Wilson Resigns as Director of Parks and Recreation

EDITOR’S NOTE: East Ridge News Online filed on open records request with the City of East Ridge on Wednesday morning regarding an investigation which led to the resignation of Adam Wilson as Director of Parks and Recreation. City Manager Chris Dorsey said the documents would be available on Thursday morning.

Adam Wilson, the city’s Director of Parks and Recreation, resigned on Monday.

On Tuesday, East Ridge City Manager Chris Dorsey confirmed that Wilson had resigned.

In a voicemail message to East Ridge News Online, Dorsey said Wilson was “no longer employed by the city.” The voicemail went on to say that he would make no further comment on the matter.

Wilson did not respond to a text message asking for comment.

Wilson was only the second Director of Parks and Recreation the city has ever had, succeeding the late Stump Martin. Wilson was hired on September 17, 2018, with a starting salary of $62,000.

He was the top pick of a special committee formed by then-City Manager Scott Miller. Wilson was one of six finalists interviewed from a pool of 44 applicants.

During his tenure, Camp Jordan Park underwent a $5 million renovation that included new strategically placed concession facilities, new restrooms, shade structures, bleachers, and renovations of thirteen softball and baseball infields.

Shawnna Skiles, the city’s Assistant Director of Parks and Recreation, will become the interim director of parks and recreation, Dorsey said. Currently, there is no timetable on hiring a permanent replacement for Wilson.

About Dick Cook

Dick Cook has lived in East Ridge since the Kennedy Administration when his parents bought a house on Marietta Street. Dick graduated from ERHS in 1976 before going on to the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga where he studied Political Science. Dick worked for the Chattanooga Free-Press and the Chattanooga Times Free Press for 22 years. Free-Press Sports Editor Roy Exum plucked him out of production in 1989 and gave him a job as a sports reporter. Dick covered everything from prep sports to the whitewater events on the Ocoee River for the 1996 Olympics. When Chattanooga's two paper's merged, he became the Crime Reporter covering both the Chattanooga Police and Fire Departments. He was among reporters who were honored by the Associated Press for the TFP's coverage of the 2002 fog-shrouded crash on I-75 in Catoosa County, Dick and his wife, Cathy, live on Marlboro Avenue where they are seen frequently chasing around their three grandsons.