NORRISTOWN- The Municipal Council of Norristown on Oct. 3 approved the hiring of Bri’Ana Cropps-Hawkins as the new municipal recreation director.
Cropps-Hawkins comes to Norristown with 15 years of experience working in recreation departments in Baltimore and Philadelphia, paired with a Bachelor’s Degree in sports management from Coppin State University and a Master’s Degree in sports management from Drexel University.
“I’m looking forward to structuring Norristown’s Department of Recreation into a premier agency within a small town. By doing so I plan to create several opportunities utilizing the Benefits Based programming approach to enhance the quality of life of all citizens in Norristown,” said Cropps-Hawkins.
After five years working in college sports departments, Cropps-Hawkins’s career in municipal recreations started with Philadelphia in Jan. 2014 as a program director at the James L. Wright Recreation Center. In mid-2016 she became a facility supervisor at another Philadelphia park, a position she held through 2020.
Her career then took her to Maryland to be a facility director with the Maryland National Capital Parks and Planning Commission. In 2022 she started as a district area manager with the City of Baltimore recreation and parks department, supervising employees and recreation programs at at least six city centers. Cropps-Hawkins stepped into academia in early 2023 as an adjunct professor of health and health education at Coppin State, a position she held jointly as a district area manager in Baltimore.
“Bri’Ana comes to us at a critical point in the Municipal Council’s mission to expand quality of life offerings to Norristown residents,” said Municipal Administrator Crandall O. Jones. “Her significant experience and expertise will serve us well and I look forward to working with her on the various projects we have on the table.”
Norristown recreation provides plenty of opportunities to promote healthy, fun and safe environments for kids and adults to enjoy. A dozen parks, the Recreation Center, youth basketball programs, and the Summer Concert Series are some of the flagship offerings provided by the department, many at low- or no-cost.
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