the Nazis. Many of the victims were photographed in their final moments by a Nazi photographer, which is the moment Milstein portrays. The Women of the Shoah collaborated with the City to install the North Carolina memorial to women of the Holocaust. The statue was unveiled on April 18, 2023. Freedom Cornerstone On the corner of Murrow and Gate City Blvd., right on the Downtown Greenway, stands the ever-shining centerpiece, a sculpture called “Ascension” by Atlanta-based painter, sculptor, and mixed media artist Radcliffe Bailey. The piece, dedicated on February 8, 2023 and made possible through a partnership with Action Greensboro, deals with the subject of freedom and what that means to the artist. The form of the sculpture references travel taken by Bailey and his family from the South to places throughout the East Coast by train. The Freedom Cornerstone recognizes and honors the important role Greensboro played in the Underground Railroad and national Civil Rights movement through the Sit-In Movement.

Program Highlights

During 2023-2024, The Greensboro Parks and Recreation Department offered more than 250 programs and events ranging from teen initiatives to active adult programs to individual and family centered programs. Below are a few of the many activities available to residents of all ages! • In October 2023, the Greensboro Parks Foundation offered its first fundraiser, the Greensboro Parks Open at Gillespie Golf Course. The inaugural event drew 56 golfers and raised over $6,000 for improvements at the course. • In the spring of 2024, the South Side Series kicked off with community partner Architect of Black Space. This collaboration focused on bringing relevant and engaging music, movies, and vendors’ markets to the South Side of Greensboro. • In April of 2024, Parks and Recreation partnered with the city’s Office of Sustainability and Resilience, Solid Waste and Recycling, and Water Resources Department to host a revitalized Earth Day event at Keeley Park with more than 1,500 attendees. • This past year our partnership with Greensboro Beautiful produced the World Promenade, a refreshed version of the former Parisian Promenade. The event was held at Tanger Family Bicentennial Garden in June 2024 and saw 3,000 visitors. • In June 2024, together with Friends of Green Hill Cemetery, cemetery staff supported the coordination of a gravestone restoration at the cemetery as part of a 48 state tour called Saving America’s Graveyards, led by Atlas Preservation. • Established in 1874, the Greensboro Farmers Curb Market is celebrating 150 years. Be sure to stop by on Saturday mornings year round and seasonally on Wednesdays. • Teen Night at the Rec kicked off in the summer of 2023. Over two summers the program has served over 475 teens through 21 different programs at recreation centers in the City.

Green Hill Cemetery 48-State Tour

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Here We Grow

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Windsor Chavis Nocho Community Complex

Master Plans • Bryan Park Soccer Complex Master Plan - Underway • Gillespie Golf Course Master Plan - Underway • Hester Park and Lake Brandt Intern Stitch Visioning Study • Greentree, Hampton, and Old Peck Neighborhood Parks Master Plans - Completed • Barber Park ADA and Amphitheater Improvements • Bryan Park Conversion of Two Fields to Artificial Turf • Downtown Greenway Western Branch • Greensboro Sportsplex Roof Replacement • Lindley and Peeler Pools Repairs Under Design • A&Y Greenway Trestle Bridge Replacement • East Greensboro Greenway Feasibility Study • Friends Home Greenway Connector • Gateway Gardens Wedding Garden Design • Greensboro Science Center Bio Dome and Aquatic Animal Rehabilitation Facility • Greentree Park Bridge Design • Short Farm Road Fire Station and Parks and Recreation Facility • Rosewood Park Master Plan - Completed Under Construction

FISCAL YEAR 2023-24

For more information on these and other projects, please visit www.greensboro-nc.gov/PPD

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Completed • Bob MacAdoo Basketball Court at Benbow Park and Morris Farlow Memorial Park Renaming • Bingham Park Community Engagement • Bryan Park Sports Lighting Electrical Design and Installation • Capital Deferred Maintenance Document Creation • Gillespie Golf Course Driving Range Net Replacement • Greensboro Science Center Lease Renewal • Griffin Community Park Playground Relocation • Hill Street Plantings • Keeley Park Accessible Mountain Bike Trail • Lake Daniel Bridge Replacement • Lake Townsend Dock Purchase • Mayer Park Renovations • Neighborhood Sign Restoration Martin Luther King Jr. Dr. • Property Acquisition at 3527 S. Elm-Eugene St. • Spencer Love Tennis Complex Storage Building and Stair Demo and Installation • Warnersville Pool Repairs • Weaver Bridge Trestle Replacement • Windsor Chavis Nocho Community Complex Construction Documents • Windsor Chavis Nocho Community Complex Request for Proposals for Public Art

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Gillespie Golf Course

301 S. Greene St., Suite 300 Greensboro, NC 27401 www.GSOParksandRec.com

Coach Al Lowe Boxing Club