Cherokee Recreation And Parks Earn Top Honors At Conference

CHEROKEE COUNTY, GA — Cherokee Recreation and Parks was honored earlier this month with several awards at the Georgia Recreation and Park Association’s Annual Conference.

The conference took place Nov. 1-4 in Columbus, Georgia and drew attendees from park agencies in both cities and counties throughout the state.

Of the awards received, Cherokee Recreation and Parks earned the most prestigious award by being named Agency of the Year in the category for counties with populations over 150,000. Cherokee Recreation and Parks had previously earned this award in 1999 and most recently in 2003.

“We are very honored to have received this award,” Cherokee Recreation and Parks Director Jay Worley said. “We have accomplished so much this year, and it is all in part to our hard-working staff who continue to take on new projects with excitement and enthusiasm.”

Cherokee County Community Services Agency Director Bryan Reynolds earned the highest individual district award by being named the District 5 Distinguished Professional. Reynolds previously served as the Recreation and Parks director from 2008-2019 and was appointed as the community services agency director in 2019.

Other awards received include the District 5 Outstanding Program award given to the Cherokee County Aquatic Center for their Water Safety Week program held June 14-19, the District 5 Outstanding Facilities and Grounds Staff award given to Parks Manager Tony Stargel and the District 5 Al Richardson Outstanding Athletics Staff award given to Athletics Division Director Shawn Schumacher.