Milton and Mane

Who Runs the Fun? Inside Milton Parks & Rec

• Steve Krokoff and Christy Weeks

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Milton’s Parks and Recreation Department is more than just green spaces and sports leagues—it’s the heartbeat of community connection, wellness, and fun! In this episode, we sit down with the team that makes it all happen, exploring upcoming projects, athletic facility improvements, and the vision for inclusive playgrounds that welcome all abilities. 

 We’ll also explore the many camps and programs available and discuss how parks serve as essential “third places” that bring the community together.  Plus, get an inside look at the teamwork and collaboration that drive Parks & Rec’s success and find out how you can get involved in shaping the future of Milton’s parks and programs.

Tune in to discover how Parks & Rec isn’t just about fun—it’s about building a stronger, healthier, and more connected Milton.

Get Involved: Volunteer, attend events, or share your thoughts—click HERE for more details!

With the community in mind, this podcast explores the stories, people, and initiatives that make our community unique. Each episode offers insights into local government, highlights Milton's history and future developments, and showcases the vibrant arts, culture, and sustainability efforts shaping our city. Join the conversation, celebrate our community, and discover how we're building a better Milton together.

Do you have an idea for an episode or would like to request a specific topic to be covered? Email Christy Weeks, christy.weeks@miltonga.gov

Learn more about the City of Milton at www.miltonga.gov.

Speaker 1:

Welcome to Milton and Maine, the official podcast for the city of Milton. We want to bring you closer to the heart of our community through stories that inform, inspire and connect. Each episode offers a behind-the-scenes look at the people, projects and priorities shaping Milton, covering everything from local government and future development to arts, culture, sustainability and public safety. Whether you're a resident, a local business owner or just curious about our city, this is your front-row seat to what makes Milton special. Today, we're diving into the incredibly fun world of Milton's Parks and Recreation Department. If you've ever strolled through one of our beautiful parks, attended a community event or signed your kids up for an activity, you've experienced the magic this team creates. Let's meet the folks behind the scenes who make it all happen Tom McElveen, thomas Rhodes, emily Salerno, jen Young, matthew Graney and Michaela Burke. Welcome to the podcast, woo.

Speaker 2:

Woo Thanks.

Speaker 1:

Christy, there we go. Energy's coming already, so let's kick things off with Tom, the director of Parks and Rec, who has an actually very cool history with the city and specifically Parks and Rec. Tom, can you give us a little of your backstory and how you came to be the director of Parks and Rec?

Speaker 2:

Well, I think the interesting part of my story actually is where it began, back in 2009, 2010,. I had just recently graduated college and I was looking to get my foot in the door in Parks and Rec somehow, and I just emailed the Parks and Rec director in the city of Milton I was a Milton resident as a high school attendee and I asked if there was any internship opportunities and she replied and said well, I guess, but it's not a paid internship, I don't have budget and I'm the only Parks and Rec employee in the whole city. I asked her if I could come in, ended up working underneath Cindy Benacci at the time for several months, I think six or eight months.

Speaker 1:

Unpaid.

Speaker 2:

Unpaid Unpaid as a college grad, working part-time as well for another municipality, and ended up working out great because that internship ended up getting me connections to my first full-time job doing programming and I did programming for athletics, mainly for the city of Alpharetta and in 2015, there was an opportunity that was brought up in Milton for a program manager position At the time of 2015, it was still a very small department of two.

Speaker 1:

Doubled in size.

Speaker 2:

It doubled in size over those years and was blessed enough to get that job. And then, over the period of time, covid happened and the director at the time stepped down and I was given an opportunity and it stuck. So here I am.

Speaker 1:

And here you are right on. So let's explore the future of Milton's park and rec department. With so many projects on the horizon, I hear little bits of information. You know we share a floor so I get to eavesdrop on all y'all's meetings, but let's talk about the projects from athletic facilities to inclusive playgrounds. It's clear that there's a vision shaping the way Milton residents connect with their community and to nature. So can you share some of those key developments and how you think that they'll impact our residents?

Speaker 2:

Yeah, you mentioned two of the bigger ones here. We do have a parks and recreation comprehensive master plan. In that master plan it does call for more facilities. All around, all around Athletic fields, rectangles, diamonds, indoor space. That master plan was planned to kind of conclude in 2027. So we're in the planning stage right now for a athletic park that will be out at the Deerfield area the. Old Crest property. That facility will eventually hold two rectangular fields for lacrosse, football, soccer and four diamonds.

Speaker 1:

How big is that area? I mean? Just to give people a general idea.

Speaker 2:

The acreage of the property is roughly 23 acres. Thanks, 24. Outside of those fields, we're going to really be gathering input from the community. What else do you want to see in Deerfield? And if it can't go there, I'm sure you will be speaking with Bob.

Speaker 5:

Hashim, if you haven't already. Yes, Bob is on the list.

