Eugene Young

Young did not apply for the superintendent's position because BREC had little public support at the time, but he reluctantly accepted it. He recalled, "We didn't have any money for anything. Television stations would call me up and make me stand by grass that was two feet high in some park and say 'Now why aren't you cutting the grass?' " Young was making the point that if residents wanted the grass cut in their parks they had to authorize resources. It was from this inauspicious beginning that Young built BREC.
After visiting many large cities and seeing only concrete and buildings, Young decided he did not want Baton Rouge to become that type of city. He recognized the need for green spaces and often expressed that without land you could not build facilities and have programs. In the 1960s when federal grant funds become available Young made extensive use of them often matching one grant program with another. During the 1980s and the FDIC land crisis, he attended many auctions, winning bids and purchasing land at a large discount. One of the best examples was the purchase of an 18 hole golf course for two million dollars. During his administration, over ten million dollars in land was donated and the park system increased by 160 parks.
BREC was a segregated park system when he became superintendent in 1960. In 1962, the park system was integrated without any major problems. Its success was confirmed in 1964 when by public vote the commission's tax base was doubled. Throughout his career, Young emphasized the development of recreation programs in close-to-home neighborhood parks, where people of low income and limited access to transportation could participate.
Young made extensive use of volunteers and partnerships. In 1962, an 18 hole golf course was constructed in a heavily populated part of the parish. BREC provided seed funding, but most of the cost was met by soliciting private donations and using volunteer labor. This early model for developing facilities was replicated in numerous subsequent projects.
Three partnerships illustrate the breadth of the other organizations with which Young sought to cooperate. First, in cooperation with the Louisiana Historical Society, he succeeded in acquiring a historically significant plantation home which was scheduled for demolition, known as Magnolia Mound Plantation. It is now owned by BREC and operated by the Historical Society as a tourist attraction, with tours and lectures on the restored house, historical day camps, and cooking demonstrations in the outdoor kitchen.
Second, in cooperation with the Nature Conservancy, which was able to purchase a large swamp area in the middle of the City of Baton Rouge, BREC created Bluebonnet Swamp Park which offers an array of interpretation programs and an opportunity to walk through the swamp on elevated walkways, to observe native plants.
Third, the observatory in Highland Road Park was developed by partnering with Louisiana State University Astronomy Department and the Baton Rouge Astrological Society. A large telescope was installed along with a computer network to the LSU Astronomy Department. It is used in a donated building by both LSU students and the general public.
Under Young's leadership, BREC received the National Gold Medal Award as the top agency of its size class in the country on two occasions, in 1975 and 1991, and was a finalist for the eleventh time in his final year as superintendent. After rejecting a property tax referendum soon after Young became superintendent in 1960, BREC voters supported all eleven subsequent tax referenda for parks and recreation which were presented to them while he was superintendent. One of the novel aspects of BREC funding was Young's dislike of borrowing money. When he discovered in 1968 that BREC had paid more in interest in paying off bonds authorized in a 1954 bond election than it had received from the bond principal, Young decided all projects from then on would be done on a pay-as-you-go financing basis. They would be built only if BREC had the money.
In 1994, BREC became one of the first four park and recreation agencies to be nationally accredited in this field. He was a strong advocate for training and professionalism and one of the first professionals certified by both the LRPA and NRPA. Young recognized that a good parks and recreation system has to accommodate a conglomerate of special interest groups and must serve all. Accordingly, he deliberately created an unusually broad array of service offerings. Among the major facilities built during his tenure at BREC were a $30 million, 80 acre zoo; a 15 acre arboretum; two major stadiums; a velodrome; a $3 million horse activities center; an historic park; an art gallery; a specially equipped park for handicapped children; a theater and performing arts building; Bluebonnet swamp; an observatory; and a botanical garden.
Young kept himself and BREC out of city politics. BREC is not a city department, but is a free standing agency created by the state constitution, with its own authority to call for tax elections for money dedicated to parks and recreation, governed by a nine-member Commission. This is comprised of six members appointed by the city-parish council and a representative from the mayor's office, the planning commission and the school board. Young served through the administration of eight mayors and over 100 different board members, even though his contract indicated he could be terminated at any time with 30 days notice.
One of his long time colleagues noted, "The man lives, eats and breathes recreation and parks programs and services." All who had the privilege of interacting with Young quickly became aware that he was a humble man who unfailingly attributed his success to those around him. The staff at BREC revered him. Without exception, they spoke of "Mr. Young" not "Gene". This was nothing he affected, but was simply an indicator of the extraordinary respect that everyone in BREC had for him. He was a courtly, southern gentleman whose mantra was "service to the people of East Baton Rouge." He lived and breathed BREC. He was never outworked by anyone on his staff in his 50 years at the organization, and never asked the staff to do anything he wouldn't do himself. He was a beacon who inspired others to be better and to do better by his strong sense of character, honesty and integrity, and his loyalty to the community. His reputation in the community was captured in an editorial, "Gene Young doesn't do lunch. 'I don't eat lunch with people we do business with.' " Young said. The editorial went on to state that Young was "smart, ethically above reproach and a world-class tightwad."
There are few, in any, who can match Young's 50 years of membership in the Louisiana and National Recreation and Park Associations. He was president and vice president of the Louisiana Recreation and Park Association twice. He wrote their first constitution, proposed their first certification program, and published their first newsletter. His 18 years as a professional member of the NRPA Board of Trustees is a record which may never be broken. In recognition of this contribution, he was the first professional ever honored with the title of "Lifetime Trustee" by NRPA.

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