MATTAPOISETT — With Mattapoisett Recreation Director Greta Fox set to retire at the end of the month, the town is now looking to fill the position.

During a Tuesday, June 24 Select Board meeting, Board members interviewed candidates Marissa Hughes and Sandra Soutter for the position and ultimately moved forward with Hughes.

Town Administrator Michael Lorenco will now draft an offer to send to Hughes, which will include a six-month probationary period.

Select Board member Jodi Bauer cited the fact that Hughes already knows a lot of the children and parents as a reason for hiring Hughes for the position.

Member Jordan Collyer added that Hughes is already well respected in the community and the current department.

Hughes, who has been teaching in Center School since 2002, has had several recreational roles, starting with coaching Mariner Youth Soccer. 

She then became an age group director then the fall director for the entire program, which she said involved over 700 children, and eventually became president of the club.

Hughes was with Mariner for 12 years where her responsibilities included organizing soccer events and board meetings and overseeing the budget. She has also been involved in Rochester youth baseball and basketball, Old Rochester lacrosse and the Mattapoisett Lion’s Club Triathlon.

Bauer asked Hughes how she would handle conflicts as the recreational director, with Hughes drawing on her teaching experiences.

“I think the key thing with conflict is you have to be able to listen when people have a problem, and you have to be open minded and make sure that you’re not getting upset either,” she said.

She added that you should remain calm and listen to what people are saying.

“A lot of times people just want to be heard, so just making sure you give them that opportunity to speak their peace and try to stay calm during [it],” she said.

Hughes said she doesn’t have any day one projects she’d like to see happen, explaining she is unsure about the decision to jump in and make changes right away.

“When you go into a new job, sometimes you … might want to sit back and ride it out for a little bit and then make some changes later,” she said.

She did say that in the future she would like to see a recreational facility be built.

“Wouldn’t that be really nice?” she said, acknowledging that constructing one would be a difficult task.

“But if you could have some sort of facility, that would be really remarkable for the program,” she noted.

Collyer said he would like to see the new director create new programs and grow the department, noting that there are resources and opportunities available for the department that haven't been used in recent years.

“Program growth … will be a key focal point of the performance objectives of the new person that’s hiring,” he said.