When Kelly Hyer joined Independence Township Parks and Recreation 14 years ago, she was the youngest member on staff.
“There were a lot of people with years of service. Parks and rec Director Ann Conklin had just left, and Mike Turk had taken over,” Hyer remembered. “They always invited me to get-togethers. It was a family setting. It still is today ? now I’m that person welcoming new people to the township.”
As she prepares to leave the department, residents are invited to share other parks and rec memories at a Farewell Reception, 12-3 p.m., Aug. 27, at the Independence Township Parks, Recreation and Senior’s Office, 6483 Waldon Center Drive.
As a Clarkston native and seasonal staff member with township parks and rec before joining fulltime, she has plenty more of her own to share.
“There was a job opening (in 2001), and I couldn’t resist the opportunity,” she said. “What a gift it was, to be part of something special in your hometown.”
The township offices were located in the old Clarkston High School on Main Street
“We moved to the new hall in 2009,” she said. “I miss downtown Clarkston and the historic building, but the new center is a more professional setting with daily improvements to the work flow.”
The recreation supervisor will most remember the work developing the 3,200-square-foot Renee Przybylski Spraypark in Clintonwood Park, opened in 2004.
“To think of the number of kids who have been through there ? it’s a great legacy for Renee to leave to the community,” Hyer said.
Przybylski, who died of cancer at the age of 23, was a day camp counselor with Independence Township Parks and Rec for several years.
Her parents Michele and Ralph Przybylski decided on the spray park to honor her memory.
“Spray parks were a new concept at the time,” Hyer said. “The community came together for that ? it was an honor to be a part of it.”
She’ll still live in Independence Township with her husband Steve and their two kids, but will be working with West Bloomfield Parks and Recreation.
“It was a new opportunity I couldn’t pass up,” she said. “I’ll help with the transition and at Taste of Clarkston.”