August 9, 2010
What a beautiful summer we’re having. Unlike past few summers when it rained often and hard this summer has been fantastic. The swim instructors have not had to cancel any lessons due to severe weather. 81 Season Passes for the Recreation Area have been sold for 2010. Compared with 79/2009, 66/2008, 71/2007, 52/2006, & 60/2005. The Picnic Pavilion remains a popular venue for graduation parties, birthday parties, family reunions, and company outings. Day Camp used the pavilion for six weeks as their outdoor classroom at the Recreation Area. Based on the number of calls the Recreation Department gets the pavilion is still a popular choice for people use, even this late into the season. 21 Tennis Passes have been sold so far for 2010. This compares to 21/2009, 24/2008, 20/2007, 26/2006, & 24/2005.
The 2010 Red Cross Swim Program has been going excellent. For the sixth year the Recreation Department has offered three 2-week sessions of lessons. In 2005, the Recreation Department made the transition from offering just two 3-week swim sessions to offering three 2-week sessions. The main reason for the change was that I wanted to increase usage at the Swim Area during the month August; which is always our slowest time of the season in regards to daily usage. Day Camp is usually finished by this time and it used to be our swim lessons would be finished also so our mid-week crowd was close to non-existent. With out a doubt our busiest times at the Swim Area are while swim lessons are happening. We found that if the lessons are going on then the families are already at the Swim Area and they are more likely to stay longer at Recreation Area on any given day depending on the weather. We had 27 kids registered in the first session of lessons (which compares with 16 in 2009, 21 in 2008, 30 in 2007, 38 in 2006 and 51 in 2005). During the second session we had a total of 41 registered kids (54 in 2009, 33 in 2008, 36 in 2007, 30 in 2006 and 36 in 2005). Currently in session three there are 35 kids (27 in 2009, 21 in 2008, 26 in 2007, 34 in 2006 and 30 in 2005) taking swim lessons. Total swim lesson participation numbers are103 kids in 2010. We had 97 in 2009, 75 in 2008, 92 in 2007, 102 in 2006, 117 in 2005, & 72 in 2004.
Some time this past February the Boys & Girls Club of Brandon contacted the Recreation Department to inquire if we’d be interested in having them come to the Recreation Area this summer so our swim instructors could teach their kids swim lessons. I was very interested especially if I could schedule the B & G Club in a way that would increase our daily usage at the Recreation Area and fill in some of the normally slower weeks in between our swim lesson sessions. After a couple discussions with Kayla Gallipo, our Swim Area Supervisor, and a meeting with Sid Bradley and Van Allen from the B & G Club we came up with an program that we all were comfortable with. I wanted it to be clear that this was an experiment to see if our two groups could work together. With that said the Pittsford Recreation Department hosted the B & G Club Swim Camps at the Recreation Area July 5-9 and July 26-29. Each day they arrived around noon split their campers up into small groups and rotated their kids through their swim lessons. They normally left about 4:30 pm. It was the responsibility of the B & G Club counselors to get their kids to the swim area at their appropriate times. Kayla Gallipo, and her staff did a fantastic job working with such a large number of students and keeping them focused. Over these two weeks the B & G Club brought 281 kids to the Recreation Area.
The Recreation Department is continuing to work closely with the senior citizen group called “Pittsford Seniors“. On the 4th Thursday of each month the “Pittsford Seniors host a luncheon at the VT Police Academy. It was the Recreation Department who connected the senior group with the VT Police Academy in order to organize these luncheons. The Recreation Department is providing support in many ways, for instance, we take of advertising these events. The seniors are instructed to call the Recreation Department to pre-register for each luncheon. Residents contact me because the Town Offices are set up to take calls professionally and efficiently. Seniors who are trying to pre-register are guaranteed to reach someone, or the answering machine. This is a simple, but important responsibility that the Recreation Department fulfills. These numbers are passed along to the Head Chef at the Vermont Police Academy so he can plan the meals accordingly. We just finished the third year of the program already and it was the best yet. During the first year 530 meals were served which translates into over 44 seniors attend each luncheon. During the second year (August 2008-July 2009) 491 meals were served. This translates to 41 folks attend each meal. During the third year (August 2009-July 2010) we served the most yet, 542 meals (45 average per luncheon were served). In total over the three years this senior program has ran 1,563 meals have been served. Currently the Recreation Department is assisting the Pittsford Seniors with another bus trip. On Wednesday, August 18 they’re headed to Hildene in Manchester, VT. They will tour “The Lincoln Family Home”, eat lunch, and see many beautiful flower gardens. The fee is $20 per person. The Pittsford Seniors and the Recreation Department has secured a $600 “Senior Transportation Grant”. This grant will pay for the transportation fees only. Premiere Tours has been hired to take care of the driving responsibilities. The Green Mountain Passports are available to all Vermont residents 62 years of age or older. These passports allow for free admission to VT State Parks, VT State Historic Sites, and events which are fully State sponsored. Green Mountain Passports are available at local Town Clerk’s offices for just $2.
The Pittsford Seniors now only meet once a month, at the Maclure Library on the 2nd Friday of each month at 10:00 am. They voted earlier this summer to do away with their meetings the used to immediately follow each luncheon. All seniors in the Pittsford area are invited and encouraged to attend.
August is a time during the year that Recreation Department plans out it’s fall/winter programs. Usually the pressure of baseball/softball has subsided enough to allow time to look forward. Recently the Recreation Department has been busy organizing programs for the 2010 Fall Brochure. I like to have brochure done and completed before the kids return to school I can concentrate on the soccer season.