COLUMBUS, GEORGIAParks and Recreation Department

MEMORANDUM

TO:

Mayor Teresa TomlinsonCity CouncilorsCity Manager Isaiah HugleyDeputy City Manager Lisa GoodwinDeputy City Manager David Arrington Parks and Recreation EmployeesRecreation Advisory Council Members

FROM:

James D. Worsley, Director

DATE:

July 27, 2012

SUBJECT:

Friday Newsletter

AdministrationA few months ago our department gained permission from city council to apply for the 21st "Century Community" Learning Centers Grant in collaboration with Columbus State University Empowered Youth program. We recently received notification that we were selected to receive grant funds. What does this mean for us? It means that the Parks and Recreation Department (Community

Schools Division) will be able to offer more services to the community. Specifically, Downtown, Dawson, Hannan, Lonnie Jackson, and St. Mary's Elementary Schools will yield the benefits of this grant. The department will receive $97,740 per year for a total of 5 years. The scope of the grant focuses on academic development through the Arts and Tutoring. This is extraordinary news for our department and we are excited about the children that will benefit from this grant, and we look forward to our partnership with Columbus State University Empowered Youth Program.

We would like to welcome Ms. Deborah Neely to the Parks and Recreation Family. Ms. Neely is our new Administrative Assistant, so come by the Fox Administrative Offices, to say Hello!

Four of our Staff Members here in Parks and Recreation, have been selected to participate in the Level I & II Internal Certification Program. The ICP is designed to develop and enhance employees talents, abilities and advancement potential by increasing their knowledge of the technical, managerial, cultural and day to day functional aspects of local government administration.

Hermanda

DeMines

(Recreation Program Specialist III) Chris Bass (ASPYN Rec. Program)

Millie Del Toro (Community Schools

District Supervisor) and Travis Landrum (Deputy Director)

Level I Level II

We would like to wish Shanet’

Goodwin well on her new endeavors, but she will be greatly missed and will always be apart of the Columbus Parks

and Recreation Family.

RECREATION CENTER SERVICES

Last week, Fluellen

Recreation Center hosted a meeting for the Carver Heights Community improvement group. The primary focus of the meeting was to discuss areas of improvement that are needed throughout the Community, as well as highlighting some of the positive changes that were taking place, such as the new George Washington Carver High School. In attendance were

some of the City’s top officials, such as City Manager Isaiah Hugley, Deputy City Manager Lisa Goodwin, and Councilman Bruce Huff, who is the new Councilman for the Community’s district. The attendance was great and everyone left the meeting ready to get to work for the Carver Heights area.

FLUELLEN RECREATION CENTER

SHIRLEY B. WINSTON RECREATION CENTER

Shirley B. Winston Recreation Center is celebrating Parks and Recreation Month by holding a 3pt shoot out, Dominos tournament, and an open recreation day.

Open Recreation Day

3pt Shoot out King of Dominos

2012 Shirley B. Winston Championing

EDGEWOOD SENIOR CENTER

Edgewood Senior Center Spots Bird Watchers

Figure 1:

Now where can that bird be? Figure 2:

Here he is!!

This week at Edgewood we spotted Bird Watchers! It was wonderful to see two members of our community visiting Edgewood. They were very polite as they came in, signed in, spoke, and introduced themselves. The director of our center suggested placing the bird to start in a place that would

be “right under our noses.”

Although the bird was placed in an obvious place, it appeared that two heads were better than one! The Hendersons

enjoyed a laugh when they finally found the bird as they had been throughout the building looking for the bird. Don’t worry future watchers—birds fly and she will be in another area for you to find as you visit.

This week’s highlight is our monthly Tea Party. Our Tea Parties are fun and we have a wide variety of Finger Foods and Desserts to choose from.

We normally have Karaoke for entertainment, but this month we decided to change up and have the Hula Dancers over. We started with covering our tables with yellow paper and used our palm trees for centerpieces. We gave each person a lei to wear during the party. Nell’s Hula Group has been performing for many years now and is always a pleasure to watch. Our Tea Party is just one

of the many special activities we have here. We invite everyone to come check out the activities offered here. We know you won’t be disappointed.

FRANK CHESTER SENIOR CENTER

We’re all “wild about Parks and Recreation”

here at Fox Community Center! Can’t you tell from the smiles on the faces here in our new Community Garden? You mean you haven’t heard? Well come join us and be a part of something special here at Fox! Friday, July 20th was our official kickoff

for the Community Garden that has been bestowed upon Parks and Recreation. There was no shortage of delight and diligence as children from Community Schools summer camp joined seniors from our community for our first day in the garden! All hands were on deck for planting assorted pepper plants, eggplants, and tomato plants!

FOX COMMUNITY CENTER

Some of our lovely ladies here at Fox took their annual peach trip up to Lane’s in Fort Valley on Thursday, July 19th. Everyone had a wonderful time at the Café, then spent time shopping for peaches and other goodies in the gift shop. Before leaving, we all took a stroll out to the Zinnias that were available for picking, and enjoyed watching some children at the

playground and reminisced about days gone by. Join us next year, as the peaches and fellowship were heavenly!

