With a beautiful new playground behind her, Caroll Hunter told the crowd gathered Tuesday to officially open a fully renovated Whitesville Park that she knew the community members who tried for so long to restore the park would be proud.

"Looking out, I cannot help but remember how it all began," she said. "A group of community residents with a vision for a better community, a safer community for their families. How they organized and became the Whitesville Resource and Development Organization. And that journey began. Today we are witnesses of the result of their determination and commitment to make it happen."

Whitesville Park, which is located off Raymond Street Extension, just west of Highway 301 North, once was a popular gathering space operated by neighborhood volunteers. However, the park fell into disrepair and was closed to the public indefinitely in 2016 due to a combination of aging infrastructure, vandalism and maintenance challenges.

For years, volunteers like Hunter's mother, the late Carrie Howard, and many more from the Whitesville Resource and Development Organization advocated for the preservation of the park, requesting Statesboro officials on several occasions for the city to assume ownership and revitalize the space.

"My mother served as the president for many years," Hunter said. "Her tireless work and uncompromising commitment to this community will never be forgotten. And our request was that they make this park, once again, a thriving part of this community. And to that, I can say today, job well done. Amen."

In April 2022, the park property was officially deeded to Statesboro, and city staff began exploring funding opportunities to support its renovation. Multiple grant applications to the Georgia Department of Community Affairs, though, were unsuccessful. Finally, city officials decided to designate $1.2 million from federal American Rescue Plan Act funds to move forward with the long-awaited project.

In December 2024, the City Council awarded a renovation contract to Lavender & Associates, committing to the revitalization of the park and work began in July 2025.

The completed renovations include a modern restroom facility, a refurbished basketball court, a playground, and two covered pavilions.

"Today we're standing in a newly built Whitesville Park," Statesboro City Manager Charles Penny said at Tuesday's opening. "I can just imagine those ancestors that worked for so long and hard to improve the community and to preserve the park. I can just imagine on this day there's this big grin on all their faces. For the dream and the vision that they had for this community and for this park, today it has come to fruition."

And Hunter had a challenge for the community Tuesday to honor the work of her mother and all the others who never gave up on restoring Whitesville Park to its role as the heart of the community: Respect the park and keep it safe for everyone.

"Today, the vision is still active," she said. "It is fulfilling its purpose for this community, our families, our friends and our neighbors. This is our legacy to protect, to defend and to celebrate."