Suzanne Stewart
Staff Writer
When you think of Pocahontas County Parks and Recreation, one name always comes to mind – Lauren Bennett. For 35 years, Bennett has been the director and face of parks and rec.
Always humble and never needing praise for what she has done, Bennett has been behind the scenes for everything and anything related to parks, recreation, the Community Wellness Center and so much more.
Thousands of young people in the county have Bennett to thank for teaching them how to swim, canoe and most recently, play pickleball. It’s impossible to list all the things that Bennett has done for the community through the years.
One thing is for sure, we can all be grateful she came to Pocahontas County and made her career getting people active and bringing in programs for people of all walks of life to enjoy.
Last Saturday, Bennett was celebrated with a surprise retirement party at Rivertown. The event was organized by her friend and frequent collaborator Cara Rose.
After Bennett arrived – and tried to swiftly escape – Rose shared her gratitude for Bennett’s dedication to the county.
“In some ways, I think we wish you weren’t retiring, but you’ve certainly earned it,” Rose said. “We wanted to celebrate this evening. We love you. You’ve been a gem in our community, and we look forward to what you do in the future.”
As the crowd enjoyed the buffet, the room was abuzz with stories about how each person met Bennett and how she impacted their lives.
Sam Gibson serves on the parks and rec board and has taught classes at the wellness center through the years. He’s worked with Bennett on several programs and sang her praises.
“I’ve known Lauren for a long time,” he said. “The cub scouts, boy scouts – she was real instrumental in getting that going. She’s just been a real great person for the county.”
In addition to being the director of parks and rec, Bennett helped start the Pocahontas County Opera House Foundation which has brought performances to the restored performance center for decades.
That is how Opera House Operations Manager Brynn Kusic first met Bennett.
“Any project that she has been involved with in this community – she is more dedicated than anyone else,” Kusic said. “There are no words for Laurent Bennett’s devotion and service to this community. She goes above and beyond with everything she’s involved in.
“She’s the most community minded person I’ve ever met,” she continued. “No matter what, every single project, task – she’s the best problem solver. She makes everyone feel so comfortable. She builds community wherever she goes.”
One community member who was there from the beginning was Margaret Worth, who helped her form the Opera House Foundation. They’ve been friends ever since.
“She shared an office with Jud [Worth] in the old board of education building,” Worth said. “They were friends before Jud and I were friends. I think just as soon as she came to town, she was off and running.”
Although she never served on the parks and rec board, Worth and her children were avid users of its programs. Worth also taught classes in the summer while she was a schoolteacher.
“You get to meet all these great people,” she said of the programs. “There’s so many people you got to know because you took those classes, and I would have never known them otherwise. The programming brought people together.”
Many more stories were shared – like the time Bennett asked the parks board if they could make a giant pumpkin pie for the Autumn Harvest Festival, or the time parks board member Ernie Shaw flooded the field at Stillwell so children could ice skate.
And there was the time Bennett, Rose, Eric Werner and Mike Cohenour participated in the Great Greenbrier River Race.
“This was maybe one of the first Great Greenbrier River Races and it was still being run from Clover Lick to Marlinton at that time,” Rose said. “So, Lauren and I, we were in canoe…”
“And Cara had never been in a canoe before,” Bennett added.
“I’d never been in a canoe and Eric rode the bike and Mike ran,” Rose continued. “We didn’t finish last, but we were second to last.”
Bennett added that she and Rose were joined by her dog in the canoe. The dog was very comfortable in the craft and would go back and forth from one side to the other, rocking it a bit, to the chagrin of Rose.
Friday evening’s event ended with cake and more stories as the past 35 years of Bennett’s career and dedication to the community were celebrated.
Bennett thanked everyone for attending and assured them this isn’t a full retirement and that she still has plenty of ideas for the future.