On Dec. 1, Greensboro will have a new Parks and Recreation Department director.
Phil Fleischmann has been named as the new director to take over the department currently being run by Assistant City Manager Nasha McCray.
McCray, who was promoted to assistant city manager in July, has been director of the Parks and Recreation Department since 2018. When McCray was promoted, she didn’t get to give up her old job but has served in the dual role of assistant city manager and parks and recreation director.
The city conducted a nationwide search for a new parks and recreation director and found Fleischmann, not in its own backyard, but certainly in the neighborhood. Fleischman is currently the director of Parks and Recreation in Chapel Hill. But before accepting the position in Chapel Hill, Fleischmann had been with the Greensboro Parks and Recreation Department where he served in management as the deputy director and community recreation services division manager. Fleischmann has also worked for the City of Raleigh and the Mecklenburg County parks departments and is an adjunct instructor in the Department of Community and Therapeutic Recreation at UNC Greensboro.
In the press release McCray said, “I’m excited to welcome Phil back to Greensboro. His leadership and experience makes him a natural fit to lead this award-winning department. Being highly skilled in the areas of leading recreation programming and facility operations, community building, partnership development, and strategic planning helped set Phil apart in this competitive hiring process.”
Fleischman said, “I genuinely love our city and I’m eager to return and serve our community in this new capacity. Parks and Recreation provides tremendous value to our residents through enhancing quality of life, community building, and economic development. I look forward to continuing to work with our dedicated staff and community partners to build upon our successes and to grow our positive impact.
Fleischmann has a Master of Science degree in Parks and Recreation Management from UNCG and a bachelor’s degree from UNC Chapel Hill.
Why does Greensboro need to spend money on a nationwide search for the parks department? No offense to the parks department, but really? You usually only do those for police chief and city manager. Guess they had some more COVID money to burn…
Wow a white guy and not a reject from Charlotte, what is council becoming?
congrats, mr fleischmann ! FYI the north buffalo creek running thru the Arboreat, lake daniel park & latham park is full of fish & a full complement of plant n animal species. – a slice of the Asheboro NC zoo for a fraction of the $$ !
For once, someone selected on the basis of merit.