Full-circle: Steven Belk returns home to take over recreation department

ALBANY — When Steven Belk applied for the city of Albany’s vacant Recreation and Parks director’s position in 2014, he wasn’t even granted an interview.

Rather than pout over the rebuff by hometown officials, Belk “learned a valuable lesson” and went to work on what he found to be deficiencies in his application.

On Tuesday, Belk, newly hired for the position that “brings him full-circle” back to the program that played such a big part in his early life, unveiled his unique brand of enthusiasm to a department that city officials admit has become certainly less than it could be over the past few years.

Hired by City Manager Steven Carter to run the city’s recreation program, Belk said Friday he’s “already wide open” in his efforts to revive a program that at one time was recognized as one of the state’s best.

“I’m so fired up, you have no idea,” Belk said as he talked about the potential in the department. “I’m confident we’re going to turn things around here, and the people of Albany deserve that. In fact, I’m asking the community to join us — the businesses, the schools, the neighborhoods — because this is the community’s recreation department.

“I feel I’m getting the full support of the city manager, the assistant city managers, the city commissioners. Everybody’s welcomed me with open arms. We’ve got a veteran staff here, many of whom have been here through good times and bad times. I think, like me, they’re ready to return to the good times.”

Belk knows a thing or two about the city recreation department. Born and raised in Albany, Belk as an 8-year-old joined his brothers Andrew, then 12, and Jason, 10, in integrating the city’s recreation football program.

“We lived on Corn Avenue (in south Albany) until my parents separated,” Belk said. “My mom, who was a victim of domestic violence, moved us to Seventh Avenue, and that’s where I gained a lot of nourishing. The men in that neighborhood mentored the boys, and that had a big impact on me. That’s where I started growing up, where I was taught to be a man, and it was just a stone’s throw from outside this building we’re in.

“I feel like I’ve come full-circle. In that rec football program — I scored 36 touchdowns that first year — I learned valuable lessons about teamwork, about being on time, being responsible. Playing rec football is something I never thought I’d have the opportunity to do, but it had a lasting impact on me.”

Belk went on to star in athletics and academics at Albany High School, and he played college basketball at Morris College in Sumter, S.C.

“My mom always stressed academics, and one of the things I’m most proud of is being named to the NCAA All-Academic team,” he said.

Belk went on to earn a master’s degree in city and regional planning at Ohio State University and started his professional career as an adapted Physical Education instructor in the Dougherty County School System. He eventually became the city’s Special Olympics coordinator, a job he said he loved.

“I live by the Special Olympics motto: ‘Let me win, but if I can’t win let me be brave in the attempt’,” Belk said. “Mr. Hank McGarity is the one who got me involved with Special Olympics. I was working with his son, who was one of my favorites — and I didn’t know it was his son — and Mr. McGarity approached me one day and said, ‘I like the way you interact with these kids.’ He got me involved.”

Belk later worked as a field representative for Congressman Sanford Bishop and with the Coca-Cola Bottling Co. before taking a position running the largest recreation program in the Job Corps network at Turner Job Corps Center in Albany. He worked at Job Corps centers in Washington, D.C.; Gainesville, Fla.; and two in New York. He closed out his pre-Albany Rec career working with the Gainesville Police Department’s re-entry intervention program for prisoners ages 18-26 who were released from incarceration.

“All of those things I’ve done in my life, all of the positions I’ve held, led to me to this place today,” Belk said. “I understand now about working with and managing a budget, about managing major projects.”

Count Albany Mayor Bo Dorough among citizens who are excited about Belk’s hiring.

“I’m excited that Steve was selected for the position,” the mayor said. “He’s a native Albanian, and he was here when our recreation program was such a success. He knows where the challenges are and understands them.

“I think the city is in a position where it can replace the facilities that have outlived their usefulness, and Steven can help us prioritize that process.”

Belk said his emphasis in the recreation program will center around a holistic approach.

“There is emphasis in sports when you talk about recreation, but I believe there has to be balance,” he said. “We also need to look at the soft skills, the life skills of all the young men and women in our community. I think about the impact the department had when it was thriving in the past. That’s where we want to get back to.

“I’m so excited about this opportunity. I don’t feel that I’m under pressure; I feel I’m working with people who are confident I can do the jo. I’m home now. And I’m here to stay.”

Staff Photo: Carlton FletcherStaff Photo: Carlton Fletcher