Director’s Letter: Summer 26

Dear Airway Heights Community,

It is with a heart full of gratitude and cherished memories that I announce my retirement from the position of Parks & Recreation Director, after 25 incredible years serving this community.

When I first started this journey a quarter-century ago, I knew I wanted to make a difference. Looking back, I realize that it was you—the residents, families, volunteers, and dedicated staff—who truly made the difference in my life. Together we have grown the Parks & Recreation Department into a vibrant hub of activity, building parks that will see generations play, and hosting events that bring us closer together.

I have had the honor of watching children playing in their first youth sports teams and return years later as employees or volunteering as coaches for their own children in those same programs. I have celebrated the development of Shorty Combs, Cleveland, Traditions, Highland Village, and Landreth Parks. I am humbled to have worked alongside so many passionate community members, and the dedicated staff that has helped me on this journey. Together we have weathered the challenging times by focusing on what connects us, improving community and quality of life through people, parks and programs.

I’m not leaving the city. I’m leaving the people who made a quarter century of my adult life feel like it mattered. To everybody that has helped me build the Airway Heights Parks & Recreation Department to what it is today, thank you. I had a vision to establish a full service Recreation Center when I was given the opportunity to serve the community and that vision became my life’s work. It’s hard to walk away from something that has been such a big part of my life, and this decision comes with a certain amount of fear for what the future holds. The thing I’m actually afraid of losing the most isn’t the title or the paycheck. It’s the people I built something with. That’s the thing nobody tells you about long-tenure departures.  

I always knew that leaving was going to feel wrong. For so long now so much of my identity has been tied to what we have been working to accomplish in serving the community: the time and effort that went into building the relationships, the shared success and the shared sacrifices. Leaving doesn’t feel like a career decision. It feels like tearing myself out of something, but that is the cost of caring. Caring for the work, caring about the impact that we have been able to make on the community and caring for the people around me.

Serving as your Parks & Recreation Director has been the privilege of a lifetime. I am profoundly proud of the safe, clean, and welcoming environment we have built together. Starting from nothing as a one person department in November of 2000, with a simple single directive from Mayor Grady to “Fix It” we built something that now feels impossible for me to leave.  While it is hard to say goodbye to a career I love so much, I am confident that our parks and programs are  being left in good hands.

Thank you for your support, your passion, and for allowing me to be a part of your lives for the past 25 years. I look forward to spending time enjoying what we built, from the other side of the fence.

With deepest gratitude,

J.C. Kennedy

Parks & Recreation Director