McLean Community Center (MCC) Executive Director George Sachs announced that he is retiring on Friday, May 7. By the time of his retirement, Sachs will have served as the executive director at MCC for 11 years (2010-2021). The MCC Governing Board hopes to identify a replacement by the end of March.

Sachs’ career in the Recreation, Parks and Leisure Services profession started in 1974, when he was hired as a Recreation Specialist with the Fairfax County Department of Recreation. He later was hired by the Fairfax County Park Authority and opened the first RECenter at Wakefield Park, now named Audrey Moore RECenter. He left the county in 1982 to open the new Fieldhouse Sports Complex at George Mason University and managed the university’s recreation and sports facilities. While there, he also became an adjunct professor for the Department of Parks, Recreation and Leisure Services. In 1991, he was hired as the Deputy Director of MCC under Executive Director Page Shelp. Four years later, he moved to South Carolina, where he owned and operated what grew to be a chain of five recreation, health and fitness centers.

Sachs returned to Fairfax County in 2009, and a year later, he was appointed as the community center’s new Executive Director.