About Dublin Laurens County Recreation Authority

Dublin-Laurens County Recreation Authority was created to comply HB 489 Georgia State Legislation dealing with duplication of services. DLCRA Act HB 378 was championed by Representative DuBose Porter and received passage on April 9, 1999.

HB 489 dealt with duplication of services – with the threat of potential restrictions of future state funding without some levels of community compliance. Prior to creation of DLCRA both the City of Dublin and Laurens County funded Recreation Departments. The local governments decided that Recreation Services would become an area of compliance.

The two Departments officially merged on July 1, 1999. A groundbreaking ceremony was held at the site of the now - Southern Pines Regional Park. Danny Jones was hired as the Executive Director and all former employees were hired as new employees of Dublin-Laurens County Recreation Authority.

Southern Pines Regional Park was a dream developed in a Master Plan conceived by Lose and Associates for the Laurens County area before the merger. The concept called to unify all organized recreation athletic services into one location because of the vast amount of travel incurred by local residents. Southern Pines has developed into a premiere recreation park in Georgia and the southeast. Southern Pines has become the host of many state and regional softball and baseball tournaments. The park also hosts area soccer and football games. Under development currently is the Southern Pines Ag. and Expo Center with plans to host all types of animal shows and special events.