Greg Nyburg -Supervisor of the Reservoir Park Community Center

Are you following the City of Akron Recreation and Parks page on Facebook? If so, you’ve already seen the handy-work of Greg Nyburg! And if not, well then quite frankly, you are missing out. Greg is responsible for all of the amazing content on that page in addition to his core job duties. Greg is an Akronite through and through. Born and raised in the City, he’s now proud to engage with his community both through his work as a City employee and in his free time being active within the LGBTQ+ community as a member of the steering committee for Akron Pride. Greg’s heart for his community and its residents shines through when you talk to him. Make sure to go give the Rec page a follow so you can see all the amazing things happening in City of Akron Recreation and Parks and say hello to Greg!

1. What does your job entail?

As supervisor, I oversee the programs and activities that take place at the center, and work with different organizations in the community to start new programming here. It’s kind of hard to pin down exactly what I do. Every single day is different around here but I enjoy that. I also manage social media for the City of Akron Recreation and Parks Facebook account. I post about upcoming events and programs as well as give updates on what’s going on across the City in Rec. We have so many fun programs and activities available to people and I think that a lot of people still just don’t even know that we exist or that we offer this programming. I would love for more people to tune in and get these updates and spread the word about what is out there in their own communities.

2. I’ve got to ask, have you seen the show “Parks and Rec” and if so, is working for City of Akron Recreation and Parks similar to the show?

I have seen it and it is absolutely like the show! A lot of us are very dedicated to our Centers or Parks in a very Leslie Knope kind of way. I love that show. Amy Poehler is a genius.

3. What is your favorite part about your job/working for the City of Akron?

My favorite part about my job is that, on a daily basis, we get to interact and engage with the community. The people who come to the centers really enjoy the programs and activities. Just interacting with all the people who come and participate and get to enjoy what we’ve worked so hard to develop for them is great. I know it sounds corny but it really is inspiring to see this diverse community coming together to just have fun even when times are difficult.

Also Reservoir Park was one of the recipients of the Akron Parks Challenge and it is such an exciting time to be here right now to see the revival of the park and to have the opportunity to play a role in keeping the momentum in place for making this a happy place.

4. I’m sure COVID-19 has unfortunately put a damper on some of those activities and programs. Can you talk a little bit about how you’ve had to shift gears and get creative throughout the pandemic?

With COVID-19 we’ve really had to cut back the in-person programs. For example, we had to cut the attendance size of our summer camps from 30 to 9 which was really difficult. But it was still nice to be able to give these kids something to do, and somewhere to go with friends to hang out and experience new things this summer. We’ve had to shift programming to see how we can reach people digitally. One of the things I’ve worked on was coming up with programming or activities that residents could take part in over the computer. We partnered with Summit DD this summer on the craft-to-go program which has been really successful. We offered a different craft every week, and had pick-up sites at 4 community centers for participants to pick up the materials and then we made an instructional video each week to show them how to put their craft together. That project came together because we realized all the centers had various random crafting supplies on hand, so we gathered the supplies and then figured out what craft we could make from these miscellaneous items. We reached out to Summit DD to see if they wanted to help and they were excited to hop on board so they brought in the rest of the supplies that we didn’t have on hand. We ended up giving out approximately 70 kits each week. We also came up with sip-n-paint; which we were happy to see drew participants in that 25–40 age range which can be a difficult group to program for. This gave residents the opportunity to participate in something fun from their own homes and they didn’t need to worry about getting childcare or having to drive anywhere. We got a lot of positive feedback from our first one and we have a few more planned.

3. Do you have a favorite memory of working for the city?

One of my favorite memories was from when I first started at Reservoir. It was near Christmas, and I decided to start putting up some Christmas lights on the outside of the building. I started to hear people talk about how appreciative they were and how nice the building looked with the lights up and they were telling their neighbors to come and check it out. Of course that just made me want to get even more lights out there! It’s really heart-warming when you put in a little effort and can see how something that small can help to brighten up the neighborhood. But with that being said, expect even more lights this coming winter!

4. What do you like most about living in the City of Akron?

Well I grew up in Akron so it is home! I grew up in Highland Square and I’ve lived in different neighborhoods throughout my life. Now I work in Goodyear Heights and that has become a second home for me really. The thing I love most about Akron is that no matter which neighborhood you are in, there is always this strong sense of community. The people here take a lot of pride in their neighborhoods and where they come from and where they live.

5. What is your proudest accomplishment while working for the city?

I think it would actually be becoming a Supervisor out here at Reservoir.

6. What are some of your hobbies or what do you enjoy doing in your free time?

I like to run. I should do it more often. And I like to cook. I should also do that more often. I’ve been making a lot of curry dishes over the past several weeks. And by that I mean I have made the same curry dish many times. (laughing).

7. Do you have a favorite Akron restaurant/brewery/coffee shop/etc.?

My favorite coffee shop is Angel Falls and my favorite restaurant would probably be a tie between Dontino’s and Saffron Patch. Saffron Patch has amazing Indian food. If you haven’t tried it, you should. I could go on all day about local Akron spots though honestly. I end up getting a lot of take-out since I’m not cooking as much as I should (laughter). I love our local restaurants.

8. What are some other organizations or programs you’re involved with in Akron?

I am on the steering committee for Akron Pride. Unfortunately, my first year on the committee, COVID-19 happened. But it’s still been nice that we’ve been able to do some virtual programming to keep the community engaged. One of my favorite things about the Akron Pride Festival is you see all of these young people out there and you know that a lot of them may not typically get a lot of support or comradery on a normal basis, and on that day in Hardesty Park, they get to surround themselves with 15,000+ people who accept them for exactly who they are. For that day, they get to experience this overwhelming sense of community and acceptance and belonging and that’s everything. I can’t wait until we can have the Festival in person again and get to experience that together.

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