Name: Cindy Hunt
Job title: Recreation supervisor, City of Mesa
Education: University of Maryland, undergraduate; Northern Arizona University, graduate school
What are your main duties?
“Currently I manage a large programming area that includes the adaptive programs, citywide special events, summer recreation programs, volunteers, after-school sports for elementary school, and the Jefferson and Webster Recreation Centers.”
What do you like best?
“Recreation and leisure activities are what people look forward too. We are the good times in life. As a recreation professional, I can plan, coordinate and program the activities that bring joy to people and that bring families and friends together. That makes me smile and feel very proud of the profession that I have chosen.”
What skills/education are needed to enter your field?
Hunt said recreation professionals need a degree in recreation and should seek continued education and affiliation with state and national organizations.
Describe a memorable experience
“It wasn’t long ago that I attended a fashion show, and all the models were children and adults with mental and physical disabilities. The models were all able to select their favorite fashions for the show from Kohl's and a group of wonderful volunteers and staff put on their make-up and styled their hair. As each model walked out, they waved and turned and showed off their outfits. They all smiled as if they were the most important persons in the room – the smiles were contagious. As I watched the parents and friends wave and smile back, with tears of joy in their eyes and taking pictures that they will treasure forever, I too smiled. For that confirmed what I have known all along; and that is that the recreation programs which the City of Mesa implements are positive, and they help to make people feel good about themselves, and smile.”
