Jud Foster retires after 42 years as director of Norman parks, recreation

May 16—Just before Jud Foster retired, the city's Parks and Recreation department surprised him by revealing Foster Walking Trail at Ruby Grant Park, honoring his many efforts to help Norman parks grow in size, quality and numbers over the last 42 years.

Foster, who worked his last day with the department last week, said he was surprised by the recognition, but more than anything, he was honored and humbled.

"That was something I'll never forget," Foster said.

Foster joined Norman's Parks and Recreation department in 1978 as the park planner, eventually earning a promotion to parks superintendent before taking over as director after Lionel Bentley retired in 1985. Since then, Norman has more than tripled its number of city parks from 20 to 65.

With many projects to choose from, Foster said the Veterans Memorial, Legacy Trail and the Norman Forward projects are among the first that come to mind in terms of favorite projects.

Before the passage of Norman Forward, Foster said he was considering retirement. But the projects — which included the Senior Wellness Center and Ruby Grant Park — presented the opportunity to impact Norman that he had dreamed about for decades.

"My degree was in landscape architecture, and that's what I came to do, so when that initiative passed for those kinds of projects, it was like a dream come true," Foster said.

Foster said he enjoyed both the process of removing the original Westwood Pool, which was around 50 years old, and the Norman community's reaction when the renovated swim complex opened.

Ten years ago, Foster led the master plan development process for Ruby Grant Park, which opened in December. He said creating a community park with a passive design and multiple trails was of high priority.

"There was an emphasis on components for people with disabilities, like the playground, and going through that design process was a great experience," Foster said.

In terms of inclusivity, Norman Parks and Recreation superintendent Jason Olsen said Foster checked all the boxes, helping make Norman a more accessible place for individuals of all walks of life and abilities.

"Just look at KidSpace over at Reaves Park — the way he gathered over 100 community volunteers and built that park from the ground up in four days," Olsen said.

From the cross country track to the disc golf course, Foster said he and his colleagues put a significant amount of pride into the park.

Foster said Ruby Grant Park, the Senior Wellness Center and the Young Family Athletic Center, all projects developed in the twilight years of his career, are life-changing projects for residents in the state, and the positive impact they will have brings him fulfillment.

If Foster were to stay on the job through the summer, the upcoming groundbreaking ceremony for the Young Family Athletic Center in July would tempt him to see the construction through, so he decided it would be best to retire this month.

Foster said it has been an honor to work in Norman for the park system for his whole career in a job that has brought him seemingly endless satisfaction throughout that time.

"I see kids on a playground or something that I helped put together, or see somebody on a walk on a trail or playing soccer, and [know] people will be able to enjoy these things forever," Foster said.

Olsen said Foster has been integral to the growth of the parks system during his tenure.

"You go around and look at the city, you see his fingerprints on every single one of the 65 parks in Norman," Olsen said.

In his first week of retirement, Foster took a trip to the west coast to take in some scenery and play golf. He said he plans on using his newfound free time to enjoy the outdoors with his family.

"My wife and I will keep our place in Norman — and we love Norman and don't want to leave there — but we will visit Colorado and do some other traveling when [COVID-related] restrictions loosen," Foster said. "I plan to do a lot more recreation, play some golf, fish, hike and enjoy the mountain life that we like so much."

Olsen said Foster has a special place in his heart for veterans, which showed in the time he spent planning the Cleveland County Veterans Memorial.

"One of his special events that re-ran throughout the years and didn't hand off to the recreation division was the Veteran's Day ceremony and parade," Olsen said. "He was connected to the veterans around the community, and always appreciated the sacrifices they made for this country — he was very dedicated to them."

Foster set an example to other recreation departments in the state for how to model their own parks systems, Olsen said.

"I had the pleasure of working for him for 19 years and he was a great boss, great friend and he made work fun to come to every day," Olsen said. "We're very thankful for the time we got to spend with him as the leader of our department."

Jeff Elkins covers business, living and community stories for The Transcript. Reach him at jelkins@normantranscript.com or at @JeffElkins12 on Twitter.