Ledyard — A lot has changed since Don Grise first took the helm of the Parks and Recreation Department in 1976.

When he retired Friday, he left behind a legacy that included most of the youth sport offerings as well as classes for adults and a race that attracted elite athletes from across the country in its heyday.

No, not the Harvard-Yale regatta. The Ledyard Five-Person Relay, which combined running, canoeing, biking and swimming, once shut down half the town as more than 150 teams competed. Looking back on its 20-year run, Grise admitted he wasn’t sure how the department made it happen but said it was “a hell of a time.”

“We had a military division, an open division, a ladies’ division ... it was unbelievable,” he said, adding it would take the department staff hours to get every team’s T-shirts and packets in order for the event, not to mention the involvement of area police departments and ambulance crews. “When I go to a meeting and someone says, ‘Well, we have a logistical problem,’ I tell them, ‘Come talk to me about logistics.’”

Grise grew up in Plainfield, where he played high school football against Ledyard; he noted that he worked with some of his gridiron opponents when he came to town. After attending the parks and recreation program at Northwestern Connecticut Community College, he worked in a smattering of positions within Plainfield’s department before coming to Ledyard to become the town’s second parks and recreation director.

He said the Parks and Recreation Commission worked with him to educate the public on the value of recreation. The only youth sports Ledyard offered at the time were baseball and football, and over the years the department has expanded to include soccer, softball and basketball, as well as supporting wrestling and lacrosse clubs in town. Most of the town’s recreation properties, with the exception of the middle school, high school and Judge Crandall fields, also were acquired during his tenure.

“You walk into Ledyard High School, you walk into the gym, and what do you see? All the banners. That’s the direct result of all the parents out there working with the kids,” he said, noting Ledyard coaching greats like Bill Mignault and Ellen Mahoney wouldn’t have had their top teams without the youth recreation programs. “It all starts here.”

The department itself wouldn’t be able to do everything it has without the capital nonrecurring account, a fund Grise said is the only one of its kind in the state. Established in the 1960s, it draws money from every home sale in town, ranging from $1.10 per $1,000 in sales when first started to $2.50 now; $1 goes to Parks and Recreation, $1 goes to Public Works, and the remaining $.50 goes to the Conservation Commission. The housing boom in the 1980s especially brought in a lot of money for the department.

He said taxpayers are further spared because Ledyard is one of the only towns that fully maintains its recreation properties using private contractors, which is cheaper than adding work to Public Works.

In addition to the relay race, Grise said one of his favorite parts of being the director was going around town and seeing everyone enjoying the parks and recreation programming, whether it was kids playing sports at the schools, families enjoying the parks and playgrounds, or adults learning new skills through the department’s classes.

As much as the transition to online registration a few years ago was a lifesaver for busy parents, he said, he misses seeing people come to the office to register for the next season’s programs.

“I don’t think you can find a better town to work for. I think we’ve accomplished a few things, we’ve had great staff over the years, we’ve had great kids who’ve worked for us during the summer,” he said. “When I talk about Ledyard Parks and Rec, I talk ‘we.’ It’s not me.”

Grise said he’ll enjoy some downtime at home, though his next gig will be driving around his wife, who in July will become the next Lions district governor for eastern Connecticut. He even bought a chauffeur outfit for the job.

“I have a warped sense of humor,” he said. “If you can’t have fun, what’s the point?”

a.hutchinson@theday.com