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The Town That Friendship Built
In this season of Thanksgiving I would like to take this opportunity to showcase Marty Denecke and his wonderful park agency, the Town of Hamburg Department of Youth, Recreation and Senior Services. Included in this issue of ‘The Voice’ are a couple of very successful programs Marty has implemented, Power Ads and Eastern USTA’s “Growing Tennis Together” Eastern Support Grant. I thought it would be nice to introduce you to the man behind the department making things happen for residents in Hamburg, NY.
-Lisa Morahan. NYSRPS Executive Director
Meet Marty Denecke
Marty Denecke
I have been with the Town of Hamburg for 33 years. I began in 1988 as Sr. Recreation Supervisor. I was promoted to Assistant Director in 1995 and to Director in 2002. In 2010 my duties increased when I was put in charge of Hamburg’s Senior Services and Youth Bureau. As those department heads left service, our Town Board merged the 3 departments into one. Prior to my appointment in Hamburg, I worked 10 years as the Therapeutic Recreation Supervisor at Hopevale, Inc., a residential center for children with emotional and behavioral issues. Our referrals came from various counties in NYS through family court and from the NYS Office of Child & Family Services (formerly the Division for Youth). The Town of Hamburg Department of Youth, Recreation and Senior Services has 12 full time staff members. Generally, we have about 125 seasonal and part time individuals on staff throughout the year, although that jumps up to about 200 in the warm weather months. A separate department (Buildings & Grounds) handles our maintenance. We operate 6 major facilities including an 18-hole golf course, a regulation size ice arena (converts to Sport Court April - August), a State-of-the-Art senior center that also houses an adult day service, a fitness center, a waterfront beach on the shore of Lake Erie and a family rental cabin (for events). We also have thousands of acres of active and passive parkland, some of which is groomed and lined for a variety of youth and adult sports activity. I have been a member of the Niagara Frontier Recreation & Parks Society since I began college in the mid 70’s...about 46 years. I have served many terms as a board member including 2 stints as NFRPS President, and 10 years service on the NYSRPS Executive Board. The Town of Hamburg has a population of approximately 60,000 residents. Our motto is “The Town that Friendship Built”. Hamburg is situated on the far western border of the state, on the shores of Lake Erie and we are just 10 miles south of downtown Buffalo. Kathy Courtney (now Governor Cathy Hochul) was 2 years behind me at Hamburg High School and worked very closely with my department while serving on the Hamburg Town Board.
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