The circular drive around the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Recreation Center in Plant City was named this morning in honor of one of the center’s first employees.
The drive was named “Eddie C. Brooks Circle” Friday after Eddie Brooks, who worked with the MLK Recreation Center for 46 years, before retiring in 2008 at age 70.
A recommendation by Plant City Vice Mayor Mary Mathis was approved at a city commission meeting April 8 to name the drive after Brooks.
Brooks was recommended for the lead position at the Haines Street Recreation Center when he was just 23-years-old, when he was coaching girls’ basketball at Marshall High School. The center was later renamed the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Recreation Center.
A true pioneer for recreation and youth development in African American communities, Brooks served as the president for the Orange State Recreation Association, now known as the Florida Recreation and Parks Association.
Brooks also was the Heritage Award recipient in February, an annual award given in conjunction with Martin Luther King Jr. Heritage Week.