At a special board meeting of the Park District of Oak Park on Tuesday night, outgoing Executive Director Gary Balling had a word of advice to his successor—put your running shoes on.
Shortly before Balling’s comments, the board approved an employment agreement with Jan Arnold, an Oak Park resident who was chosen from over 90 candidates to fill the top spot at the park district when Balling retires at the end of the month.
Arnold, 44, currently serves as executive director of the Illinois Park and Recreation Association. She’s also a member of the Park District Citizen Committee and the PTO at Longfellow School. As the mother of a 6-year-old, Arnold said she’s familiar with many park district activities, from the Santa trolley to the annual Ridgeland Common ice show to ceramics at the Dole Center.
Arnold told the board she wants to make sure programs are provided to all ages and capital projects are rolled out. She said it will be important to get input from staff and residents.
“I feel like the district will move ahead,” Balling said. He added he’s known Arnold for several years and she will bring energy, enthusiasm and a depth of knowledge to the position.
Other board members agreed, saying Arnold is very qualified for the big shoes she will fill.
Arnold has previously been a recreation management specialist in the United States Air Force and the superintendent of recreation facilities at the Wheeling Park District. She earned a Master’s in Business Administration from the Lake Forest Graduate School of Management while working for the YMCA of Metropolitan Chicago.