Over the past decade and a half, Mountain View Park has become one of the greatest assets and definitely one of the most used facilities in Clinton County. When thinking of vast improvement of the park over that time, the name Chris Lovelace is almost synonymous with Mountain View Park as we know it today.

Lovelace, an original member of the Clinton County Rec/Park Board when formed about 15 years ago, is no longer on that board due to time restraints, job and family. He officially resigned from the position last Thursday, August 30.

Not only was Lovelace an original member of the board, for the past approximate 14 years he has served as its chairman…and also put in a lot of hours, night and day, to make sure the park was maintained. His presence will definitely be missed by board members, as well as many citizens who use the park.

Lovelace, now 48, was first appointed by magistrate Norman Dale Asberry and served as a county appointed member. Later, he became a Board of Education appointee and was recommended by school board chairman Ned Davis.

Lovelace took over as chairman following Steve Peddicord, who served in that position the first year of the park board’s existence.

Lovelace notified park board members earlier this summer he would be stepping down because of his workload, including having to work some nights at his job and also at least half the nights of a month taking care of his parents and grandmother.

During an interview this past weekend, Lovelace said one of the most fulfilling things about the years he put in volunteering at the park was watching children in the community grow up, mostly from starting out playing Little League baseball and softball at the park.

He also said he derived pleasure in being able to serve both kids and adults in helping provide them with a place to play ball, walk, hold birthday parties, picnics and cook-outs for family gatherings. “I’ve seen so many people use the park for various things,” he said.

Lovelace also said he had enjoyed working with some great people over the years, including board members such as the late Jim Dyer III and Paula Little, who is now the only remaining original board member, and Park Director Bobby Reneau, who he worked with on an almost day-to-day basis during peak usage times at the park.

The former board chairman said about the biggest challenge he had over the years, especially in the past few years, was being short-handed on help. But, he said, “anytime you have a volunteer organization, you’re going to run into that situation at times.” He also remembers non-board members, such as Little League parents, step up and volunteer to do jobs, such as working in the concession stand during games.

Lovelace also noted some of the major accomplishments he and the park board should be proud of includes seeing Little League baseball games played at night, now that the fields at the park are lit. The new building which houses better rest room facilities, a scoreboard area and meeting room, as well as covered bleachers were among the items mentioned.

Just as importantly, the front part of the park has been vastly improved, with the playground moved back from the roadway and new grills and benches being added, along with mulch placed on the playground area.

Another thing Lovelace was proud of about the park, which many wouldn’t give a second thought, is the quality of food provided to park goers during ball games and other events. He said he had even heard of people from other counties that would come to the park and wait to eat when they got there. “They had heard about the grilled food,” he noted.

During peak spring and early summer months, when Mountain View Park is most used by more people, Lovelace said he would put in an average of 20-25 hours a week. He said two of his children, the youngest now just 11, practically grew up at the park.

During his tenure, not only did Lovelace perform as board chairman, but also was a fixture at the park at about any given time, doing any job from working in the concession stand, directing traffic, cleaning up, making trips back and forth for supplies and once was Master of Ceremonies for a beauty pageant.

Because of the economic times and other reasons, Lovelace said the park board will be facing challenges in the years to come and said the approach of maintaining the park may have to be different than in years past. He noted Little League player numbers were down, concession sales were down and the U.S. 127 Sale proceeds have decreased in recent years. “Those proceeds just don’t seem to be there anymore,” he said. The board may have to use a unique and different approach with the concession stand, he added.

He noted that the input from the three governing entities that help fund the park didn’t sustain the costs for a full fiscal year, but with the revenues from the yard sale and concessions, the park was able to be solvent.

One goal that wasn’t accomplished during his 15 years on the board and 14 as chairman was that of obtaining a new, modern playground. He suggested possibly soliciting individual businesses and industries to donate one item per year to help make a better playground feasible.

Lovelace said any advice he would give to the new chairperson, as well as board members, would be to be creative in obtaining funding and never give up hope, no matter how challenging it may be, because, he said, “we always found a way to maintain the park and pursue a lot of projects even when we were unsure how we would pull it off.” He continued, “I’m of the mind set that if you do the right thing for the right reason, you’ll get a good outcome…that’s the reason the park is as good as it is today.”

Lovelace, a Clinton County native and 1982 graduate of CCHS, obtained a Bachelor’s Degree and Master’s Degree from Eastern Kentucky University in 1986 and 1989, respectively and has been employed with the Lake Cumberland Boys’ Camp in Wayne County for the past 13 years.

He and his wife, Carolyn, have three children, Megan Lovelace-Thompson, Cory Lovelace and Rhiannon Lovelace.

In closing, Lovelace challenged all three supporting government entities, the judge/executive and fiscal court; mayor and city council; and school superintendent and board of education to continue to strive to always find funding for Mountain View Park, saying he felt it was the most single-used facility in the county.