The Macomb Park District has a new executive director.
Blake Severs said he cares about the people in Macomb and surrounding communities, and wants to provide them with something special.
“Being a Macomb native, being from this community, I really appreciate what this city has given to me, my family, my friends. I think it’s a great community so I wanted to bring that back,” he said.
Severs was born and raised in Macomb. He went to the University of Nebraska, where he got a degree in psychology. He stayed in Nebraska until 2016, when he came back to Macomb to work as an EMT and medic.
Severs then joined the park district as the superintendent of support services in 2022. In that role, he oversaw the Ball Fore facility and was in charge of safety and security for the district.
Park board president Neil Armstrong said Severs served well in that position.
“He improved the park district’s safety policies and brought in a successful team at Ball Fore,” Armstrong said.
But Severs is not just a park district employee. He’s also someone who uses the parks.
“I take my kids there all the time. We go to Patton Park. We go to Veterans. My daughter just started softball this last year. She got third place in the tournament, so that was a big deal. That was her first medal, so kind of a core memory there,” Severs said.
“I love biking. I did RAGBRAI in Iowa. I use the parks in Macomb to do some training.”
There is no network of bike paths in Macomb, but that could change.
The city council recently adopted an Active Transportation Vision Plan to guide city officials as they work to create those paths for bicyclists and pedestrians.
Severs would like the park district to be involved with that project.
“There’s a lot of different great things you can have with a bike path in getting from your school to a safe park to hang out in,” he said. “I think that there are a lot of great routes that could include a lot of our parks.”
The city is also considering whether to proceed with an even bigger project: the construction of an indoor sports complex.
The park district is one of the partners involved in the planning, and Severs expects to be engaged in the process.
“We’re very excited about a sports complex. If at all possible, we want to encourage this sports complex to be in our city,” he said.
Severs said it’s a challenge today to get away from screens and other people’s opinions. He believes parks offer an escape from that tumult through recreation and relaxation.
“I think that being in a park either playing sports, walking at Patton Park, or just being out there, is a really great place for the community to engage with friends, family, yourself, in a time that is so flooded with information,” he said.
The Macomb Park District was founded in 1947. Severs is just the fourth person to serve as its executive director, following in the footsteps of Buck Knowles, Ray Peterson, and Rachel Lenz.
“The longevity of the leadership in this position is important because it shows consistency, and it means a lot to me to be an important part of the community in this way,” Severs said.
Lenz worked for the Macomb Park District for 16 years, the last half of that as executive director. She left earlier this year to lead the Urbana Park District in eastern Illinois.
Severs said the improvements to Patton Park that began during Lenz’s administration are just about completed. The park now has walking trails made from recycled plastics, four new playgrounds, a dog park shaped like a dog bone, fishing piers, and more.
“We’ve tried to make it more than just green grass, and really make it a beautiful place to be,” Severs said.
He wants to make sure all of the park district’s facilities are beautiful.
Severs says one of his first projects is to find a new place for the park district’s offices, which are currently in an aging building in Glenwood Park.
He said they don’t need to build a new facility because there are plenty of options in town already.
They’re still deciding on a location.
Severs starting pay as executive director is $78,500.
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