Speaker 2:

And there is the implementation plan. So if it doesn't fit in this park, it doesn't mean it still can't fit in the Deerfield area, which is great. And there also is the inclusive playground as well, as you had mentioned. Actually, just this week, council accepted a resolution to accept the donation from children's charities just over $176,000 to go towards the construction of an inclusive playground.

Speaker 1:

And what does that look like when you say inclusive playground?

Speaker 2:

It would be. Anybody of any ability would be able to use all the components on the playground. So, whether you're wheelchair bound or whatnot. That's how the playground is designed, so anybody can enjoy it. You don't have to be special needs in order to enjoy the components.

Speaker 6:

Right.

Speaker 2:

Future site is at this point undetermined. There might be some opportunities here coming down shortly for that playground. Yeah, that donation is going to make a big impact on making that playground even better than it potentially would have been before.

Speaker 1:

Right on, right on. Well, it sounds like there's a deep sense of purpose driving the work that you do, tom, so can you tell us what keeps you motivated and so invested in creating these spaces for the community?

Speaker 2:

This is going to sound really corny.

Speaker 1:

I like it, bring it on.

Speaker 2:

It's all about the smiles on everyone's face. When I'm out at a park on the weekends and I see the kids all playing ball or playing on the playground or even just running around the park, you know, running away from their parents, they're still smiling and that keeps me motivated. You know we go to the events. We're in the throw of all of our holiday events right now. It's stressful. You'll probably hear about that later. But when you're there and everyone's enjoying themselves and the events are running smoothly and all the kids are just playing and having fun and getting their balloons and face painted and right.

Speaker 2:

That's what keeps me going.

Speaker 1:

That's a fair statement, not cheesy. That's a fair statement, so cheesy and true. Cheesy and true. I like it. So, as we're talking about the future developments, especially those geared towards athletic facilities, let's bring in Thomas, whose focus on athletics is shaping an exciting chapter in Milton. So, thomas, your journey to Milton is as exciting as the plans you're helping to bring to life. And can you tell us about how you landed here and your role as the Parks and Recreation Supervisor for Athletics?

Speaker 3:

Absolutely so. I attended Kennesaw State University, where I studied sport management. During my senior year, I took an internship with Cherokee Recreation and Parks Agency. During that time, I got to learn the ins and outs of the field, everything from the finance department to the maintenance department, everything in between. After my internship was completed and I graduated, I took a full-time role in a small North Georgia city as an athletic coordinator. With no growth and opportunity there, I left Left the field completely, went over to the private sector, got a little bit burnt out after several years, saw an opportunity here in the city of Milton, applied for it back in 2019, where I came on board as a Parks and Recreation Specialist, spent some time, was able to grow into my role.

Speaker 1:

Now, and five years later, I'm managing the sports in the city of Milton Sounds like you rolled in right at the prime COVID time, when everybody's looking to be outside.

Speaker 3:

Exactly so. Things really came full circle.

Speaker 1:

Right on. So Milton's athletics programs and fields are a big part of community life. What's the current landscape like and what are the goals for the future?

Speaker 3:

Yeah, that's a great question. All the city's programs play a huge role in the community. I feel like a lot of people consider parks and programs a major foundation in community life. Currently, the city's athletic programs are booming. We have a number of outdoor athletic programs that share field space at Bell Memorial Park and Legacy Park, our two athletic complexes here in the city. Field space is tight but all of our providers work together to make our limitations work right now, so we're very fortunate for that. As for the future, we're looking forward to that new athletic park that Tom mentioned. Additional baseball fields multi-purpose fields will allow programs like baseball, lacrosse, football and adult soccer to not only grow but spread out and get some additional practice time during the week. Lastly, we plan to add some additional practice time during the week right on. Lastly, we plan to add some additional tennis courts at the Milton Tennis Center to expand that already thriving program and finally, hopefully one day down the road, we'll have a recreation center that our basketball program can call home.

Speaker 1:

Let's do that one. Tom, can you get on that one?

Speaker 3:

yeah, we're.

Speaker 1:

We're all looking forward to it so you've also been working with the initiatives like camp joyful souls. Tell us about that program, how it came about and the impact you feel it's having on the community yeah, yeah, well, don't be shy to visit.

Speaker 3:

We love our visitors over at oh, it was a great time.

Speaker 3:

I enjoyed that yeah, I'd love to talk more about Camp Joyful Souls. So it's a unique camp that's very important, not only to me but to the department and to our surrounding communities. For the listeners that may not know, camp Joyful Souls is Milton's summer day camp for those age 13 to 22 with special needs. The camp takes place every summer with an amazing leadership team. The team's goals are just to empower our campers, foster a more inclusive community, promote understanding and provide families with the peace of mind knowing their loved ones are engaged in meaningful and joyful activities.

Speaker 1:

How long is that camp?

Speaker 3:

So it's a seven-week camp, Seven weeks For the duration of June and July. We take off the week of the 4th, so you know families can do their vacations and staff can take a break. But yeah, we run for the full, full summer. But it's really just an amazing experience and I'm proud to be a part of it yeah, I enjoyed that.

