The Friday Letter | December 9, 2016

The

Accounting Tips for the week: Park & Rec Accounting Policies and Procedures are located in 601 Accounting Policies and Procedures Guide on SharePoint!

Natural Resources Christmas Bird Count: The annual Christmas Bird Count began in 1900 as an alternative to the popular Christmas "Side Hunt". The hunt was a holiday tradition in which individuals and groups would compete against each other to see who could shoot the greatest number of birds. Ornithologist Frank Chapman, along with 26 others, participated in that first count by spending part of Christmas day tallying all of the birds they observed and heard. The National Audubon society has coordinated the count ever since and it now stands as the longest running wildlife survey in the world. In 2016, a total of 76,669 individuals participated in the count from areas throughout the Western Hemisphere.

Each count is conducted during a 24-hour period within a designated 15-mile diameter count circle. The date of the count is chosen by the count coordinator/compiler and falls somewhere between December 14th and January 5th.

Two counts, the Charlotte Christmas Bird Count and the Southern Lake Norman Christmas Bird Count are conducted each year in Mecklenburg County. Staff from MCPR’s Division of Nature Preserves and Natural Resources (NPNR) regularly participates in these counts, alongside local birders, nature enthusiasts, students and families. Together they form a contingent of citizen scientists, armed with binoculars, field guides, clipboards and data sheets.

Now in its 117th year, the Christmas Bird Count continues to provide useful documentation on the abundance and distribution of birds and can even show population trends and range changes. This information has been important to scientists throughout the world, as well as to NPNR staff who have utilized it in the division’s education and conservation efforts.

Community & Recreation Centers Rocky Face Mountain Trip: Saturday, December 3, the Outdoor Club took a trip to Rocky Face Mountain Recreation Area near Taylorsville. This is an old quarry that has been turned into a recreation area with a lot of trails and rock climbing features. We enjoyed hiking to an overlook and hiking on several other trails. We also had a great time geocaching and finding some challenging caches. The TR Outdoor Club meets once a month and explores a different natural area, state park or recreation area each month.

Community & Recreation Centers Methodist Home Recreation Center: Youth Basketball Begins Practice makes perfect as Methodist Home Recreation Center and our Methodist Home Bulls are excited about this upcoming Youth Basketball season. Get your popcorn and pom-poms out as we get ready for this weekend’s tip-off to see our Bulls in action.

For more information about our programs, events, and outreach opportunities, contact MethodistHomeRecreationCenter@MecklenburgCountyNC.gov or call 980.314.1123.

Community & Recreation Centers Tom Sykes Recreation Center: Weird Science Have you ever wondered how a lava lamp works? Or how to make your own volcano? The young scientists at Tom Sykes have the answers for you as we began our first weird science afterschool program. For nine weeks, our scientists will test theories by conducting fun and exciting experiments using simple household items. In last week’s lab experiment, our scientists made their own lava lamps while learning why oil and water do not mix. They also made their own bubbles using pipe cleaners and dish soap. We are excited to get back in the lab and see where the next experiment takes us!

For more information about Tom Sykes Recreation Center Programs, contact 980-314-1113 or email TomSykesRecreationCenter@MecklenburgCountyNC.gov.

Community & Recreation Centers Naomi Drenan Recreation Center: Veterans Day Veterans Day is a great day to craft with your kids or to have kids craft in preparation for. Veterans Day crafts create a great teachable moment where you can explain the sacrifices that so many men and women of many generations made so you all can live free and happy lives. On Friday, November 11 Naomi Drenan Recreation Center staff created craft stick flag crafts for veteran loved ones. Join us for holiday crafts that we host!

For more information about our programs, events and outreach opportunities, contact. NaomiDrenanRecreationCenter@MecklenburgCountyNC.gov or call 980.314.1100.

Community & Recreation Centers Naomi Drenan Recreation Center: Christmas Bowl Bash Grayson Skate Park is hosting its first Christmas Bowl Bash on December 22nd from 3-5PM. All skills levels and ages are invited to participate in this event. We will be hosting a special Bowl Shred portion of the competition as well for more advanced skaters. Prizes, live music, and bragging rights will be given out! Entry to the competition is free, just bring all your pads and a winning attitude.

