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Athens parks director Catherine Ann Jordan and assistant Erin Helms launch podcast to spotlight services and partnerships
Summary
In a July podcast episode recorded July 6, Athens Arts, Parks and Recreation Director Catherine Ann Jordan and Assistant Director Erin Helms introduce a new series to highlight staff, facilities, community partnerships, department history and how voter funding supports local projects.
Catherine Ann Jordan, director of Athens Arts, Parks and Recreation, and Assistant Director Erin Helms debuted the podcast "Explore, Create, Play the Athens Way" in a July episode that aims to give residents a behind-the-scenes look at the department's staff, facilities and community partnerships.
The hosts said the episode is timed to Parks and Rec Month, a National Recreation and Park Association observance in July, and used the episode to explain how the department operates. "We reach about 120 folks in the peak of the season," Jordan said, noting that the department relies on about a dozen full-time employees supplemented by seasonal and part-time staff who run pools, camps and maintenance.
The podcast lists many of the department's physical assets and recent improvements, including Highland Park (a new accessible shelter), West State Street Park (new single-user restrooms opened in April), the Athens Community Center with multiple pools, a splash pad and a gym, Arts West performing-arts space, skate-park additions, pickleball and tennis courts, two dog parks and a riparian area where the city is installing disc-golf infrastructure.
"We do receive a portion of the income tax to help support our department," Jordan said, describing the role of voter-funded levies in financing major capital projects including the community center and the new pool. Jordan and Helms credited community partnerships — such as Athens Sandlot (baseball/softball), AOSO (soccer), Athens Disc Alliance, the Athens Farmers Market and the Athens County Foundation — with helping maintain fields, run programs and secure grants for projects such as an adjustable-height universal changing table.
The hosts also recounted local history: Jordan and Helms highlighted Bob Berson, described as an early leader in Athens recreation who organized wide-ranging youth and adult programming and whose name remains on the Bob Berson Gym. Jordan said archival newspaper accounts and community memory show Berson championed programs and facilities dating to the 1960s and was honored by a local Sertoma award in 1976.
The episode closes by encouraging residents to visit parks and use department programs and previews future podcast topics including aquatics, trails and pickleball. "Every park visited, every class attended, every game played, and every event shared helps make our community stronger," Helms said.
The department said listeners can find more details on upcoming events and services by following the podcast and visiting the Parks and Recreation web pages.
