The circular drive around the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Recreation Center in Plant City soon will be named in honor of one of the center’s first employees.
The Plant City Commission approved April 8, a recommendation by Plant City Vice Mayor Mary Mathis to name the drive “Eddie C. Brooks Circle.”
“It’s very important to recognize those who have made contributions across our country,” said Mathis, who spent her childhood going to the rec center and played for Brooks on one of his softball teams. “Not only did he work for the city for more than 40 years, but he also mentored many students in this community.”
Brooks was recommended for the lead position at the Haines Street Recreation Center when he was just 23 years old. At the time, he coached girls basketball at Marshall High School. The center later was renamed Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Recreation Center.
A true pioneer for recreation and youth development in African-American communities, Brooks served as the president for the Orange State Recreation Association, now known as the Florida Recreation and Parks Association. He worked with the MLK Recreation Center for 46 years, before retiring in 2008, at age 70.
“That was a big part of my life,” he said. “I don’t have any regrets.”
He said the renaming of the drive was a surprise.
“I am very appreciative,” he said. “Give me my ice cream and cake now. Don’t wait to say nice things about me when I’m gone.”
Brooks was an instrumental figure in the lives of many young people, keeping them away from a life of trouble and helping give them direction.
“I had a lot of kids that even their parents couldn’t do anything with them,” he said. “I would tell them to go to college or back to college and try to keep them out of trouble. I just wanted them to do something good with their lives.”