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VALLEY – Less than a month ago, Jon Neal took over as the Director of Valley Parks and Recreation. Currently, Neal is on the local civic club speaking circuit sharing his background and goals for having a first-rate recreation program for the City of Valley and the surrounding area.

On Wednesday at the Langdale Methodist Church, Neal spoke to the Kiwanis Club of Valley at the club’s weekly meeting. On Thursday, Neal spoke to the West Point Rotary Club at their weekly meeting at Johnny’s Pizza in West Point.

At the Kiwanis Club meeting, Neal told members that he grew up in a small town, Tullahoma, Tennessee, and felt very comfortable being in a place like Valley. “I like being around rivers and lakes, and we have that here,” he said. “I grew up in a small town and have worked in recreation departments. I believe in an open-door policy. When I’m there my door is always open. If it’s closed, I’m out of the building somewhere doing something that’s recreation-related.”

Growing up, Neal was involved in youth recreation programs. “I spent my mornings at football, basketball or baseball practice, and during the evenings, in the summertime, I was a lifeguard at my mom’s pool,” Neal said.

After high school, he attended the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and was on the school’s track and field team. He was also in the school’s ROTC program and in training to be a U.S. Army Ranger before a knee injury led him to becoming a recreation director. 

“I love sports, especially basketball, and I like to resolve issues that come up,” Neal shared, “When I was growing up I would be playing some sport up to 12 hours a day,” he said. “I loved where I was. It was not an easy decision for me to come here [Valley], but I think it will be a good move for me and my family.”

Neal is married and has two small children. His wife Georgia is an emergency room nurse. Their five-year-old son, Knox, will be starting kindergarten this fall. Daughter Alana is three years old.

He jokes about being a three-state guy. “I was born and grew up in Tennessee, my wife is named Georgia and I’m now living in Alabama,” Neal said.

Neal loves being near a river and would like to start an aquatics program along the section of the Chattahoochee that flows past Valley.

Neal said he’s well aware that parks and recreation has two components. He would like for both to thrive in Valley. “I want to have an active recreation program with hundreds of people taking part, and I want us to have park areas that people enjoy going to,” Neal said.

Members of the club had some ideas of what they’d like to see locally. One member said she knew people who traveled to Opelika for their children to enjoy a splash pad and would like to see something like that here, too. Another member brought up having a pickleball court. Neal liked both those ideas.

Neal has hit the ground running as the new director. In his short time here, he’s taken part in some needed landscaping work around the Sportsplex and Community Center, and that work is continuing along Ram Stadium Drive.

“If someone has an issue with recreation I want them to come and talk to me about it,” Neal said. “If there’s a problem I need to know about it. You can’t fix what you don’t know.”

At the Rotary Club meeting on Thursday, Neal said his goal was to one day become the director of the recreation department in Munford, Tennessee but the director in charge there was well established.

When he saw the opening for a recreation director in Valley, he applied for the job. He was one of 15 people who applied for the position. Nine of them were interviewed.

One of those who interviewed Neal was Council Member Jim Clark, who was present at the Rotary Club meeting. “Everyone we talked to was a good candidate for the position,” Clark said, “but Jon stood out from the rest. I know we got the best person we could get for the job.”

Valley Parks and Recreation operates on a budget in the $1.6 million range. “Laurie did a good job in running the department,” Neal said. “The Sportsplex is very active with tournaments this time of the year. It helps the overall community to have Valley as a host site. The Sportsplex is such a great place to have these tournaments and we want to keep this going.”

Neal said he wants to take on the task of sprucing up the Community Center. “I would like to have it pressure washed and looking really good,” he said. “I want it to be as clean as possible and to make a good impression on everyone who enters it.”

“The Valley Community Center is a special place. I like to work there,” Neal shared.