►
Description
On the latest episode of Chesterfield Behind the Mic, we talk to Parks and Recreation Director Neil Luther about his recent return to the county as head of the department, the busy season for Parks and Rec, and some of the upcoming events that county residents should have on their calendars.
Credits:
Director: Martin Stith
Executive Producer: Susan S. Pollard
Co-Executive Producer: Teresa Bonifas
Producer/Writer/Host: Brad Franklin
Director of Photography/Editor: Matt Boyce
Graphics: Debbie Wrenn
Promotions and Media: J. Elias O’Neal
Music:
Hip Hop This by Seven Pounds
Inspiring Electronic Rock by Alex Grohl
Guests:
Neil Luther, Director of Chesterfield Parks and Recreation
Filmed in-house by the Department of Communications and Media
Chesterfield.gov/podcast
Follow us on social media! On Facebook, like our page: Chesterfield Behind the Mic. On Twitter, you can find us at @ChesterfieldVa and on Instagram it’s @ChesterfieldVirginia. And you can also watch the podcast on WCCT TV Thursday through Sunday at 7 p.m. as well as on weekends at noon on Comcast Channel 98 and Verizon Channel 28.
A
Good
morning,
good
evening,
good
afternoon,
wherever
it
is
that
you
are
wherever
you
may
be,
thank
you
very
much
for
making
us
a
part
of
your
day.
I
am
brad
franklin,
creative
content
right
here
in
chesterfield,
and
I'm
very
glad
to
tell
you
the
chest
behind
the
mic
is
on
the
air
once
again,
it's
that
time,
right
it
the
summer
is,
is
right.
Here,
the
the
sun
is
high,
the
the
temps
are
up
and
what
a
better
time
to
talk
about
parks
and
recreation
here
in
cheshire
field.
A
A
Obviously,
a
lot
going
on
this
time
of
year
for
your
department
a
whole
lot
going
on
for
the
county
folks,
you
know
going
to
be
in
and
out
and
doing
a
lot
of
different
stuff
and
certainly
going
to
be
visiting
a
lot
of
parks
going
to
be
doing
a
lot
of
stuff
with
with
your
department,
before
we
get
into
sort
of
some
of
the
programming
that
you
guys
offer
and
what's
going
on
this
summer,
I
kind
of
want
to
talk
a
little
bit,
though
about
you.
You've
been.
A
B
A
B
A
an
internship
to
finish
up
and
got
the
opportunity
to
come
here
and
work
in
an
internship
capacity
for
parks
and
recreation
right
ended
up
staying
around
for
a
few
years,
because
I
really
came
to
enjoy
the
diversity
of
the
work.
The
people
right
and
the
mission
to
you
know
provide
places
and
opportunities
for
folks
to
recreate.
So
I
got
into
this
business
in
chesterfield
right
and
moved
away.
Had
a
family
we
resettled
in
chesterfield,
we
came
back
home
when
my
son
was
born
in
2002
and.
A
A
Yeah
and
in
in
terms
of
you
know,
when
you
get
into
this
business,
when
you
get
into
doing
what
you
got
into
doing,
how
did
it
sort
of
measure
up
with
maybe
what
you
thought
it
would
be
over
the
course
of
your
career.
What
and
I'm
guessing
over
that
time
frame
because
of
you
know,
sort
of
when
you,
when
you
started
that
a
lot
has
changed
over
these
years,
but
I'm
just
curious:
how
does
it
sort
of
compare
to
what
you
thought
it
would
be
when
you
started
that
journey?
Well,
you
know.
A
A
A
A
B
A
B
A
Favorite
value
right
and
in
terms
of
coming
to
chesterfield
and
becoming
the
director
of
a
department
when
the
county
is
so
large
right.
That's
one
of
the
things
about
cheshire
that
always
astonishes
me
is
just
how
big
the
place
is
right,
and
I
can
imagine
for
somebody
who
is
you
know,
managing
a
department
like
yours,
that
that
is
a
challenge
and
I'm
just
curious
in
these
first
few
months.
How
is
that
that?
How
is
that
adapting
gone
for
you?
Well,
it.
B
Is
a
big
county?
It's
it's
larger!
I
mean
I
remember,
driving
quite
a
bit
here,
the
first
time
around,
and
so
I've
been
a
lot
of
time
in
the
car
and
and
getting
out.
We
have
six
operational
districts,
we
break
the
the
county
up
into
service
districts
for
for
maintenance
purposes
and
just
getting
out
and
seeing
firsthand
being
in
a
park
meeting.
The
staff
has
has
consumed
a
lot
of
time
right
and
it's
honestly
one
of
the
reasons
I
like
this
yeah
this.
A
B
There
are-
and
you
know
what
that's
again
to
the
the
earlier
question.