Speaker 1:

It was new for me, but the amount of effort that y'all put into that field day at the end was amazing. It was heartwarming and to see everybody happy and what were we playing?

Speaker 3:

uh kickball. Yeah, I'm showing my age sorry words escape me that's the staple of field the big kickball game yeah, that was.

Speaker 1:

That was great.

Speaker 3:

It was fun to watch everybody buddies up, we have uh everyone from, uh you know, here at city hall from the police department is invited, the fire department's invited, we buddy up and just just have a great day and you had a lot of volunteers outside volunteers, oh yeah we bring in volunteers, our staff brings in friends and family members, and anybody from our volunteer pool is invited. So you know, all hands on deck, we'll take anybody that wants to have fun.

Speaker 1:

Well, since you opened that door, where would somebody find information about volunteering at events like that?

Speaker 3:

So we typically reach out to our volunteers specifically for field day, but we do have a Camp Joyful. Souls email that we can be contacted. It is operated for the duration of the year so it's never closed down, but it is campjoyfulsouls at miltongagov, Perfect.

Speaker 1:

And I will put that in the show notes, so anybody who's looking for more information, you'll be able to access it there, please do, please do.

Speaker 3:

I'm the person behind it. Until our manager takes on her role, beginning in January every year, she starts the planning process. We're very fortunate to have a leadership team that has stuck around, for I think one of them's going on nine years. One of them's 10th years this year.

Speaker 1:

That's amazing.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, they're great. We're very fortunate.

Speaker 1:

Perfect. Thank you for sharing that information, Thomas Michaela, I want to turn to you. Your journey from Kansas to Milton is such a unique story. Can you tell us a little bit about that and tell us what about the city of Milton made you feel at home?

Speaker 4:

We decided to move to the Atlanta area at the very tail end of that COVID crazy house buying madness, and we flew in and we had 48 hours to find a house and my dream place to live was in Alpharetta in the Winbert area.

Speaker 4:

So we looked at a few houses and then my husband found this house on Zillow in Milton. He was like hey, do you want to go see this house? And internally I was like, oh, I don't know what Milton is, I don't care, I don't want to go see it, but I'm such a good wife. So externally I was like sure, honey. So we drove into Milton and I was just like whoa, what is this place with the winding roads and the trees and the horses and the fences? It was so pretty and we looked at the house and we loved it. And what sold us on the house was there is a city-owned green space behind it, so no one can put up a neighborhood or anything. And what really sold us on the house was it was the only offer that was accepted, but the green space is a huge plus.

Speaker 1:

I can Honestly, I feel that, uh, we had a similar experience trying to find a house when we moved here in 2017, we had houses that we loved, we put in offers no go. And then the one at the bottom of our list, they're like still available and we're like that's it. That's our home, by the way, best choice ever Totally happy. We ended up there. It was somebody intervening on my decision-making process, we'll put it that way. So. So, tom, I'm going to kind of throw you under the bus on this one. I've heard Tom refer to you as the Swiss army knife of parks and rec. Tell us about that. Tell us what your role is and how that term kind of came around.

Speaker 4:

I do a bunch of random stuff and I like it because every day is different. And one day Emily will be like, hey, I need help with this event. And then another day, jim will be like, hey, can you help me with this program. And then another day Matthew will be like hey, can you help me with this rental?

Speaker 1:

And then another day Tom will be like hey, I, and then another day, tom will be like hey, I need this building painted. So and what's your actual title besides swiss army, knife parks and rec specialist? So you get all the things. Yeah, oh, right on. You have actually rolled out some pretty incredible programs like toddler tuesday and the book club. What is your favorite event to work on?

Speaker 4:

my favorite program that I've started is book club, because it's a great group of ladies and we have a lot of fun. And then my favorite city event is pancakes with Santa, because I love how we take over a fire station and it's just really fun and kids get to see Santa.

Speaker 1:

Oh, you should see Emily over here. She's just, she's just glowing.

Speaker 4:

I love everything about it, except waking up at 5 am.

Speaker 7:

There's plenty of coffee and hot chocolate to go with that.

Speaker 1:

Not after Emily got a hold of the coffee.

Speaker 7:

I did consume five cups on Sunday.

Speaker 1:

Yes, see, I knew that. I knew that was a thing. I appreciate that insight. Michaela, how long have you been with the team? Almost two and a half years, two and a half years. So as we're kind of going through this from one inspiring program to another, I want to turn to Matthew. You've been busy launching new programs for Milton's youngest residents. How did your journey in Parks and Rec lead you here?

Speaker 5:

Yeah, I would say obviously I've kind of always enjoyed being in Parks and Rec. I was playing sports growing up as a young kid Always saw myself dealing with the community, either with programming or with sports and stuff like that. So I always wanted to be in the field. I just more of me trying to get into the field.

Speaker 1:

It's a. Thing.

