Warner Robins’ new parks and rec director brings decades of experience

WARNER ROBINS — The city of Warner Robins has recently appointed a new director of parks and recreation who brings extensive experience from his work with various cities across the Southeast. 

Preston Pooser, originally from Winter Haven, Florida, has fond memories of participating in parks and recreation activities during his childhood. He earned his degree in recreation management from Oklahoma State University. 

Pooser began his career as a recreation specialist at the Orlando Naval Training Center and later served as a recreation coordinator at the Orlando Housing Authority. He then took on his first director position in Lake Wales, Florida, at a relatively young age for senior leadership roles.

“It was pretty unusual for a 25-year-old to get a parks and recreation director position. It was really just the right place, right time, with the right city manager who saw something in me,” he said.

As his career progressed, he worked with larger cities. His 20-year leadership career included more opportunities in Laurel, Mississippi, Orange Beach, Alabama, Woodstock, Georgia, Deerfield Beach, Florida, and Ocala, Florida.

“As that old saying goes, ‘To move up, you got to move on to bigger and better things.’ And I used that to learn different aspects,” he said about Lake Wales.

Throughout his career, each city provided him with opportunities to gain more knowledge and enhance their departments. In Laurel, while building a sports complex, Pooser gained experience in that field as well as in aquatics.

In Orange Beach, a city of around 8,500 in population, the city spent $25 million in infrastructure improvements, building a recreation center, senior center, aquatic center, sports complex, civic center and trail system. The city also garnered national attention for sports tourism, with a live broadcasted tournament.

“We had a huge following for youth baseball and softball. In soccer, we ended up getting the SEC Women’s Soccer Tournament. It was the first time that the soccer tournament was hosted on an off-campus site,” he mentioned.

In Woodstock, the city created 25 miles of new hiking trails and built the Northside Hospital-Cherokee Amphitheater, which attracts thousands to the city each year during the Woodstock Summer Concert Series.

A common theme throughout Pooser’s career is the reconstruction of parks and recreation programs. He said Warner Robins has great potential and shares the city’s vision for enhancing programs and boosting economic benefits from sports tourism.

“I was excited to get to Warner Robins because they seem really excited. The mayor and council are strong supporters of parks and recreation; they want to increase the level of service to our residents and that’s what I’m excited about,” he said.

Pooser’s ideal park system includes upgrades to aging infrastructure, facilities, and sports fields. He is also thrilled about the opportunity to enhance the city’s proposed downtown development with an amphitheater.

“I’ve got experience in building [and operating] amphitheaters, so I think that’ll be an outstanding addition to downtown. Every great city you think about has a great downtown, whether it’s a small city or a big city. The areas around those great parks and those great downtowns really flourish. The opportunity to possibly do an amphitheater, and the other recreation improvements there, I think is just going to enhance that downtown area,” he said.

In the meantime, Pooser mentioned that he is getting to know the area and understanding the wants and needs of the residents. He emphasized that parks and recreation are among the most important services a city can provide, and he believes the future looks promising for Warner Robins.

“The leadership at City Hall, from the city manager to the mayor and council, the department heads, all of the staff, the key staff within the city, are excited about the possibilities of what’s going to be happening in Warner Robins in the next five to 10 years,” he said. “So I think it’s a great place. It’s a great place for me to be. I’m excited and looking forward to the future.”