Groundbreaking for major Alice F. Keene District Park addition

The tent at Alice F. Keene District Park for an Oct. 23 groundbreaking ceremony was positioned where eventually there will be a main entrance to a new community recreation center.

Dozens of people inside and around the tent were excited about the prospect of this 25,917-square-foot center with five activity rooms, gymnasium and other amenities in serving as a twin to the center that will be located in the Pitt County Office Park.

Plans are displayed for the Alice F. Keene District Park Community Recreation Center.

Keene, an ECU College of Health and Human Performance alum and current member of the HHP Dean’s Advancement Council, and a few others provided remarks about the process of the community recreation center project adding to Alice F. Keene District Park, located on County Home Road in Greenville. Keene is recreation projects coordinator for the planning department in Pitt County.

“This truly is a once-in-a-lifetime turning point in our ability to impact the health and wellness, as well as the quality of life, for all residents in Pitt County,” Keene said.

Like Keene, other ECU and HHP alums attended the event. Keene and other HHP alums also have been instrumental in ECU annually serving as host of the North Carolina Senior Games state basketball tournament at the ECU Eakin Student Recreation Center. HHP student volunteers also contribute to the success of the Senior Games basketball tournament.

The Daily Reflector provided coverage of the groundbreaking with a photo gallery and news story.

Construction of the Alice F. Keene District Park Community Recreation Center could be completed by the end of 2024.

“We’ve set in motion the construction of a facility that will become a hub of health, community, unity and progress,” said chairwoman Mary Perkins-Williams of the Pitt County Board of Commissioners.