Rick Sloan cuts the ribbon at the Cordova Community Pool grand opening. Photo by Jasmine Osmany

The Cordova Recreation and Park District (CRPD) was created 66 years ago. One year later, it gave birth to the Cordova Community Council (CCC), which would become the foundation the City of Rancho Cordova would be built upon 21 years ago. You might say they built this City on Parks and Rec.

It has always been a team effort comprised of many great leaders of the community that carried the torch of progress.  Leaders such as Paul and Dayo Hagan, Neil Orchard, Guy Anderson, Cay Nickerson, Linda Budge, Dave Roberts, Robert McGarvey, Ken Cooley, David Sander, Ted Gaebler, Shelly Blanchard and Curt Haven, to name a few. These individuals knew the true meaning of community partnership.

I wasn’t born in Rancho Cordova. I didn’t attend Cordova High School. I moved to this community 38 years ago. And 29 years ago, I married another great leader, Rebecca Sloan. We created three beautiful children who did grow up here and this is where they would like to stay and raise their children. Why? Because they also have witnessed the magic of our community, the spirit of our community and the love of our community.

I grew up in the suburbs of Los Angeles. I always had a passion for parks and recreation. I was extremely excited whenever the opportunity arose to go to one of our local parks or school playgrounds. Parks have always played an important role in mental and physical development. This was amplified in 2020 when the pandemic confined people indoors, only to soon be realized by the Center of Disease Control that parks and open spaces were deemed essential to staying healthy.

Rick Sloan smiles with residents at the 2024 Holi Festival of Colors. Photo by Rick Sloan

This passion followed me through my adolescence and into my adult life. The City of Rancho Cordova and the park district worked very well together. A good working relationship is a blessing when striving to make positive changes in a park district that also benefits the growth of a city. What I’ve learned in most of my leadership training and governance education is the importance of partnerships.  Communities thrive on partnerships. I’m 110% positive that the park district, the school districts and the City of Rancho Cordova have benefitted through the power of their partnerships.

When I speak of our community, I’m referring to the boundaries of the CRPD, which include several communities within Sacramento County. These communities are Gold River, the City of Rancho Cordova, Mather, Lincoln Village, Larchmont, Riviera East and Rosemont.

I’m proud of where we are today. We’ve come a long way since 1958. Our parks, facilities and programs are flourishing. We currently have 35 neighborhood parks, 11 community parks, five water play areas, four community centers, two community pools, one golf course and one urban park (Village Green Park).

In the last nine years, our amazing staff has completed more than 200 capital improvement projects benefitting our existing parks and facilities with a total cost of $19 million. We made our older parks safer for everyone by completing American Disabilities Act improvements and equipment upgrades. We opened 11 new parks with two more planned to open this fall. We demonstrated financial accountability by increasing our Bond rating from BBB+ to A-. We received 20 awards of excellence from local, regional and state agencies. We brought the struggling Cordova Golf Course back to life during the pandemic. One of my most proud moments was cutting the ribbon at the grand opening of our brand-new Cordova Community Pool alongside my fellow Board Members, CRPD staff, Rancho Cordova City Council and City staff.

Rick Sloan has served the Cordova Recreation and Park District since 2008. Photo by Srinivas Basani

At this year’s California Special Districts Association annual conference, our General Manager Patrick Larkin was awarded the Special District Governance Certificate. Our Park District was awarded with the District of Distinction Gold Accreditation and the District Transparency Certificate of Excellence. These are major accomplishments upon which we can continue to challenge ourselves and do even more for our community.

Shelly Blanchard, executive director of the Cordova Community Council says, “We help people fall in love with their city.” 

I say, “We help people fall in love with their community.” Our accomplishments as a park district have not only helped build a city, but also helped draft a roadmap to the future growth of our community.