TMP Photo by Kelly Hite. Dennis Rainier is retiring after 27 years with the Murfreesboro Parks and Recreation.
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When Dennis Rainier, 61, started with Murfreesboro Parks and Recreation Department in 1971, he was one of two full-time employees.
The other was the late Director Ray Duffy. The department only had a “couple dozen” seasonal employees, said Rainier, the current Parks and Rec director.
“Back then you did everything,” he explained, adding he raked baseball fields, led classes and did many other things as assistant director.
Now Parks and Rec has 73 full-time employees, around 250 seasonal employees and more than 1,000 acres of parkland across the city.
Things have changed, but Rainier’s biggest change comes with the New Year when he retires.
Rainier will officially retire Wednesday, Dec. 31, after spending more than 37 years with the department. Deputy Director Lanny Goodwin will step in the director’s chair Jan. 1, 2009.
He began his career in Murfreesboro as assistant director of the program in 1971, when Duffy asked him if he wanted the job out of the blue.
“One day he (Duffy) came over and I was instructing a basketball clinic for young women,” Rainier explained, adding he was in his second year teaching physical education at Hobgood Elementary at the time.
Duffy asked him about his background and offered Rainier the assistant director position on the spot.
“It was a really eye-opener for me,” Rainier said. “For someone to see me teaching a basketball clinic and want me as their assistant director.”
Rainier took the job and never looked back, until now.
In his retirement, he hopes to return to the classroom as a substitute teacher, after he completes a month-long jury duty stint in January.
“You give of yourself and it just gets to when it’s time. I’ve given what I could give and it was time to turn it over to someone with the energy to take care of the community,” Rainier said.
Rainier said he feels confident in Goodwin’s ability to run the department and even make it better in the long run.
“I feel really good about recommending someone who has been here this long. … I have a real good feeling about turning it over to Lanny,” Rainier said, adding Goodwin has been with the city since 1988.
“I look forward to the challenge and feel comfortable that I can carry on the rich tradition of providing for the citizens of Murfreesboro,” Goodwin said in a previous interview.
Rainier has provided well for the citizens of Murfreesboro over his 27 years as director of Parks and Rec.
Rainier was promoted to director in 1980, replacing Duffy, and has overseen expansive growth in the community and corresponding growth in his department during his tenure as director.
“When I first took over in November of 1980, I didn’t want to be in a static community and little did I know how it would grow,” Rainier said.
The diversity of programs offered by Parks and Rec has also grown exponentially, along with the city’s population.
In 1971, it was all athletic programs. But now programs run the gamut from cultural arts and theater to aquatics and health and wellness, he explained.
“More than anything, I feel proud we’ve grown like that and provided a variety of programming for our citizenry,” Rainier said.
Rainier and Parks and Rec has done a great job providing for the people of Murfreesboro, as evidenced with its recent domination at the Tennessee Recreation and Parks Association awards ceremony.
Murfreesboro’s recent special census put the population at slightly more than 100,000. The Population upgrade bumped the city into a new population category with TRPA and pitted Parks and Rec against cities like Nashville, Memphis, Knoxville and Chattanooga.
Murfreesboro Parks and Rec entered 15 categories and took home 11 awards for programs and services.
But all that has been done – from the Greenway to Patterson Park Community Center to the awards – it wouldn’t have happened if it weren’t for the people of Murfreesboro, Rainier said.
“It’s a credit to the citizens of Murfreesboro and Rutherford County that they’re very articulate and passionate about what they pursue in their leisure time,” Rainer said.
He also credited Murfreesboro’s past and present Mayors Joe B. Jackson, Richard Reeves and Tommy Bragg, as well as the city council for supporting the Parks and Rec Department with funding and an eye to the future.
“I’ve been really fortunate …” Rainier said. “When you have a vibrant community, an outspoken and passionate citizenry, and a supportive mayor and city council, it makes it easier.”
Michelle Willard can be contacted at 615-869-0816 or mwillard@murfreesboropost.com. |
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