Speaker 5:

It's a thing, yeah. So after college I found a summer internship for a private club that was on the Hilton Head Island.

Speaker 1:

Very common thread here is.

Speaker 5:

everybody ran the internship avenue, so I was pretty much a summer camp counselor for their summer camp and it was a pretty nice area I was by the water pool, golf course, everything. After that summer I had no other job and they were like, hey, would you want to work in the golf department here at Buckford Plantation, which is on Hilton Head? So I was like, yeah, sure. So I became a car attendant and I also worked events. I did that and then once the next summer came, they were like, hey, would you want to be the director of the summer camps? And my title was it's funny I had a name tag that said the director of recreation, so that was the only.

Speaker 6:

Big and bold, I know.

Speaker 5:

So on my resume I put director of recreation, as you should.

Speaker 5:

Yeah, so that's what I did. So I did that for a couple of years, loved it, enjoyed it. Then after that, I went to Sea Island Resort for a year and that was also a nice area too on an island by the beach. And then after that I finally got into Parks and Rec. Throughout that transition or those years, I applied for any Parks and Rec job.

Speaker 5:

Like I was applying everywhere North Carolina, atlanta area I had a job interview for a park job that was in Mississippi. I drove 12 hours for an interview, so I was trying to just get into the field. Finally I got a job at a local rec department where my family was living at the time, so it was really cool to see. I had my nephew. He was playing baseball there and basketball and stuff, so it was really cool to see. After that, I finally got a job here in the Atlanta area. It was the March of 2020. So it was a couple of years. There was no traffic driving around, so it was awesome. After that, I joined theton team in august of 2022 and but yeah, but when I first started here, we didn't really have a lot of programs.

Speaker 1:

Now since 2022, we've added maybe nine it's a lot, but, yeah, a lot of programs. It's amazing programs yeah, but yeah.

Speaker 5:

So we're trying to come up with some creative, exciting ideas for all these people who live in Milton to offer them some really cool programming.

Speaker 1:

I love it.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, matthew's program was a new role. All the programs athletics, non-athletics were all under one position.

Speaker 1:

Right.

Speaker 2:

And the athletics are a bear.

Speaker 7:

Right.

Speaker 2:

And demand a lot of attention and time, and so we broke off the non-athletics into Matthew's role, which has proven to be extremely successful because he has brought on so many excellent programs.

Speaker 1:

So kind of explain that a little bit, because Thomas has athletics, matthew has the other programming. When you're talking athletics programs, what's the scope?

Speaker 2:

That would be baseball lacrosse, your typical sports.

Speaker 1:

Okay.

Speaker 2:

I didn't know how deep the roster went on, that one, that was nice, that was nice.

Speaker 1:

I am clever, sometimes I scare me.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, yeah, Thomas has things like patonk, which is sort of an Italian version of bocce ball.

Speaker 6:

I guess Okay.

Speaker 2:

French. My bad is a, which is sort of an italian version of bocce ball, I guess.

Speaker 6:

okay, french, french my bad, I hope, I hope. I hope claude doesn't listen to this.

Speaker 2:

I'll be getting a phone call um, so yeah, yeah, but matthew has anything outside of your typical mains athletics. And then you know, thomas has camp trouble souls.

Speaker 1:

But yeah, yeah, yeah. So, matthew, give us a just a handful of your programming got you?

Speaker 5:

um, yeah, so it just, it just varies, so we have let it fitness classes, like. So. We have the yoga classes, which I've actually have taken the class and I felt amazing after, so I definitely highly recommend to take those classes. We do have the youth classes for art, also for the teenage kids. Just recently added a theater class, yeah, for kids and also a really cool program. That is, I guess, the new trend, which that's the thing about parks and rec there, it's always. It's always about trends is the Lego classes?

Speaker 1:

Yeah, so it's like some Lego.

Speaker 5:

So that's so far. It's been a huge hit as well. But yeah, just trying to come up with a lot of programs that Milton Residence might like.

Speaker 4:

Right, right, right. We can't forget about your mindfulness with the sloth one.

Speaker 7:

That was my favorite one. Wait a minute A sloth.

Speaker 4:

Especially when the instructor was like oh, oh, sloths poop every uh, about once every seven days. And it's been seven days since the sloth poop and we're all like, oh okay, wrong, sloth yeah, and that was also which.

Speaker 5:

I'm glad that sloth didn't use a restroom, because that would have been a whole, another level of experience.

Speaker 4:

The penguins are a different matter, but that was still fun, yeah did.

Speaker 1:

We do penguins too. Where have I been?

Speaker 5:

yeah, so this was in 2022, I think it was, I don't remember. So it was with our it was pre-christy, yeah it was pre-christy.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, you guys did all the fun things before I got here, before bc yeah, ac bc yeah but, yeah, so yeah so it's just more about just seeing smiles.

Speaker 5:

It's kind of like you're making memories for the residents who actually take your programs. So right, right that's amazing.

