June 2015 - Parks & Recreation - 62

NRPA Update

Member Spotlight: Sandra MacDiarmid

andra MacDiarmid began her career in park and recreation as many do
- as a nature and park enthusiast. The Illinois native grew up in her local park system and ultimately began her professional career as a nature,
wildlife and portrait artist. After relocating to Jackson, Tennessee, almost
30 years ago, MacDiarmid dove into the world of park and recreation after seeking a position as an instructor for children's and adult art classes in the City of
Jackson Park and Recreation Department (JPRD). Over the years, her role has
evolved into a number of positions including contract instructor, summer camp
arts and crafts director, special events coordinator, set and costume designer for
JPRD's theater productions, program administrator, community education director and even director of the Nature Park and Raptor Sanctuary. Today, MacDiarmid is the superintendent of recreation for the city of Jackson where she
is a champion for health and wellness in her community. We spoke with MacDiarmid about her role as superintendent and enjoyed a deeper look at one of
Jackson's most successful wellness programs - the JumpStart Jackson initiative.
Parks & Recreation magazine: Give
us some detail about your role as
JRPD superintendent
Sandra MacDiarmid: As superintendent, my official duties are mainly
administrative and supervisory, but I
still manage to keep an active hand
in my first love: programming and
working with children. On any given
day, you may find me at a city council meeting or speaking at a Kiwanis
luncheon in the morning, and then
out at my Nature Park, trimming
eagle talons or doing after-school nature programs. I've learned to keep
the trunk of my car fully stocked with
a selection of what I call my " grownup " clothes and my " play clothes " for
days when I'm playing multiple roles.
P&R: When did the JumpStart Jackson initiative begin and what sort
of community response have you
seen to date?
MacDiarmid: The JumpStart Jackson initiative began in 2007 in response to a City Council directive
to create a taskforce addressing the
burgeoning childhood obesity prob-

60 Parks & Recreation

lem in Jackson, and Tennessee as a
whole. At first, we anticipated negative push-back from the community
- or at least antipathy with the community facing many more immediate, serious issues of crime, poverty
and unemployment. We kicked off
the initiative with a community-wide
Wellness Walk and were amazed that
more than 1,000 people and school
children came out to march for health
and wellness. Our annual walks have
continued to grow to where we now
have more than 2,000 participating.
We just recently received news
from the 2014 Gallup National Obesity Report that the obesity rate is
declining, and that we are the only
state with such a significant decline,
so it's good to know our efforts are
paying off.
P&R: How did you get such robust community support behind
JumpStart Jackson, from both the
municipal end and businesses like
farm markets?
MacDiarmid: We are extremely fortunate here in Jackson that Mayor

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Jerry Gist is fully supportive and is
our driving force behind the community health and wellness initiative.
Before becoming mayor, Gist served
for many years as [JRPD] executive
director, and past president of the
Tennessee Recreation and Parks Association, so he is deeply committed
to NRPA's Three Pillars of Conservation, Health and Wellness, and Social
Equity for the improvement of our
city. We are also fortunate in that our
hugely successful farmer's market is
owned and operated by JRPD.
P&R: What advice would you
offer to agencies that may wish to
implement a health and wellness
initiative like JumpStart Jackson?
MacDiarmid: Community partnerships are key. When we first began
our JumpStart Jackson community
health and wellness initiative, we
found many groups and agencies
concerned with improving health
and wellness opportunities in our
community, but everyone was working within their own small " silos. "
JumpStart Jackson provided a coming-together and common ground for
all to achieve more together. Two of
our most critical early partnerships
were with the local school system's
Coordinated School Health Department and with the local Chamber of
Commerce. The schools were able
to reach the children and parents of
our city; and the chamber realized
the importance of a healthy, wellness-motivated city with resultant
lower healthcare costs [that helped
attract] new businesses and industries to Jackson.
- Catrina Belt, Editorial Intern for
Parks & Recreation magazine

June 2015 - Parks & Recreation

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