PRESS RELEASE

DATE: August 28, 2006

Amanda Gerhardt has accepted the position of Executive Director for the Cedar Springs Area Parks and Recreation Department and will assume full responsibilities beginning Tuesday, September 5, 2006. Ms. Gerhardt was among the 48 applicants who submitted resumes for the position vacated in early September by Norton Johnson, the previous department director for the past five years.

Ms. Gerhardt brings a great deal of education and experience to the department having earned her Master of Arts in Sports Administration (thesis pending) from Central Michigan University along with her Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration from Hope College. As a Rockford High School graduate, now living in Solon Township and the Cedar Springs School District, she is very familiar with the area. She and her husband look forward to raising their son in the Cedar Springs Community as well as taking the Parks and Recreation Department to a new level of service for all residents in the community. Gerhardt herself is an accomplished high school and collegiate student-athlete (Rockford High School Academic Hall of Fame, and a Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association Conference Champion and Academic All-Conference). She has also coached at Mt. Pleasant Sacred Heart Academy, Greenville and Cedar Springs High Schools. Her previous work experience also includes the Michigan High School Athletic Association, Central Michigan University Athletic Department, Hope College Athletic Department, and the West Michigan Whitecaps. She has volunteered with various organizations to include the Greenville Danish Festival.

“We are very grateful and excited to have Ms. Gerhardt at the helm of our Parks and Recreation Department,” explains Dan Batchelder, co-chairperson of the Employee Committee for the department. “She not only brings a proven history of educational and athletic success but also an abundance of enthusiasm and commitment in promoting cultural, educational, and athletic opportunities for all ages of our area residents ranging from youth to seniors. Gerhardt has experience in grant writing, personnel supervision, budgeting, computers, and facility management. It will take some time for her to become familiar with the department but in the long run, the entire board is very optimistic about the possibilities of community development that should now be made available with Gerhardt’s leadership,” continued Batchelder.

“It is an exciting opportunity for me to work with the Cedar Springs Parks and Recreation Department and I look forward to the new task.  I look forward to meeting community members and providing them with services that meet their needs.  Over the next few months I hope to evaluate the departments’ current offerings and develop some new program ideas and more ways to interact with the community”, said Gerhardt.

The Parks and Recreation Department is celebrating 20 years of service to the Cedar Springs Community throughout 2006. A recent free family-oriented concert was held in Morley Park to thank area businesses, past and present governmental officials and parks and recreation board members, parks and recreation department directors, and area residents. Other celebrations may be scheduled before the end of the fiscal year of June 30, 2007.