Meet the new director: Jacob Roan hired to lead Corbin’s parks & rec deparment

The City of Corbin recently hired its newest parks and recreation director, Jacob Roan, who took a few moments this week to speak to the News Journal about his new job, his hopes for the future, and more.

NJ: Introduce yourself, and give readers some information on your background.

JR: I was born and raised in Pineville before moving to Lexington to attend the University of Kentucky. I came back to Pineville in 2013 to take the Main Street director position there. As time went on, I assumed many other roles at City Hall in Pineville.

NJ: Has your sole focus ever been in parks and recreation?

JR: It’s never been my sole focus, because I was always spread out across many different areas in Pineville, but I was the sole person dealing with parks and rec there for a while. We received somewhere around $200,000 worth of federal grants for our parks, allowing us to upgrade four different parks. There was also a couple of summers that I had to pitch in and help with the pool, managing the lifeguards, so I have worked in different aspects of parks and rec before.

NJ: What will some of your main job duties be moving forward with this position in Corbin?

JR: There are 14 full-time employees here that I will supervise here, as well as, I think, eight part-time staff. I am also walking in on a couple of grants that are already open – the “tot lot” playground near Engineer Street Bridge and the development of the new outdoor fitness center near Corbin Elementary School.

I am going to use this winter as a time to acclimate myself to all of the facilities here in Corbin. We have some amazing facilities as far as recreational opportunities go. The civic center needs some work, so I’m excited to spend some time up there and see what we can do to make some upgrades. I know that the soccer fields up there are being utilized tremendously up there, so I look forward to working with City Manager Marlon Sams on trying to find some funding to upgrade those facilities.

I also want to gauge public interest, and see what ideas can come from the community when it comes to different recreational needs.

NJ: You will be attending a state conference in Bowling Green soon. Talk about that event.

JR: The City of Corbin is fortunate to have City Manager Marlon Sams serving the role of president of the statewide parks and rec association (KRPS). He has managed to stay involved in that organization, and keep Corbin at the forefront when it comes to recreational opportunities for city governments. I look forward to networking and getting to know other parks and rec directors from across the state, and I am also looking forward to the educational opportunities. There are some sessions on funding and programming that I am looking forward to.

NJ: Any other thoughts to share on coming into this position?

JR: I’m really excited. This seems like a great team to be a part of. You have a great mayor in Suzie Razmus, and a great city manager in Marlon Sams. I know that it is a very forward-moving government here, and I’m just excited to now be a part of the team.

For more information on the Corbin Parks and Recreation Department, visit www.corbin-ky.gov.