The Naperville Park District plans to hire two new employees and revamp eight softball dugouts in the coming months.
The two new hires will be a digital marketing specialist and a communications manager to replace the retiring Sue Omanson, according to marketing and communications director Sameera Luthman.
The marketing specialist, a position that has been budgeted for, will be brought on by the end of the year. District officials have made an offer to a promising recruit, Luthman told the Naperville Park Board at its meeting last week.
Omanson plans to retire at the end of 2023. She has been with the park district for nearly 23 years, starting in 2001 as a corporate relations coordinator before working as a grant manager. She has been community development manager for the past 15 years.
“We are still in the process of finding our candidate, but we are going through the interview process and hopefully we can make that happen very soon,” Luthman said.
Meanwhile, eight dugout shelters will be constructed at Frontier Sports Complex’s centrally located ballfield hub pending board approval at a November meeting, Planning Director Eric Shutes said. The shelters will give softball players extra protection from the elements.
A purchase order for the shelters was approved at a March 2022 board meeting, but the shelters didn’t arrive until early 2023, Shutes said. To avoid conflicts with games and practices, the work is expected to be done later this fall and should be mostly completed by the end of the year.
The project is expected to cost about $50,000.
Giles Bruce is a freelance reporter for the Naperville Sun.