Speaker 1:

I know you have a slew of programs that I get to kind of take a look at because I get to work with you on some of those programs as far as signage and graphics and things, and it's really impressive the amount of effort and the wide variety of programming that you've been able to pull together. So kudos to that. So you kind of gave us what the most fulfilling part of Parks and Rec is your job here. You know you love the smiles and everything like that. So do you have a standout memory or your favorite memory of your time here in Milton thus far?

Speaker 5:

I would say definitely, it would be the creation of the summer camp. So obviously I've had many years working summer camps, being a director of recreation, of course Before summer camp, but not starting one from scratch. I think it was talked about a little bit but it wasn't like a like a main topic in my interview about summer camp until I, until I started, and then I was told hey, you're running a summer camp yay, from scratch, and you nailed it.

Speaker 5:

we just finished our second year. We officially have a name now. It's called Camp Compass, so we actually the first year it was called the Milton Summer Camp. We actually didn't have a name for it.

Speaker 1:

The creativity was off the charts.

Speaker 7:

It was clear. Okay, you knew where you were going.

Speaker 1:

It's very important. You have to have clear messaging.

Speaker 5:

Well, now it's called Camp Compass, so now I officially know where to go.

Speaker 1:

Or what direction you're going. Oh, the jokes are on fire.

Speaker 2:

And all the other names that are probably still on the whiteboard over there.

Speaker 1:

So we're building memories and the connections and we know that it's all central to Parks and Rec as a whole. I mean, that seems to be where you guys are all pulling together. I want to zoom out a little bit and talk about a bigger picture of why our parks matter. So that brings me to Jen. You've got some amazing insights on this.

Speaker 5:

You have described parks as being integral, integral, big words, big words on a wednesday integral, pick a different one integral, integral, integral integral, integral and integrated into unity you've described parks as being important to the health, unity and vitality of any community so, before we get started, I think instead of gin it should be, it should be ranger gin ranger, let's back this up ranger gin.

Speaker 1:

Yes, of course I. I should have known that, matthew. No worries, we know that it's important and essentially it's kind of the heartbeat of a community. Expand on that, let us know.

Speaker 6:

There is not a single person that you'll meet that has not seen a park, heard of a park or touched a park, which tells me we've done a good job of either investing in parks in this country or promoting that there are parks somewhere that you could potentially have access to. Now that changes. There are communities across the country, some in metro Atlanta, that have less access than others, that's for sure. I think Milton is very privileged to have the beautiful acreage of green space, so I'm grateful to be a steward of that space, and I think what drove me to take the job in Milton is my love for the outdoors keeps me curious and it's infectious. When you're a curious person, it's easy and free to take people in the outdoors and go. Let's get curious. What's this thing? I don't know. I'm not an expert on all topics. Let's investigate it. What can it be? Whether you're a kid or you're 90, we can all stay curious.

Speaker 1:

Right, right and it's. It's amazing to me because Matthew did take me on a tour of all the parks. I have lived in Georgia, just right up the road here, for seven years and had no idea that Milton had parks tucked in like every nook and cranny, right, places that I would have never have known. Birmingham, beautiful, so gorgeous. Wish I still had horses.

Speaker 6:

I'd be out there, yeah.

Speaker 1:

But I don't.

Speaker 6:

It's a little gem tucked away for the equestrian community and they're grateful. Every time I go out there they remind me Jen, we're so glad this is here, they thank the city, they thank the public for being good stewards of the property and I too am grateful. How big is that property? 208. 208.

Speaker 1:

Wow that's big. It is a big property. So, while we're there, if you were to combine all of our green spaces and our parks, what's the acreage on that?

Speaker 6:

Open or closed acreage, because that's different, like properties that are open and available to the public. Let's do that one, okay. So this is where it gets in the weeds, right? You have active parks, yeah, such as bell, legacy, right. Um, those count as parks, right. And then you have passive parks, like providence, birmingham. And then you have the green spaces that were purchased with green space money, also known as passive parks okay, they don't have ball fields on them. So if you were to total all three of those together, I think you reach close to 800 900.

Speaker 1:

Maybe I'm wrong I think we'll Tom's looking, tom's looking. I love it.

Speaker 7:

We'll circle back to that one that was a metric.

Speaker 6:

But yeah. So when you have all that space, that's a lot of public land for people to be able to utilize.

Speaker 1:

It really is. I was impressed with the fact that it all did exist in this little stretch of a city that's tucked in between Alpharetta and Cherokee County that I didn't know about.

Speaker 6:

Right, yeah, it's very intentional and I think Milton has been very intentional about keeping green space open for the public and available, because we can always lessen that green space. It is much more difficult to add more right. So 10 years from now, 20 years, 100 years from now? What's that going to look like if we didn't have it right?

Speaker 2:

are we still dying to know those acres? Yeah, yes please all right we've got 55 acres of active space, 269 passive acres and 406 green space acres that's's amazing, that's amazing.

