Explaining the details of the grant is Maggie Davidson.

MOULTRIE – The Moultrie-Colquitt County Parks and Recreation Authority held a groundbreaking ceremony at William Bryant Complex Friday morning to acknowledge and honor the history of the complex as well as explain the renovations they plan with a newly awarded grant.

The MCCPRA was awarded a $1,847,424.05 grant through the Governor’s Office of Planning and Budget for the Improving Neighborhood Outcomes in Disproportionately Impacted Communities.

In addition to those funds, MCCPRA is contributing an additional $1,176,000 for a grand total of more than $3 million to complete the renovations.

So many people attended the ceremony that it took Bob Swadel, current chair of MCCPRA, several minutes to calm the excited chatter from the crowd and proceed with the program.

“I wasn’t nervous until I saw how many people came,” said Swadel. “I thought this was going to be a little ceremony, but this is an event.”

In addition to the mayor, Chamber of Commerce and sponsors the room was filled with the Shaw Gladiators as well as a plethora of alumni from William Bryant High School, who are having a reunion this weekend.

“The reason we did the groundbreaking today is because you all in the maroon t-shirts were coming,” said Swadel. “Ten classes were going to be represented at the reunion this weekend, and we said what better time to do something to commemorate the spot where William Bryant High School stood than to have a groundbreaking with you all here who went to William Bryant High School.”

To bless the occasion and the project, the Rev. John W. Green, a former William Bryant High School student, addressed the crowd with a prayer of remembrance as well as looking forward to the bright future.

Immediately after his prayer, the former students broke out into an unplanned singing of the William Bryant High School anthem.

Dale Williams, another William Bryant High School graduate, spoke during the groundbreaking. Williams is also a former member of MCCPRA.

“I thought my first task should be to talk about William Bryant,” said Williams. “We know a whole lot about the name, but not the individual.”

Williams said William M. Bryant Jr. was born on Sept. 6, 1885, and died from meningitis on May 11, 1923.

“He was 37 years of age [when he passed], which today we say is a young man,” said William. “He lived somewhere on Third Avenue Northwest … but [I] could not come up with a house number. That’s just outside of these doors.”

It was in 1959 that the local board of education changed the name of the school from Moultrie High School for Negro Youth into William Bryant High School.

“I thought this was ironic because he [William Bryant] had died 30 something years prior to the name change,” said Williams. “But someone had remembered the impact he had on the community … and we named the school after someone we knew.”

William Bryant High School was open for 11 years before its final graduating class of 1970.

“Another thing that’s ironic is here we all are 100 years after the death of William Bryant, 1923-2023, to celebrate this groundbreaking,” said Williams. “This project will continue the grounds where William Bryant High School stood on to be an integral part of the community. There is a lot to be said for that.”

“We want this to be something in the future we are all proud of,” said Swadel. “I hope this is the start of big things in this neighborhood and that it will be brought back to what it should be.”

Maggie Davidson, athletic director at MCCPRA, then talked about the specific renovation plans for the upcoming years.

“The projection from the state for all these projects is to be done by October 2026,” Davidson said. “But we hope to have the projects completed ahead of that time.”

Some of the projects, like new flooring in the Shaw Gym and new safety measures in the pools, have already been completed. But, she said, there is a lot more coming.

In addition to the things the public can’t see, such as new irrigation and water filtration systems, and those things that are expected, like updated basketball hoops and playground equipment, there will also be plenty of new amenities.

“We will be putting in a pavilion with restrooms,” said Davidson. “The one at Main Street Park has been so successful for people to gather that we wanted to make sure to have one here too. … There will also be new mini-pitch soccer, which is soccer on a smaller scale with a cage around it.”

There are also plans to fence in the entire park to raise the security of those families enjoying its benefits.

Because it will take years to complete all the planned projects, the strategy is to do them in a way where once one is completed it can immediately be used by the public.

“As we complete projects we have already decided that we will be able to open certain aspects as they are completed,” said Davidson. “That way we can use and enjoy this stuff as soon as possible.”

To follow these renovations, updates will be posted both on MCCPRA’s website and social media pages.