The City of Greeley will welcome a strategic and innovative leader with over 26 years of experience in parks and recreation departments throughout the country as its next director of the Culture, Parks and Recreation Department.
City Manager Raymond C. Lee III announced on Tuesday the appointment of John Dargle Jr. to the position after an extensive national search.
In his current role as commissioner of the City of Atlanta Parks and Recreation, Dargle leads a department that manages over 5,000 acres encompassing 412 parks and includes 33 recreation centers. He carried out a five-year strategic plan to improve quality of life for the community and completed a 10-year comprehensive plan for his department.
“John’s breadth of experience and demonstrated success in leading departments, and developing and implementing initiatives and strategic plans, will help advance our growing city to meet the needs of residents,” Lee said.
Before arriving in Atlanta in 2018, he served four years as director of Milwaukee County Parks, Recreation and Culture in Wisconsin. He’s also held leadership positions in parks and recreation departments in Fairfax, Virginia; Athens, Georgia; Fort Smith, Arkansas; and Charlotte, North Carolina.
Dargle earned a bachelor’s degree in Parks and Recreation from the State University of New York College at Cortland. He is a certified park and recreation executive from the National Recreation and Park Association. A U.S. military veteran, Dargle was a commissioned officer with the U.S. Army Medical Service Corps from 1988-95.
With the City of Greeley, Dargle will lead a department that includes the city’s golf courses, museums, parks, recreation centers, and Union Colony Civic Center.
“I am grateful for the opportunity to serve the people of Greeley and to make Greeley my home,” Dargle said. “I’m excited to get started.”
Dargle’s first day on the job in Greeley will be Aug. 8. He replaces interim director Kelly Snook, whom Lee thanked for her service stepping in for eight months while the city searched for a permanent director following the resignation of Andy McRoberts in September 2021.
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