In The News: PLANT SALE UPDATE: Nature Preserves and Natu- ral Resources Division 2nd Annual Plant Sale The Nature Preserves and Natural Resources Division and MeckTeens accepted pre-orders through March 29 for their 2nd annual plant sale benefiting youth out- door programs. Citizens & the public will be able to place an order and pick up at Latta Plantation Nature Center, McDowell Nature Center or Reedy Creek Nature Center. Plants will be available April 8-12, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The public sale will take place at Yorkmont Farmer's Market, 1801 Yorkmont Road, on April 13 and 20, from 8 a.m. - 4 p.m. Click here for a listing of plants and vegetables that were available for ordering. Park and Recreation— Community Sustainability Awards this issue Park News P.1 Enterprise Services P.2 Nature Preserves & Natural Resources P.4 Community & Recreation Center Services P.6 Volume 2 ISSUE April 12 2013 13 WEEKLY NEWSLETTER OF THE PARK AND RECREATION DEPARTMENT Friday Friday Letter Letter THE Director Jim Garges Receives Community Sustainability Award Sustain Charlotte announced the winners of its second annual Community Sustainabil- ity Awards on Saturday at the 7th Street Public Market in uptown Charlotte. Leaders of local nonprofits, government agencies, businesses and schools were recog- nized for their efforts to help realize Charlotte 2030: A Sustainable Vision for Our Region. Mayor Anthony Foxx was a special guest who provided opening remarks, and Michael Smith, CEO of Charlotte Center City Partners, was the keynote speaker. Mecklenburg County brought home the “Gold” again, with Director Jim Garges receiving a 2013 Sustain Charlotte Award for Parks and Green Space. Eight other local winners joined Park and Recreation in the local recognition. “Our progress towards sustain- ability is the result of many, yet some individuals in our commu- nity are leading the way with very little recognition for their leadership,” Shannon Binns, founder and executive director of Sustain Charlotte, said. “We think it is important to honor these leaders and the amazing work that they/ do for the bene- fit of us all.”
Transcript
In The News:
PLANT SALE UPDATE:
Nature Preserves and Natu-
ral Resources Division 2nd
Annual Plant Sale
The Nature Preserves and
Natural Resources Division
and MeckTeens accepted
pre-orders through March 29
for their 2nd annual plant
sale benefiting youth out-
door programs.
Citizens & the public will be
able to place an order and
pick up at Latta Plantation
Nature Center, McDowell
Nature Center or Reedy
Creek Nature Center. Plants
will be available April 8-12,
from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The
public sale will take place at
Yorkmont Farmer's Market,
1801 Yorkmont Road, on
April 13 and 20, from 8 a.m. -
4 p.m.
Click here for a listing of
plants and vegetables that
were available for ordering.
Park and Recreation— Community Sustainability Awards
this issue
Park News P.1
Enterprise Services P.2
Nature Preserves & Natural Resources P.4
Community & Recreation Center Services P.6
V o l u m e 2 I S S U E
A p r i l 1 2 2 0 1 3
13 WEEKLY
NEWSLETTER OF THE
PARK AND RECREATION
DEPARTMENT FridayFridayLetterLetter THE
Director Jim Garges Receives Community Sustainability Award Sustain Charlotte announced the winners of its second annual Community Sustainabil-ity Awards on Saturday at the 7th Street Public Market in uptown Charlotte. Leaders of local nonprofits, government agencies, businesses and schools were recog-nized for their efforts to help realize Charlotte 2030: A Sustainable Vision for Our Region. Mayor Anthony Foxx was a special guest who provided opening remarks, and Michael Smith, CEO of Charlotte Center City Partners, was the keynote speaker. Mecklenburg County brought home the “Gold” again, with Director Jim Garges receiving a 2013 Sustain Charlotte Award for Parks and Green Space. Eight other local winners joined Park and Recreation in the local recognition. “Our progress towards sustain-ability is the result of many, yet some individuals in our commu-nity are leading the way with very little recognition for their leadership,” Shannon Binns, founder and executive director of Sustain Charlotte, said. “We think it is important to honor these leaders and the amazing work that they/ do for the bene-fit of us all.”