Speaker 6:

That's a lot of acreage.

Speaker 1:

Now we all know. Yeah, yeah, just for you listeners. So, as Matthew very graciously introduced you as Ranger Jen which is how most people out there who have interactions know you they know you as Ranger Jen. You're the face of the Junior Ranger Program hiking, kayaking, fishing programs, all sorts of things. Tell us really what your job entails and what new projects are looming for you.

Speaker 6:

It's multifaceted and it's evolving every day. So when I first came on, it was we have all this green space. Help our public interact with that green space, however that looks, whether it's hiking or biking or kayaking, whatever that looks like. The community was open-minded to it. What it evolved to was the first program, which was a Junior Ranger book, and that has created quite a spinoff, and so I can't even begin to tell you where it's going to go. I can tell you where we are now.

Speaker 6:

What I would love to see is every single person in this community has some sort of contact with a green space, and when I say green space I mean anything that is publicly owned. I would love for them to have some sort of engagement in a program or not a program, just going out there and enjoying it. The programs help you get there and they help you have something to do. So the Signature Junior Ranger program is a great family activity you can do at home, you can do out in a park, you can do it singularly with a family or you can join one of my lead programs.

Speaker 1:

And you've done a great job as far as offering programming for the little littles with your leaf program, and those babies are three, four years old.

Speaker 6:

Yeah, two and a half all the way up to five. So this is like I'm mom. I mean Michaela couples with her toddler Tuesdays. I'm a mom. It is 10 am and we got to get out of the house, Right. And so Miss Cassie, who runs that program for us, she does a great job. It's at Bell, so they have inside space and outside space.

Speaker 1:

So with my first because you learn a lot with your first I didn't want her to get dirty.

Speaker 5:

I'm not going to lie, I didn't.

Speaker 1:

So we were living in Michigan and the first time my sister-in-law sat my daughter in the grass, she was like ooh and ran her hands through everything. I was like oh. Yeah, I know that feeling I knew what my downfalls were. So programs like this allow these kids to experience things that maybe parents aren't as familiar with, and introduces them to a lot of different options.

Speaker 6:

Yeah, I think it's a community connector too, anytime that we can bring families together in one of these programs, because when their kids connect, they connect, they find common interest, and I get this call a lot. My kid is curious about the outdoors. We are not an outdoors family. We don't know how to help guide this process. They want to learn to fish. Oh, we don't want to touch these fish.

Speaker 6:

Jen, I'm with it, I don't touch fish and that's kind of driven the programs that I've created, the calls that I get the public feedback. They want to learn something. I'm willing to teach it or find someone to do that. So that's kind of where we're going.

Speaker 1:

It's really guided by community. Yeah, because you've got something coming up on the horizon.

Speaker 6:

I do, and I know coming up on the horizon, I do this, I'm so excited.

Speaker 1:

I am too right in my wheelhouse. I'm excited to get you involved. Yeah, tell us what's what's coming, yeah, so christy and I are partnering we are to drop and launch a webinar series called wildlife 101.

Speaker 6:

Stay tuned. Yeah, that's it. First one will be up the 1st of February. We did an in-person pilot one in November.

Speaker 1:

Huge success it was about coyotes, I learned a lot.

Speaker 6:

Yeah, so did I. I learned a lot Shocking.

Speaker 1:

You know, you think, you know, you don't. That's right.

Speaker 6:

We're going to have experts throughout the year on various topics. They're gonna get on webinars and they are going to teach us right whatever we want to know totally free.

Speaker 1:

All you have to do is register for them. The link will be available, everything will be published, we'll have it out on social. We'll have a web page for it. So really encouraging people to get involved, because it's an easy way to pick up and learn something new. Maybe involve your kids. Let them, let them take a listen All ages. Yep, absolutely so, in line with everybody else, jen, what's been the most rewarding part of your journey?

Speaker 6:

It is. How about this? I'll share a memory. Okay, I'll take that. Last spring I took a group of my junior ranger academy kids out in the woods and an inchworm was coming down from a tree and a little girl grabbed the string, put it on her finger and she guided that inchworm across everyone's finger and many of the kids were scared about this inchworm touching them. Is it dirty? Can it hurt me? And I let them go. I let the kids be kids and explore on their own and teach each other. The sense of pride in the photo that Oksana in our communications department captured her pride of finding that piece of nature and introducing it to the kids in her group. It was like an extension of me I now realize could be in all of them and they can lead each other right and where were you when my kids I sparked that and that made me feel proud I needed a ranger

Speaker 1:

yeah, my kids were little. Because there's a lot of things I don't touch. Inchworms would be one of them. Fish is number one uh, life hack.

Speaker 6:

Uh, and I'm sorry if kids are listening to this, if I don't want to touch it, uh, there's a kid in the group who will, and he'll get the other kids to touch it fair, fair.

