New Rustic Canyon Park Director Keith Rice Thrives on Recreation

Keith Rice

By Laurel Busby

News & Information Editor

Keith Rice has been an Army medic, a firefighter, and a probation officer, but his favorite work has been overseeing sports and activities for the Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks.

“Parks are greenery and sunshine,” said Rice, who became the Rustic Canyon Park facility director this spring. “On Saturday mornings, I feel like a big kid inside…. That’s the highlight, when I see the kids play and all our work come together. The community is joining together to play and have fun in a safe, positive atmosphere.”

Aside from an 18-month foray as a firefighter between 2009 and 2010, Rice has remained with the city’s parks department since he accepted his first recreation job in April of 2000.

Beginning in 2010, he was even the recreation coordinator at Palisades Recreation Center, which hired him in part because of his extensive sports experience. Rice competed in basketball, football, and track & field (long jump, triple jump, and high jump) at his North Carolina high school, and he also did track & field during his college years at CalState Hayward (now CalState East Bay).

For college, he moved to the Bay Area at the recommendation of his uncle, a seismologist with a Ph.D. from Stanford University, who conducted research for the U.S. Geological Survey. While in school, Rice interned with his uncle in the summers on projects that set up sensors for seismographs in various deserts, such as Death Valley. Rice had previously spent four years as a U.S. Army medic right after graduating from high school, then joined the Army Reserve to help him pay for college. Rice said throughout college, he also typically had a second job, such as working as an air marshal for the United Parcel Service.

In 1998, he earned his bachelor’s degree with a kinesiology major, and, after a summer as a PE teacher for St. Leander Catholic School and two years working with young people at the Alameda County Probation Department, he moved to Los Angeles to join Recreation and Parks.

During his years working at Palisades Park, he created a flood of fond memories, not only through his job, but also by frequently bringing his four young children to the center. His kids attended the summer camps, and he also coached their various sports teams. All four even enrolled at Palisades Elementary and Paul Revere Middle School, while his two oldest sons attended Palisades High for some of their high school years.

The impact of the recreation center on the overall Pacific Palisades also became obvious during his years as an employee, parent, and coach.

“I didn’t realize until I had worked in recreation for some time that recreation really brings a community together,” Rice said. “Team coaches soon become pillars of the community.”

During his years at Pali Rec Center, Rice built up the basketball and T-ball programs until both had dramatically increased enrollment. His success helped earn him a promotion in 2016 to lead the Oakwood Recreation Center in Venice, where he worked for four years, and then, in 2020, he joined the Mar Vista Recreation Center, which he headed for six years.

Unfortunately, last year, he suffered a stroke, and former Rustic Facility Director Paige Barnes told him that he might prefer Rustic’s calmer pace as he continued his work towards a full recovery. Unlike the Palisades, Oakwood, and Mar Vista parks, Rustic rarely has homelessness issues, graffiti, and vehicle break-ins to manage.

“It’s nice to have a park that feels like a hidden gem in the community,” said Rice, who also was delighted by the idea of returning to work in the Palisades. “Everybody respects the park. They’re here for all the right reasons…. Because this one is so isolated, you don’t get the same issues…. I can actually hear the birds chirping and the wind blowing through the trees.”

Barnes thought Rice’s inviting personality and warm management style would be a good fit for the Rustic Canyon community.

“Keith has always been a nice guy,” Barnes said. “He has a reputation for being both kind and patient. Keith is currently in a space of healing and the Rustic Canyon community is in a space of healing. He understands what it takes to get back to a state of health and what the process of restoration looks like.”

Once or twice a week, Rice bikes to Rustic Canyon from his Inglewood home on his EV bike, and, during his work days, he has enjoyed looking for ways to enhance the park’s offerings to the community.

Enrollment in Rustic sports programs will likely temporarily increase since the city demolished the Palisades Recreation Center gym on May 18. Rustic will offer a basketball program, small T-ball program, and perhaps a soccer clinic to help fill the needs of local children.

“We can’t run a whole league here because the facility is not that big, but while the Palisades is down, we will be there for the community,” Rice said.

Summer registration for sports and camp opened recently, and summer classes will begin in June. Rice is looking into adding to the center’s arts and crafts offerings as well as adding more senior and adult classes in the fall.

While his job includes extensive time doing paperwork and attending meetings, which are not his favorite activities, he said that he reminds himself that these endeavors are vital to the recreation center too.

“It’s all for the benefit of the park, and I work to keep that in perspective,” Rice said. “The most fun part of my job is watching the kids and the parents having fun and all the different age demographics, including adults and seniors, enjoying the center.”

Rustic Canyon Recreation Center can be reached at (310) 454-5734, and program information and registration is available at this link.‍