Grady Cole & American Legion Memorial Stadium Adult Athletics The Raleigh Magic won the 18th Annual “U Got Game” adult men’s basketball tourna-ment on April 6-7. Games were played at the Bette Rae Thomas, Hickory Grove and Ivory Baker Recreation Centers. We will also host the opening round and championship games at Grady Cole.
Scenes from Events: 18th Annual “U Got Game” Tournament
Don’t Forget! Our spring adult co-rec flag football league is in full swing at Nevin Park. The league is currently finishing up it’s third week of play.
Mecklenburg County Races— Event Highlights: April 6th – MeckCares 5K The Psychology Club of Queens University of Char-lotte held their inaugural MeckCares 5K. The event raised money to benefit the Children of Mental Health Services. Participants were able to enjoy their run/walk through the beautiful Free-dom Park in Charlotte’s his-toric Myers Park and Dill-worth neighborhoods. Tem-peratures topped in the low 70s to feel like the first true Spring day of the year. For additional Information on upcoming races please visit the adult running web-page or contact Preston Buckman at [email protected]
In The News:
Mecklenburg County Sen-iors are gearing up for the 2013 Senior Games. Learn more about how to partici-pate this year by contact-ing the CMSG Hotline at 704-332-4020 or CHARLOTTE MECKLEN-BURG SENIOR GAMES, INC., 2225 Tyvola Road Charlotte, NC 28210 Be sure to also visit the North Carolina Senior Games website at: NCSENIORGAMES.ORG ____________________
Senior Pickleball – Jeff Adams Tennis Center NEW – Come out and enjoy the exciting racquet game called Pickleball. Participants play on a tennis court with smaller dimensions but have a similar feel. The game is played with a large wiffleball and hard paddle where the goal is to volley the ball over the net. The fast paced, competitive nature will have you instantly hooked. The event is free and is held at Jeff Adams Tennis Center every Tuesday from 10am-12pm. For additional information please contact Preston Buckman at [email protected].
Aquatics Mecklenburg County Aquatic Center Sunkissed Invitational The Sunkissed Invitational Junior/Senior Championships of the USA took place at the Mecklenburg County Aquatic Center, April 4 - 7. Twenty-one (21) teams took part in the swimming championship. Five hundred forty-seven (547) participants from New Jersey, New Hampshire, Maryland, Connecticut, Georgia, North Carolina, Massachusetts, Illinois competed to win a YWCA national meet
title. Over 4000 spectators enjoyed the 4 day event.
At-Risk Group Trail Building: The Thermal Road campus of Alexander Youth Network is a 50-acre property that houses a resi-dential psychiatric treatment facility for severely disturbed children needing 24-hour supervi-sion by a nursing staff. Reedy Creek Nature Center has been providing nature-based programs on a weekly basis for 2 years. The children have been working on trail improvements recently. This includes finishing the trail system that circles the campus through the woods, maintaining existing trails and making and installing trail signs. This effort will help in ensuring that the chil-dren have a place to walk in the woods to explore the natural world, discover the critters of the forest and just be.
Nature Preserves & Natural Resources News— Hawk Ridge students visit Reedy Creek: Over 2 days 100+ students from Hawk Ridge Elementary came to Reedy Creek Nature Center to learn more about nature and see things happen first hand. Each student dis-sected its own flower, learned about what is in soil and went for a hike to see how everything in na-ture is connected.
New HVAC units at Reedy Creek: During the next month the building will be undergoing a major up-date. The HVAC units that heat and cool the building have been working for al-most 30 years and they are being replaced. Units will be replaced one at a time and building hours will not be affected. Staff, visitors and our live animals will be glad to have reliable units all year.
