East Ridge
DL Opinion columns

Town Square Back with Center Reopened – by Deborah Levine

Originally published in The Chattanooga Times Free Press

Community centers are like town squares with their mission to provide a variety of fun and recreation opportunities for people of all lifestyles and ages. That’s the vision statement of the East Ridge Parks and Recreational Department along with: “We work hard to provide a safe, fun and respectable place to enjoy life.” 

Attendees saw that vision carried out at the Grand Re-Opening of the East Ridge Community Center. A grant from the Local Parks and Recreation Fund, $2.3 million was spent on renovating the gymnasium, the multi-purpose room and the kitchen order to expand the facility’s ability to better serve the community and host more programs. The Ribbon Cutting celebration marked this huge accomplishment with a tour of the building, family-friendly activities, giveaways, and business-supported raffle.

Mayor Brian Williams announced: “This is a great day for East Ridge – two years in the making for the core expansion of our village’s cornerstone.” The City Manager Brian Koral underscored the Center’s mission:  “A true, safe gathering place where we can spend time together.” And we did! Folks of diverse colors and ethnicities mingled, smiling all the way. Generations of families were in conversations, parents held babies in their arms, toddlers ran around the gym. One tiny girl dressed in pink frills attempted to play basket ball on the new court.  I’ll giggle forever remembering that sight!

Shawnna Skiles, Director of Parks and Recreation and Hannah Spear, Community Center Supervisor shared their passion for the Center, highlighting the amazing growth of East Ridge and the city’s services. Hannah reminded us about the seniors’ exercise classes Mondays – Thursdays at 10am, emphasizing the Senior Citizen Center mode of the Center where citizens and non-citizens attend. Everyone benefits…and we all have fun! 

With the community coming together, there were several organizations on display. Chattanooga 2.0 and its Director Dr. Jasmine Fernandez had a table with invitations to join community learning sessions that explore the key developmental needs of adolescents and understand the latest science of adolescent development. Another of their community projects was Viable Pathways to Prosperity which gives eligible students and graduates free training for careers in electrical line working, commercial driving and heavy equipment operations as well as welding and dental assisting. 

This training for our youth is very much needed in today’s work world. Younger kids were drawn to the room with building blocks which help build strong brains while still in diapers. The wall of that room was covered with a colorful mural by artist, Olivia Recket. Thank you!

The community goes beyond humans to pets. There was a lot of petting and patting of a fluffy dog from the East Ridge Animal Services.  A happy adoption was likely.

There is a national context to all this. The National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA) is dedicated to building strong, vibrant and resilient communities through the power of parks and recreation. According to its newly released poll, 92% of adults say they want their local government to invest in community infrastructure such as parks, community centers, recreation facilities and senior centers. East Ridge is definitely part of the trend, and there’s more come. 

When the Mayor and I chatted later, he shared his vision for East Ridge beyond this re-opening as well as Camp Jordan’s public park/sports complex, and Venue 1921’s convention center. That vision included renovating the vacant, old school behind the Center. In addition to housing police and fire station services, he’d develop its auditorium into a theater where young people could present plays and music. Yes, this project will take time…but I’m eagerly anticipating that Grand Opening. See you there!     

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