Trailblazers: southern leisure and recreation: after his department is hit hard by Hurricane Katrina, George DeCoux shifts gears.

George DeCoux retired his post of director of Leisure Services for the city of Gulfport, Miss., on Dec. 1, 2005, after a long career contributing to parks and recreation on a local, regional and national level. DeCoux served on the NRPA Board of Trustees, representing the southern region from 1986-1992, and was a recipient of NRPA's Ralph Wilson Award.

DeCoux was one of the original organizers of the Mississippi Recreation and Parks Association (MRPA) in the mid-1960s, and served as the association's president in 1975. He represented MRPA on the Southern Regional Council of NRPA for nine years. In 1980, DeCoux was the recipient of SRC's Harold D. Meyer Professional Award and served as chairman of the council from 1984 to 1985. He also received three meritorious recreation awards from the Armed Forces Recreation Society, in addition to two executive awards in 1969 and 1988.

Much of DeCoux's life's work in Gulfport was destroyed in 2005 by Hurricane Katrina. Many of the facilities it took years to plan and build were lost.

Most proud moment: "Being the recipient in 1997 of NRPA's National Award-the Ralph Wilson Award--particularly since Ralph Wilson, longtime NRPA leader, was a fellow federal recreation director with the Agriculture Department, and in my early years I was a federal director for the Department of Defense. Because of that camaraderie, he encouraged me to seek leadership roles in our national organization. It was particularly satisfying for me to win the award that had been developed in his name."

Words of wisdom: "Over time, I have followed some words of Mark Twain, who said 'Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but really great people make you feel that you, too, can become great.'"

Favorite quote: "Talent develops in quiet places, character in the full current of human life."--Johann Wolfgang yon Goethe

Hobbies: "I live along the bayous of coastal Mississippi. My No. 1 hobby is bass fishing as a sport in these rivers and bayous. My other hobby is genealogy. I intend to write a book on my name, DeCoux. I've visited France, its origin, on five occasions, and traced the name back to the 10th century."

Future of parks and recreation: "I must speak in the area of public recreation, which is my field. We are in the greatest time of social change and the success of park and recreation programs will depend on the abilities of park and recreation leaders to reply to these changes. Full citizen participation in master planning will be critical to success with the shrinking tax dollars available on the local, state and national levels. Recreation leaders in the public sector must develop income-producing programs to support these programs if they are to be successful."

Name:           George DeCoux
Title:          Recently retired Director of Leisure Services for the
                city of Gulfport, Miss.
Member since:   1986