HRC valuable to community

How do I get there from here? If I were lost I would stop and ask directions to find the most direct path to my destination. This works with travel, but how do you take a recreation commission from here to there? How do you determine where “there” is? This question is perplexing, but is my greatest challenge as Superintendent. It is also the key to why I think we have a journey ahead of us.

Created in 1961, the Hays Recreation Commission has traveled quite a distance in its history. From the early days of having a part-time director and some volunteers running programs, we have traveled a road to now having over 180 employees and over 50 game officials serving over 300 programs with more than 100,000 participants.

So where do we go from here? How do we get there? One of the biggest questions marks we have is in the area of facilities. Some of our fields, like the Dusty Glassman Ballfields, look awesome. Others, like Pratt Optimist Soccer Complex, Frank Stramel Softball Complex and Hank Speier Ballfields need significant work. Practice areas for all outdoor sports are lacking in both number and condition. We need to change this.

To accomplish anything significant we will need those who support our programs to help us. You can do this by telling others in our community about the need to have a practice field where you can actually roll a soccer ball in a straight line or to have a place to hit a softball at all due to the large number of teams looking for space. We need you to tell people how important it is for a young boy or girl to experience the challenge of participation. Ideally, the challenge of participation is due to the activity, not to the facility.

As for our part, we will look at every area. Can we be more efficient? Can we do something cheaper? This has to be balanced with making it easy for someone to participate. From our most avid adult softball player to the little girl who signs up for her first Daddy Daughter Date Night, we should not have barriers to participate. We are here to improve quality of life and we have to be clicking on all cylinders to truly reach the potential that we have as an organization.

To meet this challenge we will be looking to increase efficiencies in every area.

I understand that our next journey will be a significant challenge and I am convinced that we will stretch ourselves further than we ever have in the effort to meet our potential. However, I am also convinced that to not challenge ourselves is irresponsible.

You have my word that we will do our part to get there. But for us to go where I think we need to go, we have to improve our facilities. We need you to help drive us there.

Rick Claiborn is superintendent of HRC.