NEW REC DEPARTMENT LEADERSHIP BLENDS EXPERIENCE ALONG WITH YOUTHFUL ENTHUSIASM by Dan Manley, Advocate Sports Writer Brad Steele, a veteran of almost two decades in recreation work and Maegan Hambrick who is “almost” a college graduate are the new team that will head up the Mt. Sterling Montgomery County Parks and Recreation Department. The duo haven’t officially been introduced in their new positions just yet while some paperwork is being completed, but they are already showing up around town and appear on the website as they prepare to hit the ground running. Actually, Hambrick already has. She came on board with the department as an intern from Eastern Kentucky University just as former executive director John High and program director Collin Jones were moving on to other positions with the Montgomery County school system. “She just came in and rolled up her sleeves and went to work,” said Pam Murphy, secretary for the department. “We had programs that were ongoing and needed attention and she really stepped up.” That type of work effort and the efficiency she showed obviously was enough to convince the board of directors that she would be perfect in the role on a permanent basis. As for the new executive directorr Brad Steele, he came to Mt. Sterling along with his wife and children when his wife joined the staff of St. Joseph Mt. Sterling Hospital. He brought with him a strong resume in parks and recreation, including several years each with the /Boy Scouts of America, where he served in roles of general manager, manager, council program director, camp properties director and summer camp director with the Shawnee Trails Council at Benton on Kentucky Lake. “It seems like a natural fit,” Steele, who grew up in Boyle County, said of his new position. “I look around at the facilities and the possibilities that exist here and it’s very exciting to think about what we can accomplish for this community and area in parks and recreation.” Steele is a graduate of Boyle County High School and Eastern Kentucky University where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in parks and recreation administration. He spent two years as the program director at Camp Lakewood working for YMCA of the Ozarks in Missouri, about 90 minutes from St. Louis prior to becoming the park foreman and eventually the director the Murray-Calloway County Parks Department from 1998-2006. He spent the next six years with the Boy Scouts of American and Camp Roy C. Manchester. Hambrick is a 2006 graduate of Lexington Christian Academy where she was a standout in softball and earned the opportunity to pitch for Milligan College in Tennessee. When an injury ended her career she came back to Eastern Kentucky University where she will receive her degree in December in health science, recreation and parks administration. She has already gained experience in working with the YMCA of Central Kentucky, the City of Lexington Parks and Recreation where she was the recreational program director of the Kenwick Community Center, with the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife and with the Paris Independent Schools as an assistant softball coach. This Saturday Hambrick will be married to Mt. Sterling native Jared Spencer. “I’m just really excited about the way things have worked out and the opportunity that I have to apply the skills I’ve learned and will continue to learn,” she said. Steele said that at first glance the finances for the department seemed to be on solid footing, but there was an obvious need to begin to pay down some of the debt they have. He said he would be very proactive in bringing events to Mt. Sterling that will bring people from other areas for overnight stays that will utilize our hotels and restaurants and help the local economy.
Posted on: Sat, 05 Oct 2013 19:41:04 +0000
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