July 2015 - Parks & Recreation - 62

NRPA Update

Member Spotlight:
Kendrick Mayes

endrick Mayes, the marketing and events coordinator for Garner,
North Carolina, was born at Langley Air Force Base in Hampton,
Virginia, and raised in Fayetteville, North Carolina. After majoring in therapeutic recreation at Catawba College, Mayes started
as a part-time athletic specialist for Durham, North Carolina, and moved on
to an internship for the Town of Garner's Parks and Recreation department,
where he would later be hired full-time to his current position. Today, Mayes
is completing his master's degree in recreation administration at North Carolina Central University in Durham. Over the course of his career as Garner's
marketing and events coordinator, Mayes has gained a reputation for coming
up with unique and innovative ideas to connect parks and recreation with
the community, perhaps as a result of his emphasis on interpersonal, faceto-face interaction. In addition, Mayes was responsible for last year's Garner
All-America City Shuffle, which was performed and filmed at NRPA headquarters (watch us do the shuffle at www.youtube.com/watch?v=CpyiMSmZDIw). We asked Mayes about his job and how he's using innovative ideas
to promote Garner and other agencies.
Parks & Recreation magazine: Tell
us about your role as the marketing
and events coordinator for Garner
Parks and Recreation. What's a typical day like for you?
Kendrick Mayes: As the marketing
and events coordinator, I oversee the
planning and managing of townwide special events. A typical day
for me is I wake up, check Twitter
and Facebook, have lunch, check
Twitter and Facebook, and then go
home. No, seriously, I usually check
social media to see what has happened in the world that pertains to
parks and recreation or what another agency is doing that can be shared
on our page. From there, I respond
to emails and make follow-up phone
calls. As the marketing and events
coordinator, I am networking and
establishing relationships nonstop.
It is also my responsibility to make
sure that people know about our
upcoming events or the great parks

60 Parks & Recreation

that the town of Garner has to offer.
If I see a husband and wife walking
their dog, I tell them about our new
dog park. Basically, it's one thing if
people do not attend our events or
visit our parks, but I never want to
hear that they did not know about
an event or park.
P&R: What advice might you give to
other agencies looking to improve
community/customer relations in
order to spread information about
programs and parks?
Mayes: The advice I would give is
to attend Chamber of Commerce
after-hour events, support grand
openings and ribbon cuttings, attend
department special events and also
attend other non-parks and recreation sponsored events. I encourage
agencies to do that because you are
getting your face out there by showing that you support community
events, and you're also able to pro-

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mote your upcoming parks and recreation event. It's also important for
agencies to look for feedback on the
types of events that are offered and
see what is beneficial. Often times,
when I meet new people and they
ask what do I do, and I tell them I
work for the Garner Parks and Recreation Department, they usually
want to know what we have coming
up so they can attend.
P&R: After the All-America City
Shuffle of 2014, which borrowed
from Maroon 5's " Moves Like Jagger, " what song is on repeat for you
this summer?
Mayes: There are so many songs
to choose from this summer. Since
NRPA is doing an 80s theme this
year for Parks and Recreation
Month, I have been channeling my
inner " Uptown Funk " by Mark
Ronson featuring Bruno Mars.
Who knows, you might see another
dancing video from us.
- Marissa Bracamonte, Editorial Intern for Parks & Recreation magazine

July 2015 - Parks & Recreation

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