For more information about our programs, events and outreach opportunities, contact NaomiDrenanRecreationCenter@MecklenburgCountyNC.gov or call 980.314.1100.

Community & Recreation Centers Naomi Drenan Recreation Center: Juggling Club at Billingsville Leadership Academy Tuesday December 6th marked the first day of the Juggling Club at BLA! 17 boys and girls from grades 3rd-5th are enrolled in the club at the school, and they practice on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Our participants are working on mastering scarves, balls, rings, and plates before their presentation at the end of the school year. Today we hammered out the basics of 2 scarf juggle and moving as a unit while juggling. Stay tuned for updates on this free club as we learn new steps and routines!

For more information about our programs, events, and outreach opportunities, contact NaomiDrenanRecreationCenter@MecklenburgCountyNC.gov or call 980.314.1100.

Community & Recreation Centers Methodist Home Recreation Center: MeckTeen Greenforce Work Day This week, teens from Methodist Home Recreation Center (MHRC) participated in the MeckTeen Greenforce Work Day at Southview Recreation Center where they helped organize and clean up storage space for their outside garden as well cleaned out a few garden beds for the Senior Program. The Urban Outdoor Connection (UOC) and MHRC teens were very excited, happy to help and volunteer their time. Our teens are looking forward to the next time we can help out.

For more information about our programs, events and outreach opportunities, contact MethodistHomeRecreationCenter@MecklenburgCountyNC.gov or call 980.314.1123.

Community & Recreation Centers Methodist Home Recreation Center: Seasons Greetings Season greetings from Methodist Home Recreation Center as “Kevin Claus” stopped in to make his one and ONLY appearance of the year to show support for the Shamrock Senior Center holiday program and to wish the staff and community a very Merry Christmas. “Kevin Claus” is making a list, checking it twice and I’m going to find out if you have been naughty or nice. Happy Holidays from our staff to yours.

For more information about our programs, events and outreach opportunities, contact MethodistHomeRecreationCenter@MecklenburgCountyNC.gov or call 980.314.1123.

Community & Recreation Centers Elon Recreation Center: Winter Tennis Camp Elon Recreation Center is now hosting a winter Indoor Tennis program. We would like to welcome Coach Juliana, from Tennis Plus Fun, to the community!

After a successful trial period, it was clear this program would be a hit! Coach Juliana dedicates a full hour of instructional tennis lessons to children ages 4-7 and 8-11. What a way to beat the winter cold with a good game of indoor tennis. Registration is easy just visit Tennis Plus Fun website.

For more information regarding youth athletics and programming contact Elon Recreation Center 980-314-1103 or email ElonRecreationCenter@MecklenburgCountyNC.gov.

Community & Recreation Centers Elon Recreation Center: Elon Staff Awaits Santa!

“The basketballs are bouncing and faces filled with cheer, everyone comes close to the coach’s voice they’ll hear. “LET’S GO ELON!” The staff at Elon is happy to be back in their facility after a minor face lift by adding a brand-new HVAC system, to the gym, during the Thanksgiving Holiday. A special thank you to the contractors and the project manager, David Murdock, of Mecklenburg County.

Santa will have a warm welcome here this winter with warm children playing everywhere. We take pride in providing services to the community and making sure that we put our best foot forward. We look forward to putting our new system to great usage for many years to come.

For more information about Elon Recreation Center please fill free to contact us at ElonRecreationCenter@MecklenburgCountyNC.gov. Happy Holidays from our families to yours!

Community & Recreation Centers Berewick Recreation Center: Brunch with Santa On December 22nd, children ages 2-5 years can get in their last-minute Christmas wishes to Santa during our Brunch with Santa event. Children will also partake in fun holiday crafts, listen to a Christmas story, play games, and get their picture taken with Santa too. Pre-registration is important in order to attend this event!

For more information about our preschool programs, contact BerewickRecreationCenter@MecklenburgCountyNC.gov or call 980.314.1102.

Community & Recreation Centers North Mecklenburg Senior Center: The Nutcracker!