One
of
the
things
again
in
the
evolution
is
coming
back
now
to
see
parks
that
I
was
familiar
with
from
30
years
ago,
right
and
now
to
come
and
see.
For
example,
you
know
we
had
henricus
when
I
was
first
here.
Henricus
was
just
sort
of
fledgling.
B
A
A
Yeah
last
one
before
we
moved
to
program
and
I'm
just
curious
what
you
as
you,
you
know,
come
into
a
role
like
this
being
the
director
of
a
department
like
this
in
a
county
like
chesterfield,
I'm
just
curious
what
your
sort
of
overarching
sort
of
thought
is
of,
of
the
role
of
parks
and
rec
and
and
how
vital
that
is
to
the
community.
I'm
just
curious!
How
you
see
your
department
and
the
way
it
fits
into
the
bigger
picture
for
folks
sure.
B
Well,
yeah,
that's
been
a
life
lesson
in
this
business
and
what
I
would
say,
I've
had
the
been
fortunate
to
work
for
several
organizations
in
this
in
this
field
and
there
are
some
commonalities,
but
every
park
department
is
really
unique
to
the
community
that
it
serves.
So
the
the
things
that
people
in
this
community
are
familiar
with,
or
hopefully
familiar
with
that
we
provide,
are
really
based
on
a
dialogue
between
the
community
and
the
community
members.
What's
important
to
them.
B
What
we
are
able
to
provide,
so
everything
is
very
local
in
terms
of
of
where
things
are
prioritized
and
what
we
are
expected
to
provide.
And
again
that's
been
a
real.
I
guess,
if
you
look
for
the
silver
lining
and
the
pandemic,
to
basically
get
that
validation
right,
that
people
do
value
in
terms
of
measuring
quality
of
life,
the
ability
to
have
close
access
to
places
and
spaces
where
they
can
spend
time
right,
family
and
friends
and.
A
It's
much
more
like
trying
to
return
to
some
sort
of
normalcy,
and
I
can
imagine
that
a
lot
of
people
are
going
to
be
using
parks
and
rec.
This
summer,
then
probably
did
last
summer,
which
were
more
than
the
summer
before
that,
and
I
guess
we're
kind
of
getting
closer
to
that.
You
know
back
to
normal
and
I'm
just
curious
from
a
programming
standpoint.
Did
you
guys
offer
more
this
summer
going
into
it?
B
Summers
have
been
very
odd
for
an
organization
that
is
accustomed
to
working
hands-on
with
with
with
people,
particularly
children
in
in
the
camp
program,
and
this
year
we're
really
back
to
what
feels
more
normal
and
and
certainly
going
back
to
the
basics
and
providing
camp
and
camp
opportunities,
the
the
special
event
activity.
You
know,
outdoor
events
right
a
more
normal
summer
for
us,
which
is
great.
A
A
B
A
B
There's
you
know
food
vendors,
we
have
a
family
fun
zone
for
the
kids,
so
it's
it's
the
fourth
of
july
that
people
are
familiar
with
we're.
Just
you
know
glad
to
be
back
in
that
capacity.
So
I
hope
folks
can
come
out
the
gates
open
up
at.
I
believe
at
five.
Okay,
and
can
kings
of
swing
take
the
stage
it's
a
free
event
in
terms
of
gate
admittance-
and
you
know
please
follow
us.
A
A
Now
obviously,
as
you
mentioned,
you
know
sort
of
outdoor
venues
and
outdoor
events.
You
know
the
the
after
hours
series
is,
you
know
the
first
concert
I
believe
is
july.
The
22nd,
I
think
it's
at
6,
00
pm
gates,
are
at
5.
right.
I
think
aaron
lewis
leads
things
off,
and
then
it
goes
to
collective
soul
and
switchfoot,
which
is
a
as
a
as
a
guy
who
listened
to
a
lot
of
rock
music
through
the
90s
and
early
2000s.
You
know
those
are
two
names
that
definitely
ring
a
bell
for
me.
A
B
A
B
A
A
B
B
B
A
B
Again,
we
have
we're
back
to
our
more
normal
portfolio,
so
we
have
camps
that
run
the
spread
from
really
focused
in
on
history.
Through
our
partnership
with
the
chesterfield
historical
society,
henricus
has
their
own
camp
programs,
then
we
have
more
general
day
camps
that
are,
you
know,
sprinkled
out
at
some
of
our
community
recreation
centers,
as
well
as
some
of
our
partnerships
through
being
in
in
the
schools.
B
B
Again
we
are,
are
low,
cost
and
try
to
be
high
value.
So
I
would
encourage
listeners
if
they're
looking
for
something
for
their
children
to
do
again
to
to
look
us
up
on
online.
You
can
go
straight
to
our
web
platform
search
the
camp
offerings
and
go
right
into
registration
from
there,
and
we
do
have
some
capacity
available
across
the
spread.
