A retirement party was held at the Granville Arts Center Thursday, Jan. 29 for Managing Director of Parks & Recreation Jim Stone. Friends and colleagues gathered to visit with Stone and celebrate his 32+ years of service to the city of Garland. Stone’s wife, Kitty, and several family members also joined in the festivities.
Mayor Douglas Athas along with Council Members Anita Goebel, Scott LeMay, Stephen Stanley, Tim Campbell and B.J. Williams were on-hand to congratulate Stone on his service to Garland.
Stone was joined by former Parks Department Directors Bob 
Hall and Jack Hayes and their combined years of service to the department exceeded 90 years.
The Parks & Recreation Department includes not only all parks, pools, recreation centers, senior centers, and Firewheel Golf Course, the Cultural Arts Department and the city’s library system also were also under Stone’s supervision.
City Manager Bill Dollar remarked that he always knew that no matter what issue might arise, Stone would have everything under control.
“We appreciate the job you’ve done…You’ll definitely be missed,” Dollar said.
Deputy City Manager Martin Glenn called Stone a great friend and a great mentor and Cecil Williams, who chairs the Parks Department Board said that it had been a privilege to work with Stone for more than 10 years.
Other employees said that he would be missed and that it had been an honor to work with him.
Patty Granville, who serves as director of the arts in Garland, said that she would miss Stone’s sense of humor and his ability to mentor.
“I have learned so much from him but most of all he always knows the right thing to say. We [Stone’s colleagues] call it his “snappy patter,” Granville said.
Stone loves movies, so that was chosen as the theme for the party and he was presented an “Oscar” for “Lifetime Achievement Awards for Parks, Recreation and Cultural Services.”
He was also given a basket of movie goodies and gift cards along with an engraved appreciation plaque.
Stone thanked everyone for coming and talked about Central park recently receiving the Lone Star Legacy Park Award.
“That’s one of the things that we’ve done recently that I’m proud of,” he said. “It gives us recognition as having one of the cool old parks in Texas. The reason I like it a lot is that Central Park and I came into being in the same year, 1948.”
Stone said that at that at the awards presentation, all the Parks and Recreation Department employees that were present went up to accept the award together.
“That’s the way we do things around here – together,” Stone said. “Sometimes we do them better together and sometimes maybe not…It’s one of those kinds of things that if you exist in a complex structure like ours, you know that it’s not just one person and everybody understands that. It’s a lot of effort by folks doing their job year after year.”