On Thursday, December 1st, 2016, North Mecklenburg Senior Center took two vans of participants to downtown Charlotte! The ladies were all dolled up for a fantastic lunch inside of Founders Hall at Aria. After lunch, the Seniors had the opportunity to window shop, or listen to the ‘Singing Bears’ display. Before our trip came to an end, we enjoyed a beautiful afternoon at the Belk Theatre, for the Dress Rehearsal of The Nutcracker. The ladies had a fantastic time watching the newest effects and costume changes to the spectacle!

For more information on Senior programs, contact NorthMeckSeniorCenter@mecklenburgcountync.gov.

Community & Recreation Centers Albemarle Road Recreation Center: Nature at its best This week is all about nature with our Youth ‘N’ Motion program! Monday our kids participated in a scavenger hunt/ relay race to see which team can find the most objects related to nature. Heading out to the field and trails, teams were divided into two groups to find objects such as flowers, acorns, grass, leaves, ferns, bugs, tree bark… etc. After the races, we talked about how each of these objects contributed to nature as well as the many ways to keep the environment clean and safe.

For more information on our programs here at Albemarle Road, contact us at 980-314-1101 or email us at Albemarleroadrecreationcenter@mecklenburgcountync.gov.

Community & Recreation Centers Ivory Baker Recreation Center: Achieve 225 The Achieve 225 initiative has proven to be a success at Torrence Creek Elementary School. The students are actively playing their entire recess. One of the most popular games is crazy cones. There are many students in third grade especially, who enjoy playing crazy cones at least once during their recess every week. The countdown in the game gets everyone so anxious to turn over as many opponent’s cones as possible. Other popular games are kickball and soccer. These are played in the field. Football is also played. Sometimes twenty or more players play at a time. This makes it so fun to watch as a spectator on the sidelines. The students seem very joyful.

For more information about our programs, events, or outreach opportunities contact 980-314-1112 or email IvoryBakerRecreationCenter@MecklenburgCountyNC.gov.

Community & Recreation Centers Sugaw Creek Recreation Center: Young at Heart; Bank of America Tour On November 22nd, the Young at Heart of Sugaw Creek Recreation Center visited Bank of America Stadium. The lively group of seniors were able to go inside the locker rooms, hang out in one of the club suites, and receive the inside scoop on the history of home team while on a private guided tour.

For more information on senior trips at Sugaw Creek Recreation Center, contact us at 980-314-1124 or SugawCreekRecreationCenter@mecklenburgcountync.gov.

Community & Recreation Centers Tuckaseegee Trip to Santa’s Bag: On Tuesday, November 29, 2016, ten program participants for Tuckaseegee Recreation Center participated in the Santa’s Bag program at ImaginOn. This year Santa’s Bag celebrated its 44th year of bringing a fun shopping experience to the children of Charlotte. Santa’s Bag offered children under the age of 12 the opportunity to purchase inexpensive, pre-wrapped gifts for their family and friends. Gifts were priced between $.50 and $5. The participants were escorted by helpful elves through the shopping experience to ensure they bought everyone on their shopping list a gift. Also, the participants were able to visit with Santa Clause before going shopping with the elves.

For more information on this program and others contact Tuckaseegee Recreation Center at 980-314-1115 or TuckaseegeeRecreationCenter@MecklenburgCountyNC.gov.

Community & Recreation Centers Arbor Glen Recreation Center Arbor Glen wrapped up the Lil’ Ray Basketball season with a recognition banquet for all of this year’s participants. Arbor Glen was the host site for this year’s league, which included a total of 12 Teams!!! AG staff presented participation awards and certificates, to the “Arbor Glen Hornets,” during an evening filled with fun, food, laughter, and games.

For more information about programs at Arbor Glen, contact us at 980-314-1110, or email ArborGlenOutreachCenter@MecklenburgCountyNC.gov.

Community & Recreation Centers Arbor Glen Recreation Center The Arbor Glen Recreation center would like to congratulate our 5-6 year old Flag Football Vikings, for an outstanding season! On Wednesday, November 2nd, we hosted the end of the year banquet for the Vikings, led by Coach John Heath II. The team enjoyed one last motivational speech, awards, certificates, pictures and food.

