After 20 years at the helm and oversight of many major projects, Manchester Parks and Recreation Director Bonnie Gamble has notified the Manchester Board of Mayor and Aldermen that she plans to retire.
Gamble worked for the Parks and Recreation Department as director for nine years before taking a job with the state of Tennessee. She returned to the city in 2010 to take over as Parks Director again. She informed the board of her intention to retire full time on June 30, 2021.
“I still plan to be active in the community and work part time for the city,” Gamble told Thunder Radio news. “But I have new challenges and a new grandchild coming that I want to be there for and I want the freedom to travel and see the world some.”
Gamble has oversaw multiple major projects that have shaped the city’s parks and recreation departments. She was instrumental in the start of the Little Duck River Greenway, which now stretches multiple miles, and she also oversaw construction of the Manchester Recreation Complex. In addition to many other major projects, Gamble also helped lead the purchasing and development of the new soccer complex off of State Route 55.
Gamble said she gave the city board over 10 months notice to allow them time to find a suitable replacement.
“I wanted to finish out this fiscal year (which ends June 30, 2021) and this gives the board time to decide how they want leadership to look moving forward,” explained Gamble.
The Recreation Department also organizes the annual Manchester Christmas Parade. Gamble currently serves as president of the Manchester Rotary Club.
(File photo: Bonnie Gamble, right, and Manchester Mayor Lonnie Norman, left, accept a check of $5,000 from Phillip McAfee to go toward tennis court renovations. Gamble announced that she intends to retire June 30, 20201. )