Sewing continues with the Community Schools summer camp kids. This week the class made cute mini felt pocketbooks to take home, and they

did so with a smile! Sewing for kids and seniors will continue weekly until school starts back.

On Tuesday, July 24th Fox honored one of its R.S.V.P. volunteers

on his birthday. Mike Goodman was presented with a pin and gratitude for his service in overseeing the bridge group every week, and all of the bridge group enjoyed a piece of birthday cake with Mike.

You are always welcome at Fox!

Featured Class this week is ADULT WHEEL THROWING at all of the Cultural Arts’

studios. In all, 14 adults are taking on the challenge of learning how to throw on the pottery wheel. It takes patience and perseverance, and they are all doing well.

Don’t forget about the ADULT OIL PAINTING class with Stephen Ellis. They are learning about color, a good eye, and composition. Good Luck to all of them.

For more information about this program or any of the art classes or programs contact Lisa Castile at (706)653-4196, lcastile@columbusga.org, or stop by Britt David Studio, Psalmond Road Pottery Studio,

or Northside

Pottery Studio.

CULTURAL ARTS

THERAPEUTIC RECREATIONOn Friday July 20th, Therapeutic Recreation held its monthly Social Club meeting for participants and Support Group for parents and caregivers. The participants enjoyed a relaxing evening with a “Zen Party”. All those that attended found tranquility as we transformed the game room into a mini spa. Everyone was welcomed into the building with soothing meditation

music and aromatherapy candles. While parents met to discuss a few topics,

participants began the evening with yoga! After a few minutes of poses and meditation, everyone was excited to get the royal treatment of a facial. Ironically, no female

participant attended this lovely evening.

The gentlemen started their treatment with a chamomile and rose petal face steam to open up their pores and soften the skin.

Afterwards, they each applied a homemade mask made of cucumbers,

yogurt, and oatmeal. This combination is great for sensitive skin since it has no harsh chemicals, and can be used for all skin types. After relaxing with their eyes covered with cucumber slices, the guys rinsed off, applied a toner and felt like new! They enjoyed it so much that they each packed containers of

the mask to bring home! Parents then joined in for a refreshing plate of fruits, veggies, and water. Everyone had a great time relieving some stress and socializing with friends.

On Monday July 23rd, TR participants got moving with the Mambo! They started off learning the origin and a little history of the Mambo. Then they learned the basic footwork slowly and then added some speed. As the lesson progressed, some participants got a little fancy by partnering up and dancing to some Mambo tunes. Participants had a great time learning something new and different. They worked on improving motor coordination skills, hand eye coordination, and following a beat.

On Wednesday July 25th, the TR Cooking Class met for an extended

day program. They discussed the importance of healthy snacking. The lesson consisted of learning how to read or recognize instructions on a

package, and how to follow steps in order. After using what they learned, participants worked together to make Jell-O parfaits to enjoy!

ATHLETICS DIVISION

Nightowl

Basketball League:

We have reached the championship game for the Nightowl

Basketball League. The Bulls will face the Thunder on Friday night at 9:00pm at Shirley Winston Recreation Center to see who will take

home the championship trophy. There is no admission fee to this game.

Adult Fall Softball League:

We will have an Organizational Meeting for everyone interested in playing Adult League Slowpitch

Softball this fall on August 7, 2012 at the Fox Community Center (3720 5th

Avenue) at 7:00pm. The entry fee for this league is $325 per team, which is due at the Organizational Meeting. We offer Men’s and Women’s Open Divisions during this season.Adult Coed Volleyball League:

We will have an Organizational Meeting for everyone interested in playing Adult League Coed Volleyball this

fall on August 9, 2012 at the Fox Community Center (3720 5th

Avenue) at 6:00pm. The entry fee for this league is $220 per team, which is due at the Organizational Meeting.

Athletics Webpage: http://www.columbusga.org/parks/athletics.htm

Cooper Creek Tennis Center

Shake, Rattle & RollThe “ELVIS”

starts Wednesday, August 1, 2012.

Over 250 players will get “all shook up”

as they vie for the title at the “Return to Server”

Southern NTRP Clay Court Championships…better known among local players as “The Elvis”. The tournament will be held at CCTC August 1-5, 2012 and will include men’s and women’s singles and doubles as well as mixed doubles in six different divisions.Come on out and watch all the fun.

Local League WinnersThe mixed doubles league has wrapped up and the champions have been crowned in four highly contested divisions. The winning teams that will represent Columbus at the state championships in Augusta, August

10-13, 2012 are:Ourso/Schwoebel

5-1Medders

10-1King/Stillwell 8-1Bowie 10-2

Good luck to all of these teams at the state championships.

COMMUNITY SCHOOLSThis week the Princess within Club had their graduation ceremony

were the young were honored for completing the program and received their

tiaras. The young princess enjoyed socializing with fellow princesses from other camp sites as they enjoyed a wonderful lunch. Deputy city manager Lisa Goodwin was the guest speaker for this event and her message was powerful. Thank

you Mrs. Goodwin for speaking at this event.

Also this week the Science Club hosted their science fair, were the children presented experiments they learned over this summer. Every experiment was exceptional and the children had a blast showing off their projects! Some of these creative projects included a volcano, flubber, and cactuses.