2010 – 2011
Annual Report
East Windsor Parks and Recreation
Fiscal Year 2010-2011 was another eventful year for the East Windsor Parks and Recreation Department highlighted by increasing participation numbers in a number of programs, as well as the opening of the East Windsor Dog Park. Hundreds of residents have taken part in our daily fitness programs, summer camps, as well as visited one of our beautiful parks here in town. The East Windsor Parks and Recreation Department is committed to providing an array of programs, events and facilities that cater to the needs of all East Windsor
residents. Each season we look to improve on the quality and quantity of our programs. This year we introduced a number of different programs and looked to improve on our beautification plans for East Windsor Parks.
This year we had to bid farewell to dedicated Commission members, and employees, but also welcomed in a number of new volunteers and employees to complete our Team concept here at Parks and Recreation. In July of 2010 we held a dedication of a memorial tree in honor of Barry Hoffman at the Broad Brook Pond. This tree serves as a memorial for all of his service to the Town of East Windsor and the countless hours he and has family have spent down at Broad Brook Pond enjoying the sights and sounds of this beautiful facility. We had to say goodbye and thank you to both William Raber and Grace Balula from our Parks and Rec. Commission and wished them well on their next adventures. We welcomed in Jeff Bancroft to the Commission and look forward to his ideas for our parks and
programs. We also had to say Good bye to long time office assistant Peg Hoffman. Peg took a position within another town department, so while we miss her in our office we are confident she is continuing to do an outstanding job within the town. We also welcomed our new part time assistant Lori Titus. Lori a lifetime East Windsor resident comes in with a positive upbeat attitude ready to help the residents of East Windsor find a life long leisure experience that they might enjoy. We also bid farewell to long time seasonal mower George Murray. George had over 30 years of service with the town and has finally retired to his home in Florida. We thank all of our employees and volunteers for their hard work and dedication to the residents of East Windsor; they truly complete our team concept.
The summer of 2010 allowed us to introduce two new forms of communication and outlets for getting the word out for our programs. We were invited to join the publications of The North Central News and The Sports Department News. Both publications are free of charge and serve as a perfect outlet of our process of going green here in East Windsor by eliminating the number of flyers that we send home in the schools, and both offer an online version of their paper for our residents to enjoy. To continue our online push here in East Windsor, we were able to introduce an Online Registration option through our affiliation with Webster Bank. Program participants can go on to our website and register from the comfort of their homes for a fifty cent convenience fee. So far this process has been embraced by the
community and we hope to expand on it in the future as East Windsor was the first in the state to introduce this service to their residents.
The fall of 2010 was a busy one for the Recreation Department. Not only did we introduce monthly crafts and take part in a monthly focus group at the East Windsor Senior Center, we also hosted our annual Haunted Happenings with this year proceeds going to the Laurin Family in memory of William Ackerman, an East Windsor resident tragically killed in the HDI shooting over the summer. The Laurin family whose children participate in a number of programs were extremely grateful for the love and support that their community showed to them at their time of need.
Continuing to introduce new and exciting programs to Parks and Recreation is always our goal. This year we were able to continue our February and April Vacation camps in which students came to camp during their school vacations and participated in numerous activities like arts-n-crafts, cooking lessons, Wii tournaments as well as field trips. These programs allow working parents a stress free alternative to finding child care during the camper’s time off from school. We were also able to add a life long leisure activity of Zumba to our Fitness program. Our instructor Kim Goulet teaches a twice a week program that allows her students to move and stay active for an hour by utilizing dance moves. This program quickly became one of our most successful with over 60 students signing up for the first
session. Programs like these allow us to stress the importance of staying active. We were also able to co-host our Third Annual Walk to School Day with Elissa Danielle, Phys. Ed teacher at Broad Brook School. This international event encourages students and parents to promote walking and biking to school. Thanks to a generous donation from BASF, an East Windsor business who strives to support community involvement, we were able to supply both students and teachers with bracelets and educational materials for the event. This event was very exciting and allowed students to walk to school with peers, teachers, Rocky the Rock Cat, town selectmen, senior center members and parents.
During the winter months, Mother Nature certainly tested everyone’s patients for snow levels, and made things interesting for us to keep our programs and events up and running. With that said we had to change our original January date for the Second Annual Panther Plunge. The new date in March allowed new faces to come out and take the Plunge for a great cause. The money raised allowed us to help many families in East Windsor heat their homes this winter and into the spring. This community event is just one way our residents can come together to make East Windsor a better place to live.
Spring led to sunshine and the beginning of our Little League, soccer and preparation of all town parks for a busy outdoor season. Increased rentals of Abbe Rd Soccer complex have allowed us to budget and plan for upgrades at that facility. We were also approved to move forward with our Parking Rail project requested through the Capital Improvement Plan which will allow us to install rails along parking areas at EW Park, Broad Brook Pond, Warehouse Point Park as well as the Town Hall Annex Park. This will help us to ensure the safety of everyone who visits our parks.
The East Windsor BMX/Skateboard Park Committee has been hard at work raising money for the installation of a Skateboard Park. They have held many successful events and fundraisers. They are continuing to look for grants and donations to speed up the process of getting their park under way. Anyone interested in donating should contact Lori Gabriel at (860) 982-5837. The East Windsor Dog Owners Group reached its fundraising goal and was able to hold its Grand Opening on May 14th. First Selectmen Denise Menard as well as Representative Christopher Davis with members of the Dog Owners Group cut the ribbon and ushered the four legged friends into the park for the first run of the season. The park located on Reservoir Avenue across from East Windsor Park is open for all to enjoy and socialize their dogs.
Anyone who may be interested in joining the group or donating should contact Sharon Tripp at (860) 292-1529.
Another honor that was bestowed upon the Parks and Recreation Department this spring was our hosting of the Traveling Vietnam Memorial Wall from May 18th to the 21st. This multiday event allowed us to not only showcase our beautiful facility to over eight thousand visitors but also allowed the Town of East Windsor to supply an area for remembrance, reflection and celebration for so many who lost their lives fighting for their country. This event proved to be not only educational but also therapeutic for all that came and viewed this amazing replica.
The Parks and Recreation Department invites all residents to take the time and explore the numerous parks and facilities that we are extremely proud of. These include eight parks, the largest being East Windsor Park; other locations include Warehouse Point Park, Prospect Hill, Pierce Memorial, Broad Brook Pond, Abbe Road, Volunteer Park, the Boundless Playground at the Town Hall Annex and the newly constructed EW Dog Park. Our staff does a wonderful job in taking pride in their work to bring an outstanding park program to the residents of East Windsor.
The Parks and Recreation Commission is comprised of five members appointed by the Board of Selectmen and advises in the maintenance, managing and regulations of the parks and playgrounds for both passive and active recreation. The Commission meets on the second Monday of the month at our office inside East Windsor High School at 6 P.M. Residents are welcome to attend meetings.
While introduced a number of new programs and continued to offer others we look towards 2011 – 2012 as a year of continued growth. We will continue to provide the residents of East Windsor many exciting quality programs and facilities because “Together Parks and Recreation Creates Better Communities.”
Respectfully submitted,
Melissa Maltese, Director of Parks and Recreation.
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