numerous All-star teams in baseball and
softball that have competed and excelled on a
state, regional, and national level,” said Davis,
who’s held the position for 36 years.
“However, our department is and always
will be geared towards the recreational
athlete. Superior talent and ability will
always advance to the next level, but we are
most pleased and proud of attempting to
give all children the opportunity to play and
participate regardless of skill level.”
All year round, Davis and Co. host various
sports leagues using Browder Field for soccer
and softball and Bynum Park for mostly
baseball. They experience the highest turnout
among all rec departments in the county.
“Without question the largest and most
sustained growth in our department over the
last thirty (plus) years has been in our youth
soccer and summer programming,” said
Davis.
He added that currently, the summer
programs of day camp and swim camp
average over 90 children over the course of
nine weeks.
CREATING MORE OPPORTUNITIES
Bryan Graham knew what needed to be done
when he took over as director of Scotland
County’s Parks and Recreation in 2016. One
of the main points on his to-do list was the
implementation of programs targeted at
demographics that were under-served at the
time - notably teens, adults and seniors. He
found that the department’s offerings were
slim for individuals over the age of 13.
So Graham and his team got to work creating
new programs and improving existing
ones. They also focused on revitalizing the
department’s properties around the county.
“With our senior population, we’ve added
numerous special programs throughout the
year to engage them a little more,” Graham
said. “Our Red Carpet Affair is huge. We have
100 tickets for that event, and that event sold
out in four hours.”
The Red Carpet Affair, a special even for
seniors that includes a candlelit dinner,
dancing and other activities, was held for the
first time last February at Scotland Place.
Starting this year, Browder Park will host
indoor soccer following the conclusion of
basketball season, which would give them
three soccer programs operating during the
course of a calendar year. “We’ve added programs like a senior Easter
egg hunt,” Graham added. “We offer different
movies at the senior center. All of our staff
has really helped out with the Senior Games.
We’ve tried to enhance that opportunity as
well.”
In regards to the future, Davis says the focus
mainly with the continued upgrades to our
existing physical structures. The gym already
features a recent renovation in the form of a
$120,000 hardwood basketball court. Seniors aren’t the only ones seeing an
uptick in activities in Scotland County. The
department has been working to make sure
that people of all ages and all interests have
their needs met.
“The majority of our facilities are over 40
years of age and require a great deal of time,
effort, and attention,” said Davis. “Coming up we have a murder mystery
dinner. That is for adults only,” Graham said.
“Last year was the first year that we did it, and
we sold 140 tickets for it.
“While we constantly do our research within
parks and recreation around the state, this is
kind of a copycat industry. What other people
do, we kind of piggyback off of it.”
When it comes to athletics, Scotland’s parks
and recreation department has expanded
the age limitations for its activities. Activities
have opened up for children as young as 3
years old. Graham said that helps in multiple
ways; not only does the increased access
bolster participation numbers, but it also gets
kids involved with athletics at a young age.
The ultimate goal of those improvements can
be summarized with two words Graham uses
often when talking about his department’s
offerings: Expand and diversify.
The department is keeping that same
approach in the early stages of this new
decade. But the focus isn’t just on improving
programs. It’s also about making Scotland
County’s parks more enticing for locals.
Laurinburg’s Hammond Park is one of the
first to receive that treatment, and other local
parks are in line as well.
“Right now we have a park renovation project
that’s going to span over four or five years,”
Graham said. “We’re looking to diversify our
park system to offer new types of equipment
in parks.
“— We’ve received over $100,000 in grants
over the past year to enhance the parks here
in Scotland County, with our first being
Washington Park. It’s good to add $80,000
in play equipment out there. Our first park
that we’ll enhance in the new decade is
Hammond Park.”
Graham said an improved park system will
help Scotland County residents improve their
health by being active outdoors. Graham
hopes local healthcare providers will soon
join that movement by “prescribing” outdoor
activities to patients through an application
such as ParkRx.
February-March 2020 • 97