New Parks Director Hits Ground Running
Caitlin Sharpe was confirmed as the new director for the Dalton Parks and Recreation Department Tuesday night by a unanimous vote of the Mayor and Council. She was previously named as the sole finalist for the job in December.
She is a graduate of Jacksonville State University where she earned both a bachelor’s degree in recreation as well as a master’s degree in sports management. After completing her studies she began her career as the athletic coordinator for Rome-Floyd County’s Parks and Recreation Department in 2017. She was hired by Catoosa County in 2018 as an athletic supervisor and then was promoted twice, first to assistant director and then finally to the director position.
Sharpe took some time out of her third day on the job for a quick interview to discuss her vision for the department's future and her love for parks and recreation. Here's what she had to say:
In an article in the Dalton Daily Citizen you were quoted saying that parks and rec is your lifestyle – what do you mean by that?
Yes, when I said it, I meant that it’s my lifestyle but I think it’s more that it’s a lifestyle that so many different people adopt. It plays so many different roles in so many different people’s lives for so many different ages. You’ll have a mom who is pushing a stroller in a park with a little one just to get them outside. You have the age groups where they’re starting their initial getting out on the court or getting out on the ball field with a coach, learning to be coachable – they pick up so many new skills as a young one, being coachable, developing social skills and so forth – and then you get a little bit older and hopefully those kids come back and work with us. Maybe we get the opportunity to provide teens their first jobs when they get started and we offer internships. And then we’ve got adult athletics where they can participate in that. You know, parks touch all ages. And so when I say that it’s a lifestyle, it can really impact if a community enjoys their leisure time. So I always tell my staff, “we’re on when people are off.” That means we’ve got to make sure our parks look nice so they’ve got a place to come and spend their leisure time. When I say it’s my lifestyle, I’m a product of parks and recreation. I grew up in a family who either coached, worked for the parks and recreation department, so I really got to see that people really adopt the lifestyle.
Coming from that background you know all about the different things that kids can learn on a ball field.
Oh yeah, and I think that’s truly where I learned who I was. I was very heavily involved in youth athletics. When I was young I played all through middle school and high school ball and then when I went to college I stayed involved and I officiated and I played intermural sports. I still found a way to stay involved. I was lucky, I had a mentor in college who when I kept going back and forth on careers – I wanted to be a social worker – I kept going back and changing my major five times, and he said, “everything you’re involved with centers around parks and recreation.” So that’s how I shifted my mindset to recreation and it’s followed me ever since. It’s just something that’s been ingrained into me from the get-go I guess. My dad was a coach, my mom is a teacher so she was involved in parks and recreation and it’s just stuck.
Your career brought you to northwest Georgia before coming to Dalton, you moved up through the ranks in Catoosa County’s parks and recreation department. What attracted you to the job here in Dalton?
Dalton has been one of the top parks and rec organizations in the state. And it’s been one of those things where I’ve thought, that’s where I want to be. I like northwest Georgia, I love the mountains. There’s a lot of great hiking here and that’s what I like to do in my spare time. Everything just aligned - my husband has worked here with Mohawk for ten or so years and we’ve always known we need to get to this northwest Georgia area and what was holding us back from actually moving was that I couldn’t find the right job in this area. After an opening was available in Catoosa it got me into this area and never did I think this early that I’d be able to be a part of the Dalton organization and then everything just came together and it worked out. But I’ve always known I wanted to be here. It’s great how it’s just kind of come together.
This department is in a position where It’s poised to grow a lot with the new projects on the horizon, how would you describe your excitement to be in a position to guide some of that growth?
I’ve been in parks and recreation, compared to other people, for a relatively short amount of time. But I’ve gotten to really see Dalton do a lot with parsk and recreation. And to be able to come in and build off of those directors who have dedicated really so much of their life to parks and recreation and to be able to play a role wher I get to come in and enhance what they’ve already done, that’s the most exciting thing – well, on top of all the people I get to meet and work with. It’s one of the most exciting things to be a part of, just to see what they’ve done and either enhance it or make changes and even build new projects like the aquatics center that’s coming up. Now that’s something that’s going to be great for the community. And the new northeast soccer complex that’s opening. So not only do I get to be a part of enhancing what’s already been built, but I also get a chance to be a part of building something new. So it’s one of those dream jobs that a lot of rec directors don’t get to be a part of. And I get to!
Yeah, this is a job where you’re definitely going to be able to make an impact on this community.
Absolutely. Hopefully a good one!
What would you say is your vision for the department over the next few years going forward?
My vision has a lot to do with obviously facilities. You’ve got to make sure that what you’ve got stays intact. Stays up to date. You stay on top of the current trends. So, I’m really going to put a focus on what we currently have. That’s facilities and that’s also personnel. What I want is to create – and it’s already happening, the staff gets along, I think I’m just going to come in and help them continue to do the jobs that they like. If they like the jobs that they’re doing, they’re going to provide a better service to the community. That’s ultimately what we’re here for. I want to have a great relationship, I want the rec department to have a great relationship with all of the outside organizations, the school systems, any special organizations. I want the community, when they think of the parks and recreation department to have good thoughts but also to think OK when we need someone, when we need a facility, when we need some extra volunteers, we’ll call the rec department and they’ll be here to help. So that’s ultimately the goal is to have a good image with the community and good partnerships. And a staff that like to do it.
One of the coolest things about the jobs you and your staff do is that you really get to know the kids and the adults and the community. How much are you looking forward to getting involved with the kids who play here and watching their careers?
Oh, that’s one of the most rewarding parts of the job, I think. Like I said, my career’s been short but in my last organization I got to see kids go from tee ball to little league age and really see them start to get ready to go to middle school. I got to see how it impacts, it goes from a young age and then you see people return to your programs and then you get to see these great coaches who come out who are so invested because their kids are out there. You really get to know these families. It’s so rewarding to see kids who come and play and then they get to be out on that middle school court or that high school court and do what they love and be a part of it. Youth sports, and I will say it a million times, is such a great developmental tool and to be the person who facilitates that or to be a part of an organization that facilitates that is just one of the greatest feelings. It’s very rewarding.
Is there anything we haven’t talked about yet that you’d like to mention?
Well, it’s my third day on the job and I’ve hit the ground running and I’ve learned a lot about the department. There are a lot of things I didn’t realize. Take for example the Mack Gaston Community Center. How it’s constantly open, for kids to just come. You’ve got your learning center, you’ve got your workouts, you’ve got the walking track for anyone who just needs some leisure walking especially when it’s cold outside. And then the clinic, I got a tour of the clinic yesterday. So, parks and recreation, it’s all-encompassing. So it’s not just recreation, and for those people in the community who don’t understand what this department does, you can’t sell them short because they’re hard workers. I’m excited to learn more about it but it’s something I’m going to be very happy to be a part of, just to help them enhance what they already have because they do a lot here!
