Columbus Aquatics Center draws new director from Savannah suburb

Franessa Stalter, a parks and rec professional who last worked in the Savannah area, is the new director of the struggling Columbus Aquatics Center.

Stalter started the job last month, and has been trying to beef up the center’s community activities. In addition to managing the facility, she also is responsible for the city’s four seasonal outdoor pools. Her annual salary is $64,000.

Stalter, a native of Pontiac, Ill., comes to the position with 30 years of experience in athletic, aquatic, therapeutic, cultural arts and enrichment leisure services, according to her resume. In an interview with the Ledger-Enquirer, Stalter said she was drawn to the Columbus Aquatics Center because of the change of pace and the unique opportunity to run a large facility.

“This is more of a competition facility and I kind of wanted to get back into doing some of those things,” she said. “When I was in athletics, we used to host several national championships in softball in some of the places I was at, and so this kind of goes back into that genre.”

Stalter takes charge of a facility that has been underfunded since its construction. Last year operating hours were cut from 89 to 60 hours to stay within budget. City officials had difficulty finding a center director for several months.

Stalter said most aquatics centers are underfunded by nature, and she welcomes the challenge.

“They require a lot of maintenance and they require a lot of on-site staff, your lifeguards and your maintenance people making sure things are clean and safe,” she said. “What I’m trying to do is bring creative programing and things that I think the citizens would want, working with the advisory council that the Columbus Aquatics Commission has set up.”

She said the center is starting a water dance class and plans to do some instructor training for Zumba, paddle boarding, yoga and other activities.

“We’re going to get some of our staff certified to be lifeguard instructor trainers so that they can train people to train lifeguards,” she said. “That will help not only us, but the entire community with lifeguards and having certified people out there to train and teach young people to swim.”

Stalter said administrators also are considering adjusting some of the hours of operation to accommodate swimmers in the early morning. However, the center will for remain operate for only 60 hours a week until circumstances change.

Prior to moving to Columbus, Stalter served as director of the North Bryan County Recreation Department, located in a Savannah suburb. Before that, she worked at the Albany (Ga.) Recreation and Parks Department for 16 years, serving as manager of health, wellness and community events prior to leaving the area. While in Albany, she also served as assistant to the director and general supervisor in charge of athletics, aquatics and cultural arts. She has also worked in Illinois and Arizona.

Stalter holds a master’s degree in leisure studies from Arizona State University, a bachelor’s in recreation administration from Easter Illinois University and an associate degree in recreation leadership from Parkland College (Ill.). She is also a certified youth sports administrator, certified pool operator and an certified aquatic facility operator.

She is a graduate of the Georgia Recreation and Park Association (GRPA) Leadership I, GRPA Leadership II and the GRPA George Harris Executive Management School. She is also very active in the leadership of the GRPA, serving on the board of trustees. She has been named the recipient of the GRPA Distinguished Professional Awards, the GRPA Mike Daniel Award for Programming Excellence, and the GRPA District 3 Distinguished Professional Awards.

She enjoys yoga, working out and participating in 5Ks, having run her first half marathon last year.

This story was originally published April 3, 2017 at 4:42 PM with the headline "Columbus Aquatics Center draws new director from Savannah suburb."