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PITTSFORD
RECREATION DEPARTMENT The Recreation Department has continued to be very busy this past month offering several different programs for a wide variety of Pittsford citizens. January is also a prime time to start setting up the spring and summer programs. I have been working on some scheduling changes for particular programs such as Day Camp and Swim Lessons that should help the entire summer run and operate smoother for parents and staff. On Friday, January 7th, the Recreation Department and the Maclure Library co-sponsored our first of three “Family Fun Nights” of the winter, at the VT Police Academy. Approximately 110 people participated, kids had a great time bouncing and sliding their way their way through the inflatable obstacle course, while the parents enjoyed watching their children use up some of their built up energy. The next Family Fun Night a “Winter Wonderland” is scheduled to take place on Friday, February 4th. Lillian and Dan Ferrara attended the Recreation Committee meeting on Tuesday, January, 11, 2005 to discuss having a Pittsford Day Celebration at the Recreation Area on July 3, 2005. Mr. and Mrs. Ferrara handed out paperwork; see attached, to explain what type of event they were hoping to hold. Members of the Recreation Committee were in favor of such a community event but warned her that groups have approached the Recreation Department before with the very same idea and they been have unable to get the project off the ground. A dedicated and organized leader with a lot of support staff is needed in order to make this happen. After more discussion it was decided that the next Recreation Committee meeting, Tuesday, February 8, 2005, would be used as an organizational meeting to help get this project started in the right direction. Mr. Adams stated that he would get out and talk with people who were connected to the last large scale community event, the fire department, and other civic officers in an effort to answer some of the questions he was being asked. On Thursday, January 13, 2005, I attended the Pittsford Trails Committee meeting to discuss a program that I’m thinking about sponsoring this summer. The program is unofficially called “100 Pittsford Residents – 100 Miles in 100 Days” and is designed with a couple different goals in mind. The first goal of the program is to get more residents physically active this summer by putting a challenge or a goal (100 miles in 100 days) out there for people to strive for. The second reason or purpose to offer such a program is to help promote community spirit. Pittsford already has many different pods of individuals who “walk” in town; I think it would be kind of neat to get these different pods interested in achieving a common goal. The program would be advertised as a community building event where neighbors could get to know one another by working together to achieve their goals (100 miles). At the end of the program there would be a ceremonial event so that all the participants could come together and recognize one another for their accomplishments. There are still many details that I have to work out, but so far the initial response has been positive. I attended the January 19, 2005 Select Board Meeting to present the Pittsford Day Celebration proposal that was brought before the Recreation Committee by Pittsford residents Lillian & Dan Ferrara. It was necessary to inform the board of what was being proposed before they heard about it through the “grapevine” and ask them to grant permission for the Celebration to take place at the Recreation Area. I noted that the Recreation Committee and the Recreation Director did not have the time to run this program on our own, but made it clear that we both support the concept and would assist the group as much as allowed by the Town. The Select Board agreed to a conceptual go ahead to the proposal and asked me to keep them informed as the program progresses. The second request that I made was for Pittsford resident Stacey Flory, who had requested to use the Recreation Area, to hold a fundraiser for her 3 year old nephew who has Cystic Fibrosis. This was the first time someone had asked me to use the Recreation Area to host a fundraiser so I wanted to make certain that the Select Board approved of such an event before I granted the okay. The Board did approve the request, with the stipulation that any additional costs would be passed along to the group. The last piece of Recreation Department business the Select Board tended to during the meeting was to approve the Recreation Committee’s recommendation to appoint Michele Cioffredi and Kathy Brown to fill the vacancies on the Recreation Committee. All and all the meeting went very well; I thanked the Board for their time and their support and told them I’d keep them up to date as these programs unfold during the next few months. After a dismal December, the Aerobics/Kickboxing numbers were up slightly in January. In December the holidays were to much a distraction and we only 10 participants workout during the 3 week session. In January numbers appeared to be rebounding strong with 10 participants joining us the first week. But then the next two weeks our instructor went on vacation and we had a substitute running the class and our numbers dropped, (as they always do when there is a substitute instructor) and so by month’s end we had only 27 participants workout. However, February has gotten off to a solid start with 16 participates working out the first week! You can contribute the sharp rise in interest to the small write up the Rutland Herald did in their Community Calendar section the weekend before the class began. This was the second year in a row I have gotten this information in the paper and both times it has made a remarkable difference in the number of participants we had in class. In February 2004 we had a total of 44 participants workout; it’ll be interesting to see how our total numbers compare this year. |
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