It was in 1978, the Johnny Appleseed Park District only had two parks under their belt, Heritage and McLean Teddy Bear. The park district grew into a metropolitan district and now has 16 parks and is still growing.
Park director Kevin Haver was instrumental in the development and growth of the district over the last 4-decades. He has now decided to retire after 42 years and says he is leaving the park district in capable hands as the growth is not over and additional projects are on the horizon.
Kevin Haver, Johnny Appleseed Metropolitan Park Director Explains, “Everything is going to go into good hands. The staff is well developed and very professional in what they do. They want to come to work every day which is just phenomenal. Again, the parks themselves are in good shape, that’s not to say that everything is finished. I’ve said for a long time if everything was finished when I quit, I didn’t do my job well. Believe me, there’s a lot of work yet to get done. We’ve got some great plans for the park district and people are going to be happy when they see what they’ve yet got to come.”
Haver says the days of a picnic table and a shade tree meeting the needs of parks-goers is long gone. People are wanting activities to do while at the parks. Johnny Appleseed Parks offer a wide variety of things to do including disc golf, interactive trails, archery, camping, swimming, fishing, and the list goes on. Haver’s last day is July 1st and Deputy Director Tyler Black is moving into the Director’s Position July 2nd.
