A familiar name to county and city parks and recreation has been chosen to replace Columbus-Lowndes Recreation Authority Executive Director Roger Short in January.
The CLRA board voted Wednesday to hire Greg Lewis for that position. Pending approval from the Columbus City Council and Lowndes County Board of Supervisors, Lewis will begin serving Jan. 1 for a six-month probation period. His salary during that period will be $57,000.
Lewis, who is currently CLRA’s programs director, has been with city and county parks for 23 years. He was one of four applicants interviewed for the position.
In August, Short announced his retirement effective Dec. 31.
CLRA board member Warren “Oop” Swoope said all four people interviewed had solid qualifications, but Lewis’ history and familiarity with CLRA was instrumental in the board’s decision.
“He’s been with the parks for 23 years and he had a lot going for him,” Swoope said. “Everybody listened to each candidate, and they were all good. Roger has done a good job and we hope to keep that going.”
Lewis said he’s eager to continue serving the community in his new role.
“I look forward to continuing to expand our programs, getting the community involved and serving the people,” Lewis said. “We want to continue to work with what we have and expand the programs that we offer.”
Lewis, also a member of the Columbus Municipal School District Board of Trustees, said he is undecided on whether he will step down from the board when he takes over for Short. City councilmen appointed him to the school board in February.
Nathan Gregory covers city and county government for The Dispatch.
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