In The News: CPRP Awarded Community and Recreation Center Services — Central Re-gion Manager Terri Stowers recently received the distinc-tion of Certified Park and Rec-reation Professional (CPRP).
Congratulations to Terri and to the Department!
It’s more than just letters after your name – it’s an investment in your career that demonstrates your practical knowledge and that you have the current real-world skills necessary in today’s changing park and recreation environment.
Recreational News from Mecklenburg Communities
NCDT REACH Special (Surprise) Program at Ivory/Baker Recreation Center On Monday, April 8, not only did the students in the NCDT REACH program, but the Anita Stroud After School staff, children and parents enjoyed an impromptu visit when professional dancers from the North Carolina Dance Theatre came to present their “Stories in Motion” program. This program included an introduction of the dancers, excerpts of 6 dances the dancers perform dur-ing the year, such as the Nutcracker, Snow White, Peter Pan, Latin Contemporary and African/Afro-Cuban dances. A few children were chosen from the audience to interact with the dancers per-forming Mirroring and Shadowing exercises.
Ivory/Baker Thomas Recreation Center For more information about programs e-mail [email protected] .
Naomi Drenan’s Teen College Prep Week: During Spring Break, a group of teens
from Naomi Drenan Recreation Center tasted college life as they visited three local colleges, ITT Tech, CPCC, and Johnson C. Smith University. They spoke with current college students about what it takes to be successful in college. The teens took tours at all three facilities and met stu-dents who came from similar backgrounds that chose to go to college and make themselves a better person or give themselves a better chance to succeed. They also met student-athletes and future entrepreneurs!
Naomi Drenan Recreation Center
For more information about other programs, call 704.432.3048 or email at [email protected].
Sports Adventure Mini Camp at Naomi Drenan: During Spring Break Week, Naomi Drenan Recreation Center hosted its first Sports Adventure Mini Camp. With 20 kids ages 5 to 12 in attendance, we played a variety of sports to peak interest in these little ath-letes and played games during breaks. They experienced sports such as kickball, tee-ball, basketball, and more.
Bette Rae Thomas Track Team Building from the ground up! Bette Rae Thomas has seven children committed to our track and field pro-gram. At our first tourna-ment, teammates cheered as Parris Price won first place in the 100 and 400 races. The team had a great first experience and can’t wait for the next track meet.
For more information on other programs email [email protected] or call 704.432.3048.
Recreational News from Mecklenburg Communities
Out-of-School PLAY Days— Spring Break Camp was in full force at the Ivory/Baker Recreation Center last week. A total of 45 children enjoyed activi-ties and visited Reedy Creek, Latta Plantation and McDowell Nature Pre-serves. The children en-joyed themselves, espe-cially on the trips.
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Recreational News from Mecklenburg Communities
Grayson SkatePark’s Spring Break Camp The week of Spring Break, kids ages 8 to 12 participated in Naomi Drenan Recreation Cen-ter/Grayson SkatePark’s Spring Break Camp. During the camp, skaters learned the basics to skateboarding, new tricks, watched
videos of professional skateboard-ers, and topped off the camp going to rip the ramps at Soul Ride Indoor Skate Park. The kids enjoyed the videos showing professional skaters demonstrating special skills and breaking down how to do particular tricks.
For more information about our programs and events, contact [email protected] or call 704.432.5231.
Albemarle Road’s Spring Break Basketball Camp Albemarle Recreation Center hosted a Basketball Camp during spring break for boys and girls ages 6 to 14. Thirty participants took part in a variety offensive and defensive drills throughout the week. They were also given an opportunity to test their skills in a daily scrimmage. For more information on youth programming at Albemarle Road Recreation Center, contact Ivan Jones or Tiffany Peterson at 704.567.1941 or [email protected].
