As the Effingham County Recreation and Parks celebrated its 40 years of operation, it is also looking ahead to what is being viewed as its most significant and massive project.

The final schematic designs are close to being done, said ECRP Clarence Morgan, and a ground breaking likely will be held shortly for a sprawling central recreation complex of Highway 21 and Ralph Rahn Road.

“I really don’t know why it happened,” Morgan said of the plans for the central complex. “Somebody had some vision. I just think the Good Lord blessed us.”

Morgan has dubbed the coming facility “the miracle on 21.”

“We will spend more money on recreation in the next couple of years than we spent over the first 40 years,” he said. “That is outstanding.”

 With a huge project just ahead for its future, the ECRP looked back at its beginnings in 1975,

when several local associations formed under the recreation department umbrella. There were associations for Guyton, Lakeside, Meldrim, Oakridge, Rincon and Springfield, with Clyo and Westwood forming later.

By 2003, the last of the associations disbanded.

The recreation effort began in the 1960s with the Effingham Youth Athletic Association, and Morgan also pointed out the group of lady volleyball players who started up a fall league, then a spring league and continued playing throughout the years.

“There are a lot of people involved who have made this happen over the years,” said Craig Johnson, the current chairman of the recreation board.

The ECRP has grown to more than 300 youth teams and 50-plus teams in adult sports. Under Morgan’s guidance, the ECRP has won the Georgia Recreation and Parks Association 1stDistrict agency of the year three times in the last seven years.

“It takes great partners and great people,” Morgan said. “There were great people who made things great. I just happened to be the one in charge. You are the reason we have 40 years of success.”

“From where we started, a lot of people put a lot of work into it,” said Lamar Allen, the current Board of Education chairman who served on the rec board for 23 years. “I’m privileged to have been a part of it.”

County Commissioner Vera Jones moved to Effingham about 20 years ago, and she and her husband Dennis got involved in rec when their son was about 5 years old. She recalled a time when her husband was coaching their then-8-year-old son in basketball, and one little boy on the team had yet to score a point.

So Dennis kept instructing his son to pass the other child the basketball. The other kid missed shot after shot until finally one went in.

After the game, the child’s father went up to Dennis. “‘You’ll never know what meant to my son,’” Vera Jones recalled him saying.

She also welcomed the values playing recreation sports involves.

“We believe recreation is one of the most important things you can do in the county to build character and instill values in your children,” she said. “We were so proud to be able to be part of that kind of program.”

Effingham County High School Principal Yancy Ford grew up playing basketball, football and baseball in the ECRP and now coaches there. He said he wanted to make sure there was a strong relationship between the school and the rec department.

“I made a vow when I became athletic director in 2003 that we were going to have an awesome relationship with the recreation department, and we were going to make sure that relationship stayed strong so kids could use our facilities when they were available,” Ford said. “It’s really rewarding to hear those kids about playing at Rebel Field.”

The first phase of the new central complex will have five baseball/softball fields. The county has 118 acres, and plans call for football/soccer fields, gymnasiums, walking trails, parking and picnic pavilions, among other amenities. Jones said travel ball teams already are calling about using the park once it’s opened.

A new central park wasn’t in the works when Morgan pushed for improvements on the existing park off Highway 119.

“We were getting ready to approve rebuilding 119,”he said. “It started snowballing.”

King Evans of CHA Sports said County Administrator Toss Allen initially asked his firm to meet with commissioners about a $180,000 renovation to the 119 complex.

“When I got in my car three hours later, we were designing a $6 million sports complex,” Evans said. “That never happens in our world. We are thrilled to be a part of this.”

Former rec board member Mike Wilson said what the county has now is serviceable. But they lagged behind the parks and complexes around the region and state.

“I travel all over the state, and I saw the facilities that were out there,” he said. “What we’re getting now is something we can really be proud of. I want to thank you guys for that and what you’re going to give our kids and future generations.”

State Rep. Jon Burns also praised the efforts of the county and the recreation board with the proposed central complex, calling it “a legacy for all citizens of this county and that will continue for years to come.”

Morgan, who has been ECRP director for the last 14 years and is in his third stint in the position, thanked the current and former staff members. He paid honor to the memory of the late Jacan Brown.

“She was with us for 24 years,” Morgan said. “I made a promise to myself Jacan would always be involved. My wife said I was married to Jacan, and then I became married to Brenda (Bruner). So I’ve had three wives in my lifetime. They see me more than my wife has, and in the last week, she hasn’t seen me any.”

With the planned central complex, the county may have plenty of room, at least for a few years.

“We all know this county is growing,” said Allen, who added the school system’s enrollment is up by 258 students. “It didn’t grow for a while, but the growth is back. So what they build may not be big enough in years but it will be a great addition to this county and will be a great asset.”

Evans said the central park complex will have an impact on thousands of children for years to come.

“What you guys are doing over the next 18 months will change the lives of every kid in this county,” he said. “I don’t know what greater cause there can be than to have that as your legacy.”