Speaker 1:

Thank you, jen. I appreciate all the information and I'm excited about where things are going, and that goes for everybody. Everybody's got such great programming coming up, but I do want to switch gears a little bit. Emily, it's not the last one, it just happened to be you're the last one.

Speaker 7:

It's okay, save the best for last. I guess.

Speaker 1:

so You've got a knack for creating some very cool spaces, opportunities and and events and making them accessible and fun for so many people of all ages. I'd love to hear your perspective on how you approach that and please explain the concept of the third place.

Speaker 7:

Of course. So I've had a very interesting journey to get here. One of the first jobs I had out of college was I worked for Avalon in Alpharetta, and the developer of that area was Mark Toro, and he constantly talked about this concept of the third place. So your first place is your home, where you live.

Speaker 7:

Your second place is your workplace, where you have to go every day, where you spend your time, where you make your money, and your third place is where you choose to spend your time. So your third place is where you recreate, where you hang out with friends, where you create memories. So whenever I'm creating an event or even just being a part of Parks and Recreation in general, we are their third place.

Speaker 7:

So, there's a lot of people who choose to spend their family time in a park. There's a lot of people who choose to come to our events, who go to Michaela's Toddler Tuesdays. So we're constantly in this concept of creating where people choose to spend their time.

Speaker 1:

Right, and that's kind of where I was going next with that. You've said that parks and recreation shape how people choose to live. Tell me how that feeds in. I mean, is it when people?

Speaker 7:

choose to do something. So obviously, you know where you live you have to be there. School, you have to be there. Work you have to be there. You have to be there, christy, come on girl. But when people choose to spend their time, you are their choice. Like you are, you are creating this experience, whether it's an event or a program or an athletic, and those are the things that people remember 20, 30 years down the line right.

Speaker 7:

They don't necessarily remember the deadline that they had on this one specific project they had to do at their workplace, but they could remember the leaf program that they did, or their time at Christmas and Crabapple, or their time at Community Egg Hunt. So people are choosing to make this part of their lives and that's a very important job that we have to fulfill that choice.

Speaker 1:

How long have you been with? Milton, almost two years now a very important job that we have to fulfill that choice. How long have you been with?

Speaker 2:

Milton, almost two years now. Oh, we've got a team that's rolling in. You expanded quickly. Tom, yes, he's shaking his head. Yes, oh yeah. Well, emily's role was not a new role within the city. Okay, it just moved from one department and it fit well in parks and recreation. So while my department expanded, it wasn't a new head.

Speaker 1:

I gotcha All right, Fair enough. So I've asked everyone else, and now I'll ask you what keeps you excited about this work.

Speaker 7:

I love. Well, first off, I love creating experiences. I think every event is a different experience. I think I have the best and most fun job within the city and I agree and I laugh sometimes. I was actually speaking with our fire department last week. Their work emergencies are something is on fire. They're literally putting out fires and that's their work emergency. My work emergency gets to be I had a vendor cancel on me 24 hours or I need to come up with this creative solution because my face paint are canceled and I'm going to go to Michaels and go buy every ounce of paint that I can find and learn how to face paint in the next 24 hours.

Speaker 7:

So I am motivated by the concept of being a part of their experience and being a part of their traditions. We've had families now who have come to Christmas in Crabapple or Pancakes with Santa, or our community egg hunt or our Memorial Day ceremony or any of these events, year after year after year after year, and they have these pictures and memories of From every single one of these. We've used the same Santa for forever, because there's only one Santa. Yes, obviously, absolutely.

Speaker 1:

He's a busy guy.

Speaker 7:

He is a super busy guy but I book him really early so I make sure that I get the same Santa every year. And these kids have had their pictures taken with Santa since they were babies and now they're graduating high school and they still have the same photo with santa. My mom used to make me take a picture with santa until I graduated from high school, so if you come to my house ever, you can just see all of my old photos with santa. I'm gonna need to see those. I can make that happen yeah, well you have to.

Speaker 1:

I think we need a department a department we have one. No, I, I need history. I want everybody to bring in photos from when they got it because that's entertaining. We can make that happen. I was talking to the right girl. She's gonna make that happen for me I'll make it work.

Speaker 7:

So just you know, being a part of those traditions is what keeps me motivated to make sure that families light up when they come to our events. I mean seeing we'd elsa, elsa and Anna this past weekend at pancakes with Santa, and so fun. One of the very first little girls you know exactly who I'm talking about who walked into this event. She looked to her right and there was Elsa. And you would have thought clouds opened up and the sun shone down on this kiddo and her face lit up and I looked at whoever was standing beside me and I said there it is. That's it. Every ounce of stress, every ounce of work waking up at 4am to be here was worth it. Seeing that kid's face.

