RESTON, VA – Reston Community Center earned honors in two categories at the 2021 Virginia Recreation and Park and Society’s annual conference in Harrisonburg, VA, this week. Bill Bouie, an RCC Board of Governors member since 2003, earned the Distinguished Volunteer Service Award, and RCC’s complete renovation of the Terry L. Smith Aquatics Center was chosen as the best new renovation (bricks and mortar). Both were for the population category of 50,0001 – 100,000.
Bouie, a telecommunications executive, coach, athlete and youth sports advocate, was recently named to his seventh term on the nine-member RCC Board. He currently is the board’s vice-chair. Bouie’s leadership and vision have been a big part of RCC’s programming, equity and fiscal success over the years.
In 2020, Bouie was instrumental in advising RCC on the CAPRA accreditation process. He also was an enthusiastic panel participant in RCC’s “Equity Matters” film discussions created in response to the George Floyd murder and renewed community focus on racial justice.
Bouie also serves as chair of the Fairfax County Park Authority Board, and he has served in leadership roles for the YMCA Fairfax County Reston, the Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts, Leadership Fairfax, Public Art Reston, and Reston Herndon Little League, among others.
“No one has embodied Reston values more than Bill Bouie,” said Leila Gordon, RCC Executive Director. “He gives and engenders respect; he believes in the power of each individual to contribute to the common good if they are given the tools to realize their potential. Bill makes us all better by showing us the example of someone who is a true servant leader and who loves building community.”
Reston Community Center opened the doors to its renovated Terry L. Smith Aquatics Center in early 2020. The $5.5 million project replaced a 40-year-old pool and its aging infrastructure with two new, state-of-the art pools: a 25-yard lap pool and a warm water exercise pool.
The project included water- and electricity-saving improvements, updated locker rooms, a new roof, recycling of materials and custom mosaic public art. The year-long construction project was completed while the rest of the building was open, allowing for minimal impact on other programming. The project was completed under budget, with more than $800,000 in unused contingencies returned to RCC’s reserves.
“RCC shares pride in this award with our colleagues in the Fairfax County Department of Public Works and Environmental Services (DPWES), who oversaw this complex and demanding construction project. Their constant attention to every project detail and construction milestone assured an outcome of which we are all justifiably proud,” said RCC Board Chair Beverly Cosham. “Best of all, our patrons love the new pools.”
The Virginia Recreation and Park Society is a private, nonprofit professional organization, founded in 1953 and incorporated in 1956. Its purpose is to unite all professionals, students, and interested lay persons engaged in the field of recreation, parks and other leisure services in the Commonwealth of Virginia, into one body. The members work together to promote and improve the profession in all its diversity. VRPS is affiliated with the National Recreation and Park Association.
Photos: Bill Bouie (L) and RCC Executive Director Leila Gordon with a 2021 VRPS Award; RCC’s renovated warm water pool. Credit/RCC.