As the Effingham County Recreation and Parks celebrated its 40 years of operation, it is also looking ahead to what is being viewed as its most significant and massive project.

The final schematic designs are close to being done, said ECRP Clarence Morgan, and a ground breaking likely will be held shortly for a sprawling central recreation complex of Highway 21 and Ralph Rahn Road.

“I really don’t know why it happened,” Morgan said of the plans for the central complex. “Somebody had some vision. I just think the Good Lord blessed us.”

Morgan has dubbed the coming facility “the miracle on 21.”

“We will spend more money on recreation in the next couple of years than we spent over the first 40 years,” he said. “That is outstanding.”

 With a huge project just ahead for its future, the ECRP looked back at its beginnings in 1975,

when several local associations formed under the recreation department umbrella. There were associations for Guyton, Lakeside, Meldrim, Oakridge, Rincon and Springfield, with Clyo and Westwood forming later.

By 2003, the last of the associations disbanded.

The recreation effort began in the 1960s with the Effingham Youth Athletic Association, and Morgan also pointed out the group of lady volleyball players who started up a fall league, then a spring league and continued playing throughout the years.

“There are a lot of people involved who have made this happen over the years,” said Craig Johnson, the current chairman of the recreation board.

The ECRP has grown to more than 300 youth teams and 50-plus teams in adult sports. Under Morgan’s guidance, the ECRP has won the Georgia Recreation and Parks Association 1stDistrict agency of the year three times in the last seven years.

“It takes great partners and great people,” Morgan said. “There were great people who made things great. I just happened to be the one in charge. You are the reason we have 40 years of success.”

“From where we started, a lot of people put a lot of work into it,” said Lamar Allen, the current Board of Education chairman who served on the rec board for 23 years. “I’m privileged to have been a part of it.”

County Commissioner Vera Jones moved to Effingham about 20 years ago, and she and her husband Dennis got involved in rec when their son was about 5 years old. She recalled a time when her husband was coaching their then-8-year-old son in basketball, and one little boy on the team had yet to score a point.

So Dennis kept instructing his son to pass the other child the basketball. The other kid missed shot after shot until finally one went in.

After the game, the child’s father went up to Dennis. “‘You’ll never know what meant to my son,’” Vera Jones recalled him saying.

She also welcomed the values playing recreation sports involves.

“We believe recreation is one of the most important things you can do in the county to build character and instill values in your children,” she said. “We were so proud to be able to be part of that kind of program.”

Effingham County High School Principal Yancy Ford grew up playing basketball, football and baseball in the ECRP and now coaches there. He said he wanted to make sure there was a strong relationship between the school and the rec department.

“I made a vow when I became athletic director in 2003 that we were going to have an awesome relationship with the recreation department, and we were going to make sure that relationship stayed strong so kids could use our facilities when they were available,” Ford said. “It’s really rewarding to hear those kids about playing at Rebel Field.”

The first phase of the new central complex will have five baseball/softball fields. The county has 118 acres, and plans call for football/soccer fields, gymnasiums, walking trails, parking and picnic pavilions, among other amenities. Jones said travel ball teams already are calling about using the park once it’s opened.

A new central park wasn’t in the works when Morgan pushed for improvements on the existing park off Highway 119.

“We were getting ready to approve rebuilding 119,”he said. “It started snowballing.”

King Evans of CHA Sports said County Administrator Toss Allen initially asked his firm to meet with commissioners about a $180,000 renovation to the 119 complex.

“When I got in my car three hours later, we were designing a $6 million sports complex,” Evans said. “That never happens in our world. We are thrilled to be a part of this.”

Former rec board member Mike Wilson said what the county has now is serviceable. But they lagged behind the parks and complexes around the region and state.

“I travel all over the state, and I saw the facilities that were out there,” he said. “What we’re getting now is something we can really be proud of. I want to thank you guys for that and what you’re going to give our kids and future generations.”

State Rep. Jon Burns also praised the efforts of the county and the recreation board with the proposed central complex, calling it “a legacy for all citizens of this county and that will continue for years to come.”

Morgan, who has been ECRP director for the last 14 years and is in his third stint in the position, thanked the current and former staff members. He paid honor to the memory of the late Jacan Brown.

“She was with us for 24 years,” Morgan said. “I made a promise to myself Jacan would always be involved. My wife said I was married to Jacan, and then I became married to Brenda (Bruner). So I’ve had three wives in my lifetime. They see me more than my wife has, and in the last week, she hasn’t seen me any.”

With the planned central complex, the county may have plenty of room, at least for a few years.

“We all know this county is growing,” said Allen, who added the school system’s enrollment is up by 258 students. “It didn’t grow for a while, but the growth is back. So what they build may not be big enough in years but it will be a great addition to this county and will be a great asset.”

Evans said the central park complex will have an impact on thousands of children for years to come.

“What you guys are doing over the next 18 months will change the lives of every kid in this county,” he said. “I don’t know what greater cause there can be than to have that as your legacy.”