Staff photo by Clay Schuldt Liz Malloy is the new Recreation Program Supervisor for the New Ulm Park and Rec Department.

NEW ULM — There is a new face in New Ulm Park and Recreation Department. Liz Malloy has taken over as the new Recreation Program Supervisor.

“I am excited to dive in and not only offer things to the community, but be a part of the community,” Malloy said.

Malloy has been the Program Supervisor for a little over a month, having started on Oct. 29. Malloy is in charge of coordinating many of the events put on by the Recreation Department including Days of Play, swimming lessons, sports leagues and any additional recreation programing.

From a young age, Malloy was involved in the recreation field. In high school she worked with park and recreation departments. As an active member of athletics leagues, Malloy started coaching a variety of sports, such as volleyball, basketball and track.

At the time, she did not think of it as a career, but her interest in athletics remained. In college she received a degree in sports management, which led her down the recreation career path and she hasn’t look back since.

Malloy has been involved with daycares, camps and started interning with park and rec. departments.

Malloy previously worked in the Recreation Department for Cedar Rapids, Iowa. She was the Athletic Coordinator for eight years. Moving to New Ulm was a chance to progress in her career and try something new.

“My focus there was mainly on athletics,” Malloy said. “I did a few events an activities here and there, but this really gave me an opportunity to get involve in the event side of things.”

Coming to New Ulm has been a slight adjustment as Cedar Rapids is much larger community than New Ulm, but Malloy said this is the type of town she imagined herself living. Malloy is originally from Springville, Iowa, which has a population of a little over 1,000. By comparison, New Ulm is the happy medium.

Asked about the challenges of working in the Recreation profession, Malloy said is constantly changing and evolving.

“Offering patrons what the want while keeping with trends is the greatest challenge,” she said. While living in Iowa she noticed a trend for more outdoor activities with less structures.

“In the short time I’ve been here, I feel Minnesota is very outdoor minded,” she said. In general, she found people want a lot of recreation opportunities, but they don’t want to be told what to do.

“The best part of the work is providing the space for the community to be active, social and creative,” Malloy said. “I really enjoy it, I like being with the kids or participants.” She especially enjoys coaching and seeing kids’ progression as they grow through the programs.

Malloy has no immediate plans to reinvent New Ulm’s reaction program. She said the department already offers good quality programs.

“For its size, New Ulm has a lot going for it,” she said. “In Cedar Rapids we had a lot of competition and a lot of people offering the same things. It’s nice in the last month, it seems like a very collaborative community where everyone is trying to help have a successful program.