The Friday Letter | June 12, 2015

The

SUMMER CAMP SEASON 2015

Mecklenburg County News

Park and Recreation Commission Vacancies Effective June 9, the Park and Recreation Commission (PRC) will have 6 vacancies and we are looking for folk to apply that would be strong advocates for all things Park and Recreation! The Park and Recreation Commission is a BOCC appointed board and acts as an advisory council to the Park and Recreation Department. Duties include but are not limited to monthly PRC meetings, leadership on Park and Recreation Citizen Advisory Councils, attendance and participation in Park and Recreation events, ground breakings and grand openings. PRC members advise and advocate for the Department’s master plans, budget requests, park naming petitions, fees and charges and strategic planning and long range financing.

If you know of someone that would be a great fit for the PRC, please ask them to go to the link below and complete an application. Vacancies are in the following park regions:

At Large (2 vacancies) South Region 3 Central Region 2 Central Region 3 North Region 2 http://charmeck.org/mecklenburg/county/CountyManagersOffice/BOCC/AdvisoryBoards/Pages/BoardApplication.aspx

Mecklenburg County News 6 Vacancies as of June 9, 2016 South 3 Central 2 Central 3 North 2 At Large (2)

Community & Recreation Centers Little Tykes Painting at Ivory/Baker: Last week, 7 little painters came to Ivory/Baker to paint 2 types of pictures: Old McDonald’s Farm - using sponges for the barn and then painting animals on the farm and Glue Design using rubber cement to create a picture then painting over the dried glue and peeling off the dried glue after the paint dries, leaving white space on the paper. For more information about youth programs at Ivory/Baker Recreation Center please contact us at IvoryBakerRecreationCenter@MecklenburgCountyNC.Gov or call 704-432-4580.

Hands-On Experience at Ivory/Baker: REC Mentee, Zayana Martin, is getting her hands dirty while working with the 4-H Gardening class at the Ivory/Baker Recreation Center. With her REC Mentor, Cara Helfer, and Environmental Educator Shelby Harrison, Zayana is learning how to care for the Children’s Garden, just as the children are in class with planting, weeding and thinning (maintaining) their gardens at the moment. As part of being a REC Mentee, she is also learning how we prepare each week’s gardening class.

Community & Recreation Centers Special Guest Visits After School Children: Ms. Beverly Dorn-Steele from WTVI (PBS Charlotte) stopped by the Ivory/Baker Recreation Center to visit the after school children, grades K-2, to discuss Healthy Habits: exercising, eating the right foods and various ways to be healthy. The children had a great time seeing all of Ms. Beverly’s "friends� she brought with her. Each child received a goody bag as well.

We showed Ms. Beverly the vegetable garden the children are caring for as well as all the radishes we just picked. For more information about our exciting programs at Ivory/Baker Recreation Center please contact us at IvoryBakerRecreationCenter@MecklenburgCountyNC.Gov or call 704-432-4580.

Community & Recreation Centers Senior Celebration at ARRC: The senior club at Albemarle Road Recreation celebrated the wonderful year they’ve had together. The club has grown and they’ve participated in many activities together including trips, meetings, and social activities. They recently held their annual planning meeting and have an exciting year ahead! For more information on senior programming, contact AlbemarleRoadRecreationCenter@MecklenburgCountyNC.gov or 704-567-1941.

Senior Line Dancing Class at WRRC: West Charlotte Recreation Center gets in the groove with its weekly senior line dancing class. This week the seniors learned the Biker Shuffle, Cupid Shuffle, Macarena, and the Cha Cha Slide. Each week consists of review of the dances previously learned and one new hot and hip dance to show off their moves. The program promotes one hour of healthy lifestyles through dance and rhythmic movements. This helps improve blood pressure, muscular strength, and overall health. Seniors can join the group and show us what ya’ got, on Mondays, from 11am-12pm. For more information contact WestCharlotteRecreationCenter@MecklenburgCountyNC.gov or 704-432-6474.

Community & Recreation Centers Outdoor Adventures Class Identifies Animals and More: Children from the Anita Stroud After School at the Ivory/Baker Recreation Center assisted program instructor, Anthony Shaheen on Project eMammal. The children identified pictures of mammals that live in the small wild spaces of Anita Stroud Park. There are currently 8 recreation centers or schools participating in the much larger study managed by Central Carolina Master Naturalist Coordinator, Staci Clark, and her volunteers. Pictures are collected on wildlife cameras for a month then labeled by the students and shared with scientists both at the state museum in Raleigh as well as the Smithsonian Institute. What a fun experience for the children to see what types of wild animals are living in their backyard. A special thanks to all the staff that have put roughly three months of work into the project: Melissa O'Lenick, Staci Clark, Jeff Turpin, Chad Moore, Abby Fowler, and Harry Dunn-Davenport. If interested in helping in the eMammal project reach its goal of 300 camera deployments in 2 years please contact Staci.Clark@mecklenburgcountync.gov.

