New director named for city Parks and Recreation Department
By Ty Johnson
Published in News on August 10, 2011 1:46 PM
Scott Barnard
Beginning Aug. 22, parks and recreation will have a new face to head its department.
Scott Barnard will serve as director of the department as interim director Sherry Archibald will relinquish her position to focus solely on her leadership of the Paramount Theatre. Mrs. Archibald was named the interim director March 21 to fill the vacancy left by Ruben Wall.
Barnard will be the sixth director of the department since 2008. Sonya Shaw left in 2008 to take a position in Garner, interim director Gail Charles retired, David Carter resigned after only four months on the job to pursue a more lucrative offer in Chesapeake, Va., and Wall accepted the same position in Wake Forest after less than a year in Goldsboro. Mrs. Archibald led the department for five months on top of her position with the city-owned theater.
Barnard said he hoped he had made it very clear to interim City Manager Tasha Logan and incoming City Manager Scott Stevens that he did not view Goldsboro as a stepping stone.
"Goldsboro is the size city I've been wanting to get into and I would love to make Goldsboro my last employer," he said. "I'm excited about coming to a place where I can shape the direction of the department.
A North Carolina State University graduate with a degree in parks, recreation and tourism management, Barnard has been involved in parks management for 13 years. He has worked for Wake County, the town of Holly Springs and New Hanover County and served most recently as the parks superintendent for the city of Durham.
He said he would most like to influence the public's perception of parks and recreation in Goldsboro, and for those in the community to know that programs sponsored or led by his department will be competitive with those led by private businesses in stature, professionalism and standards.
Ms. Logan said Barnard had been interested in coming to Goldsboro for some time and she was glad that the opportunity had brought him to Wayne County.
"I really like the size of the community and the fact that it has a military base there. Having the Air Force in town keeps the community constantly changing and on their toes," he said, noting that he is comfortable with working close to bases, having grown up in Virginia Beach. "It creates a dynamic I like and one that I'm used to."
Plus the Triangle is a bit too far west for him, he said.
"Being east of (Interstate) 95 is where my heart is," he said. "It's nice to be down east."