A
B
A
In
terms
of
the
the
impact
I
mean
you
mentioned
earlier,
you
didn't
use
the
term
super
bowl,
but
that's
the
the
thing
that
meant
that
popped.
My
head
is
like
for
you
guys
summer
is
kind
of
like
your
super
bowl
right.
It's
a
it's
the
time
you're,
the
busiest
there's
a
lot
going
into
it,
and
obviously
a
lot
of
folks
coming
through
the
different
programs
and
the
different
venues
and
that
kind
of
thing,
and
I'm
just
curious
of
what
you
guys
do,
how
big
of
a
piece
of
of
the
pie
is
our
summer
camps.
Well,.
A
A
A
B
A
Yeah
now
one
other
thing
for
the
summer
I
wanted
to
mention
was
national
night
out
that's
tuesday
august
the
2nd
stonebridge
recreation
center
from
11
to
2
that
day,
bensley
park
from
six
to
nine
and
then
etric
park
from
six
to
eight.
I'm
just
curious
of
how
you
see
national
night
out
and
what
what
kind
of
things
are
kind
of
on
the
docket.
So
to
speak.
For
for
this
year,.
B
A
B
Providing
staff
resources
for
our
general
camps
and
national
night
out
is
a
continuation
of
that
effort
to
work
collaboratively
with
the
community
community,
policing
and
our
resources
to
really
get
down
into
the
communities
we
serve,
and
every
community
has
maybe
a
little
bit
of
a
different
priority
or
need,
and
we
want
to.
We
want
to
work
at
that
community
level.
Neighborhood
level
right
to
provide
resources.
The
basics
are,
are
pretty
much
food
fun
and
fellowship
right
as
long
as
the
weather
cooperates
right.
A
Now,
obviously,
a
big
focus
for
us
today
has
been
you
know
summer,
but
I'm
just
curious,
as
you
sort
of
look
to
your
first
fall
as
the
director.
What
and
and
obviously
dates
times
all
that
fun
stuff,
I'm
just
curious.
What
kind
of
things
are?
Are
you
guys
thinking
about
for
for
fall
and
beyond
in
terms
of
what
you
could
offer.
A
B
B
A
A
B
A
A
A
Absolutely
well
one
one
last
thing
before
we
let
you
go,
I'm
just
curious
and
I
kind
of
want
to
circle
back
a
little
bit
to
our
previous
conversation
and
sort
of
bridge
it
to
what
we
just
talked
about
programming.
How
special
is
it
to
you
to
be
the
director
of
this
department
and
doing
so
much
work
in
the
community
that
you
live?
I
know
that
was
a
big
focal
point
for
you
in
in
coming
here
and
taking
this
job.
A
B
I'm
I'm
really
grateful.
Like
I
said
I
we
when
we
moved
back
here,
it
was
intentional
to
settle
in
chesterfield
to
raise
our
family,
and
so
it
is
very
meaningful
to
me.
This
is
where
I,
you
know,
as
my
kids
have
grown
up,
we've
been
active
participants
and
for
me
to
now
be
able
to
give
back
and
and
work
with
a
great
group
of
of
folks
with
a
lot
of
of
of
great
support
from
the
community
and
the
elected
leadership.
B
A
A
Now
make
sure
you
check
us
out
on
social
media
on
twitter,
it's
at
chesterfieldva
and
on
instagram,
it's
chetchfieldvirginia
one
word
and
on
facebook
check
out
our
podcast
page,
just
search
chesterfield
behind
the
mic.
Make
sure
you
like
that
page.
You
can
keep
up
with
us
as
we
go
forward
now.
Let
me
give
you
all
the
ways
you
can
check
us
out.
You
can
watch
the
show
on
our
youtube
channel,
as
well
as
on
our
website.
A
Chessfield.Gov
podcast,
an
audio
only
version
of
the
show
is
available
there,
as
well
as
on
apple
podcast,
spotify,
google,
podcast,
overcast
and
a
whole
host
of
other
services.
You
can
also
watch
the
podcast
on
wscct
thursday
through
sunday,
at
seven
on
the
weekends
at
noon.
That's
comcast,
channel,
98
and
verizon
channel
28
and,
lastly,
you
can
check
out
chesterfield.gov
connect
with
us
for
more
ways
for
us
to
get
in
touch
with
you
and
you
for
to
get
in
touch
with
us.
A
I
want
to
thank
my
director,
martin
smith,
my
executive
producer,
susan
pollard,
and
all
the
good
folks
here
at
communications
media
for
making
this
possible,
and
I
want
to
thank
you
for
giving
us
a
look
today
so
from
all
of
us
here
in
chesterfield.
Thank
you
very
much
for
making
us
a
part
of
your
day.
We'll
see
you
again
real
soon
take
good
care.