In The News: From last weeks Weekly

Minute...

Park and Recreation

Continues to look at ways to

create a more effective and

efficient organization. The

Park Ops weekly Minute will

keep you abreast of some of

these plans, projects and

goals. Discussed last week:

The Playground Guardian™

Playground Management

Software includes:

Listing of all playground

sites

Full inventory of play-

ground equipment in-

cluding photographs

Playground inspection

records and reports

Automated To-do lists

and work orders for

playground mainte-

nance

Playground accident

and playground com-

plaint records

Paperless records and

reports

Park Ops Weekly Minute — Park Operations FALT &

Annual Action Planning

this issue

Park News P.1

Enterprise Services P.2

Nature Preserves & Natural Resources P.4

Community & Recreation Center Services P.5

V o l u m e 2 I S S U E

J a n u a r y 1 8 2 0 1 3

3 WEEKLY

NEWSLETTER OF THE

PARK AND RECREATION

DEPARTMENT FridayFridayLetterLetter THE

Park Operations On Thursday, January 17, 2013 the Mecklenburg County Park and Recreation Annual Action Planning Retreat took place at the Queens University Sports Complex at Marion Diehl. Park Operations leadership shared its updates to the Annual Action Plan. Common with all Park and Recreation FALTs, planning sessions of this nature are necessary to provide opportunities for collaboration and goal setting, as well as gauging success towards established outcomes and measures. Enjoy this weeks Park Ops Weekly Minute here or by clicking the “Watch us on YouTube” link below.

Park Operations Jeff Robinson, Division Director

Greg Clemmer, Park Superintendent

Chris Hunter, North Park Region Manager

Michael Campbell, Central Park Region Manager

Patricia Poteat, South Park Region Manager Catch up on recent Weekly Minutes by using the links below: Weekly Minute: iPads Create Efficiency for Park Operations Weekly Minute: Keep America Playing/ATV Safety Training Weekly Minute: Playground Guardian Weekly Minute: Ryan Newman Celebrity Bass/Partnerships with CFD and Boy Scouts

Adult Athletics & Leagues On Sunday, January 6th the 40 & over basketball season started play at the Naomi Drenan Recreation Center. Additionally on January 6 the Men’s 30 & over basketball league ended their 11 week season at the Bette Rae Thomas Recreation Center. God’s Chosen won the champion-ship for the third consecutive year. The Women’s Basketball League is still in season at the Tuckaseegee Recreation Center. Weekly volleyball leagues are currently being played at Tom Sykes, Wallace Pruitt and Bette Rae Recreation Centers. Upcoming events include Spring Flag Football Co-Rec and Men’s 7 v 7, Women’s A Volleyball and our annual “U Got Game Tournament”. Pictured below, 2012 Fall 30 & Over Champions and Runner-Up Teams for Adult Indoor Basketball.

2012 Champions

2012 Champions

Adult Leagues: How Do I Start One or Join One? We’re glad you asked. For Citizens (or yourself) - when asked, they can be referred to the Adult Athletics page on ParkandRec.com For the players who would just like to join an already existing team fill out Free Agent form and email Aaron.Cheeks@MecklenburgCountyNC.gov For those wishing to register a league, Aaron Cheeks is still the best contact and they may use the informa-tion above to obtain the documents and information packet needed to register. They can also be downloaded a parkan-drec.com (adult athletics) _______________________ The Mecklenburg County

Park and Recreation Depart-

ment offers a wide variety of

team and individual athletic

opportunities for adults.

Select the sport of interest

then connect citizens with

Aaron to find out how to get

involved.

Aquatics Charlotte Catholic, Hough, Regan, and RJ Reynolds High Schools participated in a dual meet from 6:30pm – 9:00pm at the Mecklenburg County Aquatic Center on Friday, January 11th. One hun-dred sixty-eight (168) swimmers participated in the swim meet.

Scenes from Events: Women’s 30 & Over Basketball participants ________________________

Scenes from Events: January 11th Dual Aquatics Meet ________________________

Adult Athletics & Leagues

RJ R

EYN

OLD

S

Thanks Cub Scout Pack 97 for Preserving and Protecting RibbonWalk Nature Preserve! What a great day of conservation service! Joining us on Saturday, January 12, 2013 were mem-bers of the Huntersville Cub Scout Pack 97. These guys were great! Sounds of “Heave Ho” ech-oed through the forest as the group attacked the kudzu field along with the other Sierra Club members and volunteers.

Outings Leader and Kudzu Master Ea-mon Holmes and Mecklenburg County Park and Recreation Natural-ist Laura Domingo prep the crew. The efforts of the young boys and their fathers were greatly appreciated.

Cub Scout Pack 97 Cub Scout Pack 97 is located in Indian Trail, NC - which is a small town SW of Charlotte, NC. Their Charter Organiza-tion is Christ Community Church, which is located on Rogers Road next to Shiloh Elementary School and meet-ings are held Tuesday eve-nings at 7:00pm. _______________________ A Cub Scout is a member of the section of the worldwide Scouting movement for young persons, mainly boys aged about 7 to 11. In some countries they are known by their original name of Wolf Cubs and are often referred to simply as Cubs. The move-ment is often referred to sim-ply as Cubbing. Cub Scouts are organized in Packs, which are usually linked to a Scout group, pro-viding a community with all age sections. Adult leaders of Cub packs take the names of The Jungle Book 's main char-acters. In many countries the leader of the Pack is called Akela. Cub Scouts have a dis-tinctive two-finger salute ac-cording to the Jungle theme, in contrast to the three-finger salute of Boy Scouts.

