East Longmeadow Recreation Department

         Recreation Director: Carolyn Porter, M.Ed., CPO

Annual Report FY 2006                                                                                            January 31, 2007

FY 2006 has been a year of transition and consistency. After 31 years of service, John Whalen, Jr. retired as the Recreation Department Director in April of 2006. An extensive search was conducted and a new Director was hired in June of 2006. Through this transition, the Recreation Department has continued to offer a wide range of youth sport programs and operate the popular Pine Knoll Summer Program for the tenth and started the eleventh year.

Kevin Mc Gee took over the helm of the Pine Knoll Program in the summer of 2005 and breathed new life and enthusiasm into the program. By the start of the 2006 summer season, Kevin had grown in confidence and comfort in the role as the Pine Knoll Director and had a strong percentage of returning staff. This made the transition of the Department Directors much easier than it might otherwise have been. Pine Knoll Program rates were raised in the 2006 season to bring revenue back into alignment with the expenses. Attendance at Pine Knoll for the 2005 season was 744 participants, over the course of the (4) 2 week sessions, averaging 175 participants a session.

Pine Knoll was the site for some additional usage as the EL Baseball Association moved the Kindergarten and 1^st Grade Shetland Program to the 60 foot diamond at Pine Knoll. This helped introduce new families to the facilities and additional care to the field. The Pine Knoll Facility continued to host 36 pool memberships and 20 rental events in FY 2006.

Most of the youth sport programs are managed through the efforts of community volunteers. The most structured boards are the EL Soccer Association, EL Basketball Association and the EL Baseball Association. Other sports have less structured committees that shepherd their specific sport programs along. Without all the time and effort provided by the volunteers these programs would not be able to operate.

Respectfully Submitted:                                                     Recreation Commission:

            Recreation Director:                                             Rich Paige – Chair

            Carolyn Porter                                                       Nancy Robert – 1^st Vice Chair

                                                                                            Michael O’Neill – 2^nd Vice Chair

                                                                                            Carolanne Elmendorf

                                                                                            Faith Leahy

                                                                                            Rick Matuszczak

                                                                                            John O’Heir

                                                                                            Michael O’Shea

                                                                                            Mike Salvon