Canton parks head begins work

The city of Canton’s first-ever director of parks and recreation is on board.

Tom Gilliam began work May 6, after being hired earlier this spring by then-city-manager Glenn Cummins, taking charge of department employees, facilities and events.

The change was driven by expansion in the city park system , including the development of Etowah River Park and its menu of sports and recreation leagues. The leagues themselves had been handling scheduling and maintenance on an ad-hoc basis previously.