ParksRec_SpringSummer2024

To The Residents of Christiansburg

Dear Friends and Neighbors: The sight of colorful flowers is bursting through the mulch, the chirping of the spring peepers and the Dogwood trees showing their beautiful blooms indicate that spring is in the air. This is the perfect time to enjoy the recreational opportunities the Town of Christiansburg has to offer! As we look forward to warmer and longer days this spring and summer it is important to remember that the Christiansburg Parks and Recreation Department exists to promote and implement leisure programs and services that enhance the quality of life for all ages. In partnership with the community, we strive to deliver quality leisure programs in a personal, effective, and successful manner. We serve you, the residents of Christiansburg and our visiting neighbors, to provide a positive experience while growing and building our special community. As you read through the brochure, you will find many recreational opportunities available for you and your family. We offer several outdoor adventures, from the sounds of athletes playing and fans cheering them on at our many state of the art athletic facilities, to hearing the dogs playful barks while enjoying each other’s company at the dog park, to simply enjoying family time at all of our parks and playgrounds, to visiting the Farmer’s Market in in its temporary location of the Christiansburg Recreation Center, to witnessing the sights and sounds of nature’s beauty while walking along the Huckleberry Trail are just some of the great recreation adventures we provide for our community. Do you need a more structured indoor environment to meet your health needs? Join us at the Christiansburg Recreation Center for our many community fitness programs, various educational classes and health screenings. Exercise is a very important part of a healthy lifestyle, so be sure to exercise in our cardiovascular and weight rooms or simply take a nice stroll on the 1/8-mile indoor track. Are you over the age of 50? Come and enjoy our seniors lounge, billiards room and covered patio. There are many wonderful Senior Center activities and events for you to partake in as well. Looking for some exciting summer events? Please join our community as we celebrate several downtown events such as the Rockin Main Concert Series along with the Annual Fourth of July Celebration. The Fourth of July event will be filled with exciting outdoor festivities and vendors located in the downtown area. We will have our annual epic fireworks demonstration that evening from the Christiansburg Huckleberry Park. Parking for the fireworks will be at the Uptown Christiansburg Mall and Walmart. The splash pad and all-inclusive playground and challenge courses will be the happening place to be this summer within the Christiansburg Huckleberry Park. The Harkrader Sports Complex will be the host site for many baseball and softball events this summer season. We have been selected as the Cal Ripken 10U State Baseball Tournament host site this July. We have a full slate of summer camps again this year as we work closely with Christiansburg High School coaches to provide a great developmental system for our programs that will benefit our student athletes and Christiansburg for years to come. I am excited to be entering my 12 th spring here with you in the Town of Christiansburg. I feel like over the past 12 years we as a team have made many great strides with our recreational opportunities, programs, and facilities. We are looking forward to continuing these successes with our recreational services, programs, and facilities for each of you. The Christiansburg Huckleberry Park is a game changer for the Town of Christiansburg in the world of parks, recreation, inclusivity, and sports tourism. The recreational resources and opportunities that we have in Christiansburg with the new addition of the Christiansburg Huckleberry Park and amenities is bursting our small-town Christiansburg, Virginia into the national scene as a leader in the parks and recreation world. From September 8, 2023, opening day of the park to March 1, 2024, when I wrote this letter, we have had over 108,000 visits into the park. I feel our departments vision to provide up to date recreation trends with our programs and amenities will provide a very positive impact for many future years to come and we will continue to be recognized with the title of “The ONLY Place to Play – Christiansburg, Virginia.” Best wishes to each of you for a bright, active, healthy, and beautiful spring and summer. Sincerely yours, B. T. Epperley Brad Epperley Director of Parks and Recreation

PROFESSIONAL STAFF

PARKS & RECREATION ADVISORY COMMISSION

Professional Staff........................................................................................Phone: (540) 382-2349 Brad Epperley............................................................................. Director of Parks and Recreation Michelle Trussell..................................................................Parks and Recreation Office Manager Morgan Fenton.....................................................................................Administrative Specialist II Charlton McCoy.......................................................... Assistant Director of Programs and Events Erin Ruyle....................................................................Assistant Director of Operations and Parks Pam Peyton.......................................................................... Supervisor of Community Programs Tammy Caldwell.....................................Supervisor of Senior and Special Population Programs Nick Yopp............................................................Supervisor of Camps, Tournaments and Master Scheduler of Facilities Brian Lambert..................................................Supervisor of Adult Athletics and Teen Programs Caleb Dunlea.....................................................................Supervisor of Youth Athletic Programs Rachel Vinson...................................................................................................Events Coordinator Austin Gilmore........................................Assistant Event Coordinator/Farmer’s Market Manager Darren Graham...............................................................................................Athletic Coordinator Ryan Hubble.............................................................................. Recreation Facilities Coordinator Joe Oley..........................................................................................Customer Service Coordinator Forest Redd...............................................................................Outdoor Facility Crew Supervisor Jim Whetzel.................................................................................................................Crew Leader Dylan Vest....................................................................................................................Crew Leader Brandon Decker..........................................................................................................Crew Leader Isaac Ritenour....................................................................................... Park Maintenance Worker Wil Oldham.................................................................................................. Building Maintenance Shawn Stump.............................................................................................. Building Maintenance Linn Feggeler................................................................................. Part-time Recreation Assistant Dru Yopp........................................................................................ Part-time Recreation Assistant Annie Fentress............................................................................... Part-time Recreation Assistant Alan Johnson................................................................................ Part-time Recreation Assistant

Diane C. Fenton, Chairperson Timothy Wilson, Town Council Liaison Michael L. Saylors Reba Smart James B. Williamson, Jr Robin L. Boyd Kathy Meadows John T. Neel Joshua Cummins (Student Representative)

TOWN COUNCIL

D. Michael Barber.....................................................................Mayor Samuel M. Bishop Timothy Wilson Casey Jenkins Kim Bowman Tanya Hockett Johana Hicks Randy Wingfield.........................................................Town Manager

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