City Manager J. Russell Allen today named Diane B. Sauer director of the City of Raleigh Parks and Recreation Department, effective immediately.

"Diane has an established record of leadership and professionalism in park and recreation services. She also has exceptional communication and customer service skills," Allen said. "She has been a part of the management team which has built our Parks and Recreation Department into one of the most respected in the country. Her vision, hard work and high standards will carry our programs and facilities to even higher benchmarks."

Sauer is a 22-year veteran of the department, having advanced from her initial position as program assistant in the Special Populations Program from 1985 to 1988, to serving as the department's acting director since June. Sauer spent more than 10 years with the Special Populations Program, working as a program supervisor from 1988 to 1996. From 1996 to January 1999, Ms. Sauer served as a supervisor for the Recreation Program's community centers. She was named the department's program development and marketing administrator in January 1999 and served in that position for two years. For the past seven years, she has been the department's recreation superintendent.

"I am honored to serve the citizens of Raleigh as the Parks and Recreation Department's director," Sauer said in accepting the promotion. "I am very fortunate to work with an outstanding team of staff and as a department; we look forward to enhancing the exceptional services we currently offer."

The Alabama native earned a bachelor of science degree from Auburn University. She and her husband of 22 years, David, make their home in Raleigh with their son, Evan, 15, a sophomore at Leesville Road High School.

She has served as the department's acting director since the June 1 retirement of Jack Duncan, who led the department for 23 years.

The City of Raleigh Parks and Recreation Department is responsible for providing a broad range of recreation programs and leisure services that are responsive to the needs of all Raleigh citizens by acquiring, developing, managing and maintaining facilities and properties located throughout the City's interconnected system of parks, greenways and public open spaces. The department administers beautification programs, maintains trees and shrubs in parks and along street rights-of-way, operates and maintains City cemeteries, maintains the physical plant operations of the downtown municipal complex and provides city-wide emergency response to weather-related events. The department has 415 full-time employees and more than 2,000 part-time, temporary or seasonal employees. The department's budget for the current fiscal year is $7,657,310.