Speaker 1:

It was amazing and my kids are all grown so getting to see some of these littles enjoy that space and see their favorite princesses and to see Santa and Mrs Claus. The other highlight, I have to say and I was lucky enough to be standing outside is there was a little boy and he was dressed like the Grinch, he had the furry sleeves on and he looked outside and he saw the Grinch and he went the Grinch and he just stood there just in amazement and the Grinch and he went the Grinch and he just stood there just in amazement. And the Grinch, in all the wonderful movements, ran right past that kid, like it was so intentional, and then turned around and gave him the fingers like hi, I see you. And it was literally the best thing I've seen.

Speaker 6:

That kid was the best part of that whole day the cutest thing, because his parents were like we're ready to go, and he just kept doing four year old cartwheels through that place Like this is where I live now. This is my third home. He was high five.

Speaker 1:

In the Grinch he was touching the fur. He was so excited. So I agree with you, those were the best part of the whole day and it made me forget I was tired. But you said something that I can relate to. You were talking about fire department and the difference between your emergencies. I was sitting with PD and I'm complaining about how blurry this photo is, about how blurry this photo is, and I sat there and I looked and I said I do realize that your job is not about taking pictures and that it's much more.

Speaker 7:

I want to say important, integral, integral, bring it back.

Speaker 1:

I can identify the differences between what I think is important and what becomes important on your daily. So you sit there and go okay. So do I really make a stink about this blurry picture, or are we just going to roll with it? So we're rolling.

Speaker 6:

We're rolling, we're rolling. Okay, but if we all took our jobs as seriously as those firefighters putting out a fire, these residents are very lucky.

Speaker 7:

That is true, that is true. I'm putting out a fire every day, guys it's true, I was told this weekend that I am not an er doctor, and I always have to remember that. So an event stress is event stress. But guess what? I'm not saving lives here, I'm just making fun not.

Speaker 1:

Well, you know, when your face painter dips out that that's big Right. I mean, that's a lot of fire, that's a fire. Which has never, happened.

Speaker 7:

And, by the way, we haven't had a face painter cancel. But you know, a vendor change or last minute things. You've got to roll with the punches. You've got to roll with the punches. Everything's going to be great, Yep for sure.

Speaker 5:

Always.

Speaker 1:

So we've had a fabulous. Is there anything else that y'all want to share with the listeners about Parks and Rec Information you want to drop? Oh, emily's got her hand up. She's such a good student, thank you.

Speaker 7:

I do like to be a good student. I think a lot of people don't see the behind the scenes, but I think it's very important to note how close our team is. We are all so incredibly passionate about what we do and are constantly trying to find ways to make our job better, to make our programs better, to make our athletics better, our events better, Everything that we do. I think this team is constantly striving to be better, but we also all like each other. We all have fun. We're all willing to help each other at the drop of a hat, drop of a pin. Hat pin, Hat, pin, Drop something. We'll be there. So it's cool to work on a team that's exactly like this.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, I would agree. I get to listen to your meetings. Sometimes I am a little jealous and I'm going to come and sit in on them because you know You're always invited.

Speaker 2:

You know that.

Speaker 1:

I'm kind of afraid You're an honorary member yes.

Speaker 2:

Well, communications as a whole is an honorary member. We're neighbors. Yep, it's true, and we work together so closely on so many different things.

Speaker 1:

Yep, yep, I appreciate that, tom. I may drop in on your next one, since I stole this meeting from you for the podcast, but I absolutely appreciate everybody being here and sharing your insight podcast. But I absolutely appreciate everybody being here and sharing your insight. And you know, from programs to parks, this team is really creating beautiful spaces and experiences that bring joy and connection to the community. I am grateful to all of you. Number one y'all made me feel incredibly welcome when I started here in July, so I'm kind of partial to y'all just for that. So where is the best place for people to find information on all things parks and rec takers, anybody?

Speaker 2:

I would probably start with the city's website, miltongagov, and then there is a parks and recreation tab with a lot of different options, but you should be able to also just click on the tab and it brings you to like a general homepage. That will get you to our registration pages and details on whether it be events or programs or the things you register for or don't register for. We have so many of everything and you can contact me or we have the email address that goes to everybody. It is parksandrec at miltongagov.

Speaker 1:

Perfect.

Speaker 2:

We also have an activities guide. It also could be found on the website.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, because you guys just redid the new one.

Speaker 2:

Yes, and check out our Facebook page. We put that activities guide out through the Facebook as well, so this is our largest and most robust activities guide we've ever had. In fact, we were talking how do we pair this back? It's so big. Less pages in this thing. Yeah, yeah, yeah, without shrinking the font where you need a magnifying glass. So, yeah, perfect.

Speaker 1:

Well, I really appreciate everybody being here. Your time was well spent for us. I feel like everybody will get a very good insight as to who is behind all the fun in Milton. Thanks for listening to Milton in Maine. We hope this episode gave you fresh insights into what makes our city so special. Stay connected and don't miss an episode by subscribing to this podcast on your favorite platform and following us on social media for all updates. And, of course, if you want to learn more about the city, visit us online at wwwmiltongagov for resources, news and upcoming events. Until next time, thanks for being part of the conversation and we'll see you on the next Milton in Maine.