Central Park Rec Center staff bid farewell to Director Kelly Kitts (front center). Ben Hensley, her successor, is next to her.

Having overseen the opening of the busiest public rec center in Denver, Central Park Recreation Center Supervisor Kelly Kitts retired in June. Kitts was selected as the first supervisor to manage the Central Park center, which opened in January of 2011 and is the largest of 27 such facilities in the city.

“There was not a center in this particular part of the city, so when we opened we were looking to be more of a regional hub and a cornerstone of the community,” she said. “While lots of folks from the Stapleton neighborhood frequent the facility, people from nearby communities also use it for their healthy lifestyle.”

Kitts says Central Park is Denver Parks and Rec’s flagship public recreation center. Ben Hensley, an operations coordinator at the center for the past three years, shadowed Kitts for a few weeks in June before taking her place as the new supervisor. Hensley, a resident of Wheat Ridge and an employee of Denver Parks and Rec for the past 14 years, says he looks forward to meeting the needs of the growing community and maintaining the high standard of service established by Kitts.

“I’m very happy about his selection,” Kitts said about Hensley. Kitts worked for the City of Denver Parks and Rec for 30 years. She says her future plans include traveling with her husband, Tom, who is now semi-retired. Kitts is a Denver native who graduated from Mesa State with a degree in recreation administration.