Lowell's new parks and recreation director gearing up for memorial day event

Last month, the city of Lowell hired Andrea Nixon as the new director of its Parks and Recreation Department.

According to Nixon, she plans to use her role to continue the city’s history of hosting more than 30 annual events.

Since her first day on the job, Nixon already has two events under her belt and is preparing for the city's Memorial Day event, which begins at noon Friday at Edgewood Cemetery. In the event of rain, the celebration will be held in the city's recreation center, 715 N. Main St.

Nixon said she always wanted to work in parks and recreation.

Originally from Durham, she moved to High Point, after high school where she earned an undergraduate degree in parks and recreation from High Point University.

Nixon went on to get a master’s degree in parks and recreation at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and has since worked for different municipalities in the Gaston County area including a recent position with Bessemer City.

In her free time, she coaches a soccer team for children 12-15 years old and sometimes coaches kids basketball as well.

Aside from a general love of sports and recreation, she said engaging with the community drew her to this line of work.

“I love people, I love the interactions, the community,” she said.

Maintaining Lowell’s parks and events so that residents don’t have to travel to other cities to have something to do is one of Nixon’s biggest priorities, she said.

When it comes to her vision for the future of Lowell’s Parks and Recreation Department, Nixon said she doesn’t see a need for drastic change.

“It’s fine how it is. honestly. With things around us changing, you know, (we're) just trying to keep up with the trends, and stay up to date, and just keep expanding,” Nixon said. “Lowell was offering, I think, 30 or more programs per year... I just want to keep that going and add to it. Just kind of keep things going here in Lowell.”