After 36 years working for the City of Bartlett, Parks and Recreation Director Shan Criswell is retiring.

On Tuesday, Sept. 26, the Bartlett Board of Mayor and Aldermen honored Criswell for her career with the city, then approved the appointment of Paul Wright as the interim head of the department.

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Criswell’s retirement is effective immediately.

“It’s not something I wanted to do right away, but my husband’s had a series of strokes, so I need to take care of him,” she said.

Criswell’s career in parks and recreation began in the early 1980s with the City of Memphis. In 1987, she became the facilities manager for Singleton Community Center in Bartlett.

“Bartlett had only a few parks when I got here,” Criswell said. “I started most of the classes and programs at Singleton, which was the only community center Bartlett had back then.”

In 2014, she moved up to assistant parks and recreation director, and two years later was appointed by then-Mayor A. Keith McDonald to department director.

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Under her direction, the city added new pickleball courts behind the Bartlett Ninth Grade Academy, new restrooms in the parks and enhanced the department’s eligibility for state grants. The city’s parks and recreation offerings grew to 29 parks, 15 baseball and softball fields, 14 miles of trails, 14 tennis courts, eight soccer fields, five multipurpose fields and the cricket pitch.

“I’m really proud of where we’ve come. I’ve been blessed to have had an incredible team over the tenure of my entire career,” said Criswell, who has lived in Bartlett most of her life. Her family moved to the city when she was in seventh grade, and she graduated from Bartlett High.

Because of her husband’s health situation, Criswell has already been off the job since May. Wright has covered her responsibilities during that time.

“He’s stellar, and he’s the right person to lead the department moving forward,” Criswell said.

After working for the suburb’s recreation center in the early 2000s, Wright returned as program manager of the facility in 2015. He was named assistant parks director in January 2020.

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“I’m really looking forward to stepping into this role,” he said.

One of his first responsibilities will be completing a system-wide 10-year parks master plan for the city.

“My biggest thing is stepping in and starting to assemble the pieces into the master plan and getting it prepped and ready for review by our board, with a hopeful adoption in January of 2024,” he said.

Another project Criswell hoped to complete before she left is a special needs playground at Freeman Park. She hopes Wright will be able to make that a reality someday.

“I think (our parks) are one of the crown jewels here in Bartlett,” said Mayor David Parsons.

The mayor said Wright will likely hold the interim tag until the end of the year to make sure the appointment is the right fit for the suburb and Wright.