A Day On The Yard With Teens From Albemarle Road Recreation Center On April 3rd, Young Achievers spent an evening on the campus of UNCC with the Black Student Un-ion. The outing included a tour of the campus and a rap session in the student union. Young Achiev-ers will be playing outdoor sports and working on a community service project in the month of April.
Revolution Park Sports Academy Youth Disc Golf: The inaugural 2013 Countywide Youth Disc Golf League will begin league play this weekend at Reedy Creek and Elon Park Disc Golf Courses. Participants will compete against these courses through the sea-son to enhance their skill sets and work towards the Countywide Disc Golf Tournament. With the help of the Charlotte Disc Golf Club and Innova Disc Golf, the season is poised to be a great one.
Youth Baseball: The 2013 Countywide Youth Baseball season begins this Saturday at 6 parks throughout Mecklen-burg County. 46 teams (around 690 kids) will com-pete in the regular season for 8 weeks for a chance to qualify for the Countywide Youth Baseball Tourna-ment in June.
For more information email [email protected] or call the Revolution Park Sports Academy at (704) 432-4963.
2013 Giant Steps Award Winner: The National Consortium for Academics and Sports
(NCAS) announced the 2013 National STUDENT-Athlete Day Giant Steps Award winners with Cross-Country for Youth (CCFY) taking the Community Organization honors. The mission of the NCAS is to use the power of sport to effect positive social change. They educate and empower individuals and organizations by inspiring value-based thinking leading to actions to promote social responsibility and equality. Mecklenburg County Park and Recreation has partnered with CCFY over the last few years in providing cross-country at several recreation centers such as Su-gaw Creek, Elon and Mallard Creek in addition to the elementary and middle schools CCFY serves in the County. CCFY is a unique fitness program that introduces young people to cross-country training. But even more importantly , the program uses character building concepts to develop the whole person. Each day has a character focus, followed by an overview of cross-country principles, a group run and wrap-up exercises. The Character Development concepts include integrity, Respect, Sportsmanship, Responsibility, Perseverance, Teamwork, Commit-ment, Courage, Discipline and Leadership. For more information about CCFY Youth, go to www.crosscountryforyouth.org. For other youth sports programming / league such as base-ball, basketball, boxing, track & field, disc golf, soccer and flag football, please contact the Revolution Park Sports Academy at 704-432-4963, email [email protected] or visit our website at www.parkandrec.com.
________________ What’s New in Youth Sports— Summer Sports Camps - This summer the US Sports Insti-tute will conduct summer camps for the first time in Charlotte at Revolution Park. Campers will experi-ence and develop skills in over 15 sports in one week. Camp packages in-clude half day and full day sessions, as well as special-ized post-camp evening pro-gram opportunities Week 1 - June 10 - 14 Week 2 - June 17 - 21 Week 3 - June 24 - 28 Click on the logo below to register online or call (866) 345-2255.
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Recreational News from Mecklenburg Communities
Join us for these great events and more! Spring and Summer 2013 will be loaded with fun events for citizens to help with great causes or recreate in...
Hat’s Off To Parks: This year the event will be held on May 10. The funds raised will help us and partners like you build a very special play-ground in memory of the youth and teachers lost in Newtown Connecticut tragedy. This playground was designed by children from our community and will be built by volun-teers.
The Friday Letter Volume 2 • Issue 13• April 12, 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 and Recreation
Center Services
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 late winter and spring 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
Upcoming Events: Powerade State Games of NC February Update The Powerade State Games is returning to the Charlotte region in 2013 and we want YOU to be a part of the largest sports festival in North Carolina! Held throughout the month of June, the Powerade State Games will feature over 12,000 athletes participating in 19 different sports across more than 30 venues in a true Olympic-style sporting event. Please read this information carefully to en-sure you won't miss out on all the FUN in Charlotte this June! Online registration for the Powerade State Games is open for most sports at www.ncsports.org. You can save up to $20 on registration fees by registering online through the step-by-step Powerade State Games registration system.