For additional information about our programs, email ArborGlenOutreachCenter@MecklenburgCountyNC.gov, or call 980-314-1110.

Community & Recreation Centers Arbor Glen Recreation Center: On Wednesday, November 9th, The Arbor Glen Recreation Center hosted the Charlotte Area Fund’s 24th Annual Career and Health Fair. With local employers ready to hire qualified candidates, this was a special opportunity for residents to bring their resume, and come dressed to impress for onsite interviews. The event hosted fifty vendors to include educational workshops for background checks / expungements, financial planning, job readiness, nutrition, health screenings, a community resource station, food demonstrations, free giveaways and door prizes.

For additional information about our programs email ArborGlenOutreachCenter@MecklenburgCountyNC.gov, or call 980-314-1110.

Sports & Fitness and GC/ALMS Youth Basketball Countywide Leagues The 2016/17 youth basketball pre-season tournaments for 10 & Under – 16 & Under age groups started Saturday, December 3rd and run through Saturday, December 17. Each team gets 3 pre-season games in preparation for the regular season that begins January 7th. Even though it’s pre-season, the games were face paced and action packed! Come out this Saturday, December 10 th if you want to see fast breaks, behind the back passes, nothing but net jump shots, and lots of hustle up and down the court! Also, as a bonus, the 6 & Under and 8 & Under instructional leagues season kicks off this Saturday, December 10th. Come out and watch these youngsters show their skills. Guaranteed to make you smile!

For more information, email YouthSports@MecklenburgCountyNC.gov or call Revolution Park Sports Academy at (980)314-1116.

Sports & Fitness and GC/ALMS Adult Co-Rec Volleyball The Adult Co-Rec BB Volleyball league finished their games for the fall season on Wednesday November 30th. Games were played at the Tom Sykes Recreation Center on Wednesday evenings starting at 6:30pm. There were a total of four teams competing in the league for the championship. Congratulations to “MicroNinjas�. They are the fall league champions this season.

For more information on adult volleyball Please visit our website at www.parkandrec.com, email AdultSports@MecklenburgCountyNC.gov or call us at 980-314-1356.

Sports & Fitness and GC/ALMS Adult Men’s Basketball The Men’s 30 & Over basketball league finished their summer season on Sunday December 4th. Games were played at the Bette Rae Thomas and Tuckaseegee Rd Recreation Centers on Sunday afternoons starting at 2pm. There were a total of ten teams competing in the league this season for the championship. Congratulations to “Black World Ballers”. They are the summer league champions this season.

For more information on adult leagues Please visit our website at www.parkandrec.com, email AdultSports@MecklenburgCountyNC.gov or call us at 980-343-1117!

Sports & Fitness and GC/ALMS Adult Women’s Basketball The Women’s winter League kicked off their season on Sunday December 4th.

Games will be played at Tom Sykes Recreation Center on Sunday afternoons starting at 2pm. There are a total of six teams participating in the league this season.

For more information on adult leagues Please visit our website at www.parkandrec.com, email AdultSports@MecklenburgCountyNC.gov or call us at 980-343-1117!

Adult Men’s Basketball The Men’s B Winter League kicked off their season on Monday December 5th.

Games will be played at the Ivory Baker Recreation Center on Monday evenings starting at 7:15pm and at the Arbor Glen Recreation Center on Tuesday evenings starting at 7:15pm. There are a total of nine teams participating in the league this season.

For more information on adult leagues Please visit our website at www.parkandrec.com, email AdultSports@MecklenburgCountyNC.gov or call us at 980-343-1117!

5841 Brookshire Blvd.

Charlotte, NC 28216 (980) 314-1000

Recreate All Year!

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The Friday Letter Volume 6 • Issue 43• December 10, 2016

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 Renea Barber, Human Resources Mario Chang, Budget Administration Lee Jones, Capital Planning Terri Stowers, Community and Recreation Center Services Peter Cook, Park Operations Chris Matthews, Nature Preserves and Natural Resources