For more information about youth programs at Ivory/Baker Recreation Center please contact us at IvoryBakerRecreationCenter@MecklenburgCountyNC.Gov or call 704-432-4580.

Community & Recreation Centers Tobacco Free at ARRC: Albemarle Road Recreation Center was recognized for winning the 2015 Tobacco Free Meck Day # I define Me Social Media Challenge. The celebration included a frozen yogurt party. A special thanks to Monica Smith, YWCA Coordinator and Ivan Jones, Recreation Specialist at Albemarle Road Recreation Center for their commitment to a healthier environment for all. For more information on youth programming contact AlbemarleRoadRecreationCenter@MecklenburgCountyNC.gov or 704-567-1941.

Berewick Recreation Center – Ray’s Playhouse Birthday Parties Ray’s Playhouse is the perfect place to have children’s birthday parties. Carolina Clowns partnered with Berewick Recreation Center to provide entertainment to help celebrate a community member’s special birthday. Everyone participated in all activities ranging from face painting to storytelling. The children had a blast celebrating their special occasion.

Ray’s Playhouse is a great location for birthday parties ages 1-6 year olds located inside of Bewerick Recreation Center. Rental fees for Ray’s Playhouse are $31.00 an hour. For more information on party rentals and facility programs contact BerewickRecreationCenter@MecklenburgCountyNC.gov or call 704 432 4934.

Community & Recreation Centers Tom Sykes Recreation Center- Fort Building Afterschool Program The battle of the forts has ended for the school year at Tom Sykes Recreation Center. The kids expressed their artistic creativity by drawing their own imaginary forts with sidewalk chalk and then created life size forts using a variety of mats and cubes. The program has been a huge success throughout the school year and will be back in the fall by popular demand.

For more information about Afterschool Programs, contact TomSykesRecreationCenter@MecklenburgCountyNC.Gov or 704-432-4803.

Community & Recreation Centers Marion Diehl Recreation Center – Mecklenburg County Park & Recreation Scores Recently, Sports Illustrated featured the NBA basketball star Stephen Curry. You ask, what does Stephen Curry have to do with Park & Recreation ? Stephen Curry can honestly admit he begin with recreation basketball .The Sports Illustrated article features Facility Manager of Marion Diehl Recreation Center Malcolm Sanders. Malcolm was quoted in the article as remembering the basketball allstar as a child. Malcolm had the opportunity to coach Curry’s first team at Naomi Drenan Recreation Center in Charlotte. Participating in Park & Recreation athletic programs has afforded many community children the opportunity to advance to elite levels. This is one example of the many possibilities. For more information regarding this article please see Sports Illustrated playoff edition or contact Marion Diehl Recreation Center at MarionDiehlRecreationCenter@MecklenburgCountyNC.gov or 704-432-0237.

Community & Recreation Centers Tyvola Senior Center welcomes North Carolina’s Top Legal Advisor: On Wednesday, June 10th, Attorney General, Roy Cooper and his staff, spoke to a group of over 120 seniors from Tyvola Senior Center and Shamrock Senior Center, about scams targeting older adults and how to report schemes they may encounter such as Medicare fraud and abuse, fake calls from the IRS, jury duty scams, and more. The program was well attended by seniors and also by representatives of the Sheriff’s office, and media including WCCB, WBTV, WSOCTV, and Time Warner Cable News.

Community & Recreation Centers

Ana Herrera a Recreation Assistant at Shamrock Senior Center. Ana was born and raised in Colombia South America and came to the States when she was 12 years old.

She attended UNC Charlotte, where she acquired her Bachelor’s Degree in Sociology and Gerontology.

While in college Mrs. Herrera had an internship at Madison Saints Senior Living, where she discovered her passion for seniors. That led Ana to her second internship at Shamrock Senior Center, which then turned into her new job. She hopes to bring diversity and new ideas to the senior center.

Ana enjoys spending time with her family and friends, and also volunteering in the community through her church.

Her future plan is to go back to school to pursue her Master’s in Gerontology and Public Administration.

5841 Brookshire Blvd.

Charlotte, NC 28216 (704) 336-8840

Recreate All Year!

Subscribe to the Park and Recreation E-Newsletter to learn of new and exciting way sto continue recreating during the spring and summer 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 Please submit all news for the Friday Letter to your Division Director for review and routing.

Park Partners may contact The Friday Letter Team at Richard . McNeill @MecklenburgCountyNC.gov for publication assistance.

The Friday Letter Volume 3 • Issue 71 • June 12, 2015

CHARMECK ALERTS The CharMeck Alerts Notification System relays accurate and timely emergency notifications. You control how you’re contacted— whether it’s on your cell, work or home phone, via text, email or voice message. You can receive up-to-the-minute notifications about events and emergencies that may affect your home, workplace or other points of interest—anywhere in Mecklenburg County. Sign up here or call CharMeck 311. To receive CDOT-specific alerts, you must sign up for that item in the list.

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 Terri Stowers, Community and Recreation Center Services Jeff Robinson, Park Operations Chris Matthews, Nature Preserves and Natural Resources