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Honor 'overwhelms' humble namesakeBy JANE BOKUN
© St. Petersburg Times, CITRUS PARK -- Ed Radice has been the first and only head of the Hillsborough County Parks and Recreation Department. He has held that position for 51 years. He's a dedicated and unassuming man who has lived here with his family for 53 mostly quiet years. "So you can imagine how he felt when I lobbied to get the Ed Radice Sports Complex named after him," said County Commissioner Jim Norman, a good friend of Radice's. "We even tease him that we want to build a life-sized statue in his honor in front of the facility." Nothing is supposed to be named after a county employee during his or her lifetime, according to a county ruling. "But I wanted Ed to have a legacy. He cares so much for the children of this county," Norman said. Other county commissioners agreed. So they broke with tradition in what Radice is now calling a "mixed blessing." Although Radice was on hand at Thursday's ceremonial groundbreaking, he remained in the background. "I'm overwhelmed," Radice said. "It still hasn't sunk in yet." It can even be a little daunting. "Sometimes I have to talk about the complex or answer the phone and I have to say, "Ed Radice Sports Complex and I'm Ed Radice.' " he said. "I just opt to call it the complex. "It's all worth it, though. I was here the other day and about 12 kids showed up and starting knocking a soccer ball around. Now they have a nice place to do that. It brought tears to my eyes."
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