Senior Citizen Programs Mecklenburg County Park and Recreation offers many programs for senior citizens including senior clubs and trips. We strive to provide programs that will help en-hance your life; continue to give you more knowledge and help to maintain an ac-tive lifestyle. _______________________

Senior Citizens Advisory Council Advisory Councils consist of citizens and serve as a liaison between the Park and Rec-reation Department and Citi-zens of the County. All coun-cils report to the Park and Recreation Commission. ________________________

Senior Games Charlotte Mecklenburg Sen-ior Games (CMSG) is a non-profit organization estab-lished to promote health and wellness for persons 55 and better. For more information con-tact the hotline at 704-332-4020 or visit the website at cmseniorgames.org

Recreational News from Mecklenburg Communities

NEW YEAR’S at NOON at Bette Rae Thomas Recreation Center: 5..4..3..2..1 HAPPY New Year! This year our seniors counted down to the new year at noon. With over 80 seniors enjoying appe-tizers, dancing, games and just socializing with friends old and new without the hassle of staying up till midnight.

Bette Rae Thomas Recreation Center For more information on programs at Ivory/Baker, call 704-432-4580 or email IvoryBakerRecrea-tionCenter@MecklenburgCountyNC.gov.

Start Smart Basketball at Elon Recreation Center: Prepping kids for basketball is what Elon does! Our start smart basketball program is for 2-5 year olds that want to learn how to play basketball. This six week program teaches basic skills and techniques of basketball. The program requires parent participation as the child rotates thru vari-ous skill driven stations. At the end of the program each child will have gained confidence, skill, and technique of basketball as well as the excitement of the sport!

Start Smart Basketball at Elon Rec pictured on back page of newsletter.

Elon Recreation Center For more information about this or other programs, contact ElonRecreationCen-ter@MecklenburgCountyNC.gov or call 704.540.2426.

NCDT After School Remembers MLK! On Tuesday, January 15th, the North Carolina Dance Theatre after school program participated in a special arts and crafts session led Naomi Dreanan Recreation Center staff with help from Provi-dence Day School students, who assisted with games, cultural arts, and tutoring. Participants col-ored pictures of Martin Luther King, Jr. and put together picture frames for their artwork. It was a great session and the kids all look forward to another fun program.

Naomi Drenan Recreation Center For more information about our programs and events, contact NaomiDrenanRecreationCen-ter@MecklenburgCountyNC.gov or call 704.432.5231.

Albemarle Road Recreation Center’s “Basketball Pep Rally!” Albemarle Road Recreation Center held their 2012-2013 basketball pep rally! The day was filled with a variety of shooting activities and basketball obstacle course competitions. The teams also scrimmaged to get a glimpse of their competitors. Over 60 players came out to participate in this event, where certificates and prizes were awarded. The facility has grown the youth basketball program and currently is the home to 11 teams.

Albermarle Road Recreation Center For more information on this or other programs, contact AlbemarleRoadRecreationCen-ter@MecklenburgCountyNC.gov or call 704.567.1941.

Recreational News from Mecklenburg Communities

Senior Tennis at Sugaw Creek

On Thursday, January 10, the Sugaw Creek Recreation Cen-ter held its first “Alive After 55” Adult Quick Start Tennis Program. The program con-sisted of exercising, stretching and flexibility movements, group games, serving and hit-ting techniques. The class is conducted on Thursdays, 11:00am-12:00 noon. For more information, contact Cynthia Smith-Perkins @MecklenburgCountyNC.gov or 704.336.7655.

_______________________

The Start Smart Sports Develop-ment Programs The Right Start…Start Smart Start Smart Programs, cre-ated by the National Alliance for Youth Sports, help kids get ready for sports…and succeed in life. It is an innovative step-by-step approach that builds confidence and self-esteem in a fun and safe sports environment. Start Smart offers two dis-tinct types of programming with curriculum specifically designed for the following groups: Recreation Agencies: Start Smart Sports Develop-ment Programs provide rec-reation agencies with a com-prehensive motor skill devel-opment program that can be implemented easily. Pro-grams include Baseball, Bas-ketball, Football, Golf, Soccer, Tennis and a general skill de-velopment program.

Start Smart Scrimmage & Trophy Ceremony at Ivory/Baker Recreation Center: Start Smart Basketball concluded for eleven participants last week with a scrimmage and trophy ceremony following the scrimmage. Kids were able to learn some of the basic fundamentals and incorporate the skills they developed in a game like environment during the final week. Sixty-five friends and family members cheered on the kids & stayed to watch them receive their trophy!

Ivory/Baker Recreation Center For more information on programs at Ivory/Baker, call 704-432-4580 or email IvoryBakerRecreationCen-ter@MecklenburgCountyNC.gov.

Recreational News from Mecklenburg Communities

Park and Recreation News:

Submissions for the Newsletter

Please submit all news for the

Friday Letter to your Division

Director for review and routing.

Park Partners may contact

Kesha Meads at

Kesha.Meads@MecklenburgCountyNC.gov

for publication assistance.

The Friday Letter Volume 2 • Issue 3• January 18, 2013

Mecklenburg County

Park and Recreation

Senior Leadership Team

Jim Garges, Director

Michael Kirschman, Deputy Director

James Alsop, Enterprise Services

Renea Barber, Human Resources

Mario Chang, Budget Administration

Lee Jones, Capital Planning

Lola Massad, Community Services and

Recreation Centers

Jeff Robinson, Park Operations

5841 Brookshire Blvd.

Charlotte, NC 28216

(704) 336-8840

Recreate All Year! As the weather changes, look forward to new and exciting way to continue recreating during the fall and winter months. Subscribe to the Park and Recreation E-Newsletter to stay up to date on activities that may be available to you.

www.parkandrec.com

Scenes from Events: