Silver City's new Parks and Recreation Manager Julian Madrid stands on one of three basketball courts at the new, Henry V. "La Burra" Morales Recreation Center, scheduled to open in mid-July.Silver City -- Silver City son Julian Madrid is the new manager of the town's recently reorganized Parks and Recreation Department, which will be housed in the new, Henry V. "La Burra" Morales Recreation Center, scheduled to open in mid-July. Julian is the youngest of four sons of Mike Madrid, who served as a recreation center coordinator when the department was under the direction of Peter Peña, Silver City's director of Public Works.
Town Manager Alex Brown explained that his decision to separate all functions related to town parks and recreation from Public Works was based on several factors, including an overburdened Public Works Department, which had been responsible for streets and sanitation, as well as Memory Lane Cemetery, maintenance and scheduling for all town parks and recreation center programming, the municipal pool, and other responsibilities. He said his decision is also based on increased demand for parks and recreation services from beyond town boundaries.
"Silver City is a service hub for the entire region, and we've seen a big increase in demand for our parks and recreation services and amenities," said Brown. "With the new recreation center opening soon, the many new programming and services that will be offered there, and the need for a one-stop reservation process for our parks and sports facilities, it seemed like a good time to separate parks and recreation from Public Works, where staff are already stretched just taking care of streets and sanitation.
"Having Julian managing all of our parks and recreation facilities and programming is going to be a great service to our youth, families, the schools and area sports organizations. I'm glad to have him on board."
Madrid left Silver City in the ninth grade and moved to Lewiston, Idaho, where he graduated from Lewis-Clark State College in 2015 with a major in sports administration, and minors in both business administration and marketing. He then relocated to Litchfield Park, Arizona, where he served four years as the recreation program assistant, where he gained experience in youth sports programming, as well as the town's aquatics and special events programming. He then returned to Lewiston to become the town's recreation coordinator, supervising parks and recreation facilities and staff, as well as organizing youth and adult sports leagues, special events, recreation classes, and senior activities.
He's been on the job here in Silver City since March, and is busy building an online parks and recreation services reservation system to better serve the community, and is hoping to soon hire two recreation coordinators and an administrative assistant.
"It's been a busy start, and I'm really happy to be back in Silver City," he said. "I'm looking forward to creating events, sports and other programming for all ages," he added, emphatically, revealing his deep passion for sports and recreation, a centerpiece of his childhood. "I love serving the community, and I just want to help put smiles on people's faces."
For more information about Silver City's parks and recreation department, please contact Julian Madrid at
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