During the Statesboro-Bulloch Chamber of Commerce’s fourth annual  State of the Region event Thursday evening, the chamber bestowed its 2025 Community Partner of the Year Award on an organization that creates part-time jobs for hundreds of people and provides exercise and entertainment for thousands.

Dadrian “Dee” Cosby, director of the Bulloch County Recreation and Parks Department for just over a year now but who has worked 27 years with the agency, came forward to accept the award. But as he understood, it’s the entire department that the chamber was recognizing as a “partner.”

“This award here is for our staff,” Cosby said. “My job as the director is extremely easy with the staff that we have in place. Coming in, I had two goals, or two visions that I wanted, and they were going to be a ‘big team, little me,’ mentality, and any program, any activity that we put out there, we’re going to do it at our highest standard possible.”

A venue for goals

About 200 people witnessed the presentation, part of the State of the Region evening that began with reception-style food and beverages at 5 p.m., followed by speeches and presentations at 6:30. The setting was the Jack and Ruth Ann Hill Convocation Center, which opened last December as Georgia Southern University’s new home not only for convocation and graduation ceremonies, but also for varsity men’s and women’s basketball.

So, with the arena floor under tables and chairs covered in black canvas to protect the playing surface and the hoops and backboards stowed in a corner, the place triggered a few “goal” puns and sports analogies even before the county Rec Department scored the evening’s only trophy.

The Community Partner of the Year Award is for an organization that “has excelled in bringing people together and fostering collaboration within the community,” said John Robinson, local businessman and community advocate, who presented the award.

This year’s honoree has “been a constant source of support for families, providing safe, nurturing, affordable space for children to learn, grow and have fun,” he said. “Their programs have given parents the peace of mind to stay active in the workforce as they help young children develop leadership, teamwork and caring confidence. …

“But their impact doesn’t just stop at kids,” Robinson said. “They also invest in our local economy, creating jobs, mentoring youth and helping to build the next generation of community leaders.”

One busy Rec Dept.

In accepting the award on behalf of the Recreation and Parks Department, Cosby said he was also bringing thanks from the Bulloch County Board of Commissioners and county manager, as well as  to the department’s employees and public.

“I love Bulloch County. I’m truly thankful for the opportunities that this community, this region, has provided myself, the staff and what we’re doing at the Recreation Department,” he said.

Mentioning the Bulloch Ag Arena as a Recreation Department-operated facility, he noted that it recently hosted the first Statesboro Renaissance Fair and a custom-modified truck showcase. Horse shows and other animal- and agriculture-related events are held there throughout the year.

“Next year as of right now, we have (the arena) booked for 40 weekends,” Cosby announced.

Calling Mill Creek Regional Park “the best dang park in the state for recreation,” he first said he’s proud of its Splash in the Boro waterpark, and then noted that Mill Creek is “locked in for 24 weeks of baseball-softball tournaments” in 2026.

The department also has plans for new facilities to be built and some existing ones upgraded in several Bulloch County neighborhoods during 2026 and into the first months of 2027.

Currently, playgrounds and some restrooms are being added at Fletcher Park, the department’s generally “passive park” off Lakeview Road on the north end of Statesboro. This will give the park a more active role as a host site for youth summer camps, as well  as accommodating visits by families and neighborhood residents through the year, he said in a brief interview.

At Portal, the county government in June purchased a 50-acre tract near Portal Middle High School for about $950,000 for the Recreation Department to use in creating the Portal Community Park. Requests for proposals for design will go out soon, he said, followed by construction contracts.

“The same with Register, and then we’re going to be working in Brooklet, redoing the pavilion and then putting in a walking trail around the soccer fields,” Cobsy said.

Plans for Portal’s park include ballfields, pavilions and walking trails, like those at the existing Nevils, Stilson, Brooklet and Statesboro parks. Register’s will be a more passive park with a ballfield, probably one basketball goal, a playground and one pavilion.

Authorized for 49 full-time employees, the Recreation Department currently has five vacancies, “and then at any given time throughout the year we can have 500-plus part-time staff,” said Cosby. Those part-timers include many high school and college students.

The award presentation followed the invocation and Pledge of Allegiance led by Statesboro Mayor Jonathan McCollar, a welcome and appreciation of sponsors by the Chamber of Commerce’s 2025 board Chair Joel Hanner, and presentations by three other speakers.

Georgia Ports keynote

Stacy Watson, director of economic and industrial development at the Georgia Ports Authority, gave the keynote address, highlighting the history, current status and near future of the state’s ports.

The heart of the Georgia Ports Authority facilities, the port of Savannah and specifically the Garden City Terminal, is the third busiest port for containerized cargo in the nation, and has held that ranking for several years.

“We think we are poised to actually grow our business,” said Watson, a Georgia Southern University alumnus. “We’re the fastest growing port in the United States for the last 10 years, so we hope that trend continues.”

The busiest U.S. container port, the Los Angeles-Long Beach, California, complex, receives a 38% share of the traffic among the 10 busiest container ports. Second-busiest New York-New Jersey handles 17%, while Savannah handles 11% of the traffic among the top 10 ports, according a chart Watson presented. He described some planned expansions that could push Savanah’s facility past the New York-New Jersey complex in container capacity.

Meanwhile, the Port of Brunswick, Georgia, with its Colonel’s Island Terminal, in 2024 became the United States’ busiest port for “roll-on, roll-off” cargo, such as cars and construction and farm machinery, surpassing the Port of Baltimore, the Georgia Ports Authority announced in February.

Other speakers

Other speakers were John Stevenson, who is Georgia Southern’s associate vice president for business engagement, and Justin Farquhar, vice president of the Regional Industry Support Enterprise, or RISE. Created in response to a study that predicted an industrial labor shortage in the Savannah and I-16 corridor region, RISE has been looking at work force needs such as child care.

About 50 different businesses and other organizations, mostly chamber members, were represented by the approximately 250  individuals who registered for the 2025 State of the Region, reported Jennifer Davis, president and CEO of the Statesboro-Bulloch Chamber of Commerce.