The Woodlands Hills, a housing development in Conroe, named its newest park after outgoing Willis ISD Superintendent Tim Harkrider in a ribbon-cutting ceremony July 6. Representatives from The Woodlands Hills, the Howard Hughes Corp. and Pogue Construction along with WISD teachers and staff showed up to commemorate the occasion.

“When I found out the location of this park, a friend of mine comes to mind,” Harkrider said during the ceremony. “[Coach] Les Peacock Park is right around the corner. If he would have known that him and I would have a park here named after us, he would still be laughing. He would laugh forever about that. Les was a great member of our community.”

According to The Woodlands Hills, Coach Les Peacock Park was named after a longtime coach and educator at WISD to honor his memory. The park is located in Maybella Forest, down the street from Harkrider Park.

“To my team that is here today, I appreciate you guys,” Harkrider said. “I appreciate my board members that are here. I appreciate the opportunity to have been a small part at [WISD] for the past 11 years. It's been a great ride, and a lot of great times are still ahead.”

In a June 12 news release, Harkrider announced he will be leaving WISD to become superintendent of schools for College Station ISD. He has served WISD for 11 years.