Haldane has worked with the Plant City Recreation and Parks Department since 1996.
For Deborah Haldane, making Plant City a great place to live starts with making things fun.
Haldane has been doing just that in town since starting with the Recreation and Parks Department in 1996, and now several generations of Plant Citians can say she’s made a positive impact on their lives. They’re even coming back to help when they can.
“I’ve made quite a few friends over the years, and now some parents help out with events,” Haldane said. “It’s nice to see two and three generations coming back.”
Whether someone’s milestone was playing for their first organized sports team, catching their first fish in the pond behind Plant City Stadium or even taking an unforgettable field trip with the summer youth program, there’s a good chance Haldane was there and helped make it possible. In her 22 years with the city, she’s brought plenty of ideas to the table and helped make them a reality. Haldane spearheads the city’s semi-annual Youth Fishing Derbies and evolved the Summer Youth Programs at the Planteen and MLK rec centers. She’s headed up several Start Smart youth sports programs for kids who weren’t old enough to start in the city’s youth leagues, but still wanted something to do. Inspired by the Tigertown fireworks shows in her hometown of Lakeland, Haldane helped create Plant City’s annual Fourth of July event at Plant City Stadium to give locals the same experience.
“The first year that we had the fireworks, it was really satisfying to know we got something in the Plant City community so people don’t have to travel to Tampa or Lakeland to see fireworks,” she said.
Inspired by her father, Haldane started working in parks and recreation departments shortly after graduating from college in the early 1990s. She spent two years at Tallahassee’s Parks & Recreation Department and one in Polk before moving to Plant City. Twenty-two years later, she couldn’t imagine working anywhere else with any other group of volunteers and any other staff.
“The staff that I work with in the department, they’re my second family,” Haldane said.
That was made as clear as ever in 2004 when Haldane had what she called one of the roughest weeks of her life and the rest of the department was quick to support her.
“I went through a rough patch when I lost my dad in 2004, the same week we had Barbara Ann Goodwine pass away,” Haldane said. “They were patient with me as I went through the grieving process.”
Haldane enjoys working with the department’s younger staff members and watching them grow professionally. She pointed to program manager Tim Hanlon, who started volunteering and working as a referee with the program as a youth and is now climbing the ladder in the department, as someone she’s particularly proud of.
The younger people of Plant City are some of Haldane’s favorites to work with. One of her main goals is to make every child that comes through a city program or rec center feel welcomed and confident, like they should be there taking part in activities with everyone else.
“Sometimes they may not think someone outside of their immediate family cares,” Haldane said. “So when you’re able to make a difference for them, that’s a good thing.”
