TIFTON — A concerned nonprofit organizer has asked for better treatment from the county Recreation Department after a medical incident at a recent event.

Apryl Folson, co-founder of traveling football youth program South Georgia Mustangs, reported at the Oct. 8 County Board of Commissioners meeting that, following a medical emergency involving a parent of one of the players, the Recreation Department had offered little communication or support beyond a request that they pay for a time limit overage caused by the incident.

Folson explained that, due to her nonprofit not possessing a physical location of its own, they often had to rent out the fields of the recreation department for their youth players to practice or play games. During one of their recent games, a parent had suffered a heart attack and had required CPR to stabilize him, with the time it took to do so putting them well beyond their slated timeslot.

As a result, she reported that the department had informed her she would be unable to use their practice field until the Mustangs paid the $100 overage fee caused by the incident, which she argued had not been mentioned in the initial contract she signed with the department.

Folson noted that during the medical crisis she had been unable to find an on-site AED, having been told by the recreation department staff present that they did not know what to look for and that the defibrillator available was expired.

In addition, she stated that she was uncertain a field report had ever been filed by the recreation department, nor had any staff reached out to the family of the affected parent.

Folson reported that the parent was currently in Tift Regional Medical Center, awaiting further treatment, but requested that the overage fee incurred for tending to his medical emergency be waived.

She also asked that the county consider offering slightly better treatment to her nonprofit, such as through a discount on renting their fields, as she was only trying to provide the youth of Tifton with a means of playing sports.

Above this request for support and even the waiving of the overage, however, she pleaded with the county to make an effort to reach out to the family of the man who suffered the heart attack.

“My daddy always taught me to do the right thing, go through the right sources, and it’ll work out right, and I’m going to say something that I think he’d be pretty proud of his baby girl for,” Folson said, struggling to maintain her composure. “My thing is, just do right by people — especially people that service our community, our youth, and mankind.”

Board chair Tony McBrayer assured Folson that she was always welcome to voice her thoughts and concerns to the board, and could speak with Jim Carter, county manager, in regards to more urgent matters.

Carter additionally promised to speak with her further about the incident and her nonprofit’s relationship with the county, and assured her he would look into her overage situation.