Smooth Leadership Change Passes The Torch At Wellington’s Award-Winning Rec Program By Callie Sharkey
The Village of Wellington said goodbye to Parks & Recreation Director Bruce DeLaney recently and welcomed longtime village employee Eric Juckett into the top role at Wellington’s award-winning Parks & Recreation Department. addition, the department DeLaney spent 24 achieved accreditation years with Wellington and from the Commission is one of the pillars of its for Accreditation of Park longtime success in the and Recreation Agencies recreation sector. He has (CAPRA), a national stanheld the department’s top dard of best practices givpost for the past 10 years. en for excellence in both Arriving in 1994, DeLoperations and services. aney witnessed first-hand After dedicating years the growth and developof service in working hard ment of Wellington from so that others can play, the days before the comDeLaney is ready to spend munity’s incorporation. some of his own time rec“When I started with reating with family. the village, it was still the “We’re looking forward Acme Improvement DisThe Village of Wellington’s Bruce DeLaney and Eric Juckett. to the various holidays like trict, and we had virtually no facilities. It was first getting started,” grow, DeLaney decided to take a chance the Fourth of July. When working those DeLaney recalled. “As the years went by changing careers. He began as an events, you’re not with family,” said by, it developed, we built more facilities athletics coordinator, moved up to ath- DeLaney, who recently moved to live and became a village — and everything letics manager, and in 2009 became the closer to his son, daughter and granddaughter. “I have a boat and plan on doseemed to explode from there.” director of the department. Working in parks and recreation “I’m most proud of the staff that we ing some fishing. I’ve let my golf game wasn’t always a part of DeLaney’s career built together. What we’ve ended with go down the tubes, and now maybe I’ll path. He traces the beginning of that re- over there and this adventure that we pick that up again.” The most effective leaders are those lationship back to family. are on is awesome. There are dedicated “It just kind of happened. I moved people. They come and are totally in- who have a long-term plan for growth, here from Cleveland with my wife and vested in what we are doing,” DeLaney even after leaving a post. Juckett, family, working with John Hancock Fi- said. “Once we got to that point, then DeLaney’s successor, is ready to tackle nancial Services for 18 years,” he said. everyday was a good time. We are all on the challenge of filling the longtime di“The children were young, and I volun- the same page, and when everybody is rector’s shoes. “Eric is going to do a great job,” teered in a couple of programs to help on the same page, you get to be able to DeLaney said. “He’s a smart guy and coach and things like that. The recre- accomplish things.” ation program was in the initial stages.” The programs offered during his going to do great things, especially with As it became obvious to him how rec- years as director yielded many acco- the people there.” Juckett is a Florida native who was reational programs would continue to lades for the Village of Wellington. In 104
january 2019 | wellington the magazine