InTucker Magazine

Ask Rip – August 2020

Rip Robertson is the Parks and Recreation Director for the City of Tucker.

These past few months the pandemic has presented many challenges and opportunities for our Parks and Recreation Department. When I talk about challenges, I’m talking about having to cancel so many of our great community activities. Our recreation center, typically a hub of activity for people of all ages and interests, has been shuttered for months. Similarly, our playgrounds and tennis courts were closed for a time. It’s been really difficult for us as a staff, as we are accustomed to the spring and summer being prime time for Parks and Recreation fun.

But amidst the challenges, we’ve been able to do a lot of innovative things. By now you know about our “Stay Away Series” and summer programming offerings. You might not know about the work of our summer intern. Jackson Gibbs is a senior at Young Harris College studying Outdoor Leadership. We’ve never had an intern here at the Tucker Parks and Recreation Department and Jackson has certainly made the most of his time with us so far. Last month he initiated the “Family Camping Series” where he organized a guided hike, campfire cookout and family campout. It doesn’t matter that the events were successful – they were – but what strikes me is the initiative that this young man took in making the most of his summer internship. What an asset to our parks program and our city!

I also want to note how well everyone has handled our summer pool season. Because of COVID, we devised a reservation system for our pools to ensure that people would be socially distant while still enjoying some summertime recreation. When you consider that we traditionally just show up at the pool, present our pass, and go on in, it’s complicated to have to go online and schedule your visit ahead of time. But that’s exactly what hundreds of you have done at Kelley Cofer and Smoke Rise Pools. We appreciate you taking the extra step, taking extra precautions and coming out to have a great time. I want to promise you that we are looking just as forward as you are to getting things back to normal next summer.