7548-R1_NewGloucester_2019-2020_AnnualReport_Web

ANNUAL REPORT Parks & Recreation

The FY20 year was one with growing expectations for the department, as for the first time the department was supported with a full time director. The support to bring the role to full time showcases the importance of the work that is being done and what it brings to the community. The partnerships and collaboration efforts that had been the foundation of the work the year prior were starting to shine and the future for the program is bright. Yes, during the year we experienced some hurdles as many of us did during the spring months, but the department was able to adapt and overcome the adversity to become even stronger. One of the big accomplishments during the year was receiving the final stamp of approval on the Land & Water Conservation Fund grant that was received in 2017 for Fairgrounds Park. In the summer months the department carved out a small section of trails along the Royal River and started a nature walk in the woods of the park. These were the final steps to satisfy the grant, we are going to look at expanding these trails in the coming year. There are too many people to thank for their efforts in the completion of this project to list in this report, but thank you to all that lent a hand to complete this grant, it truly takes a village. We will be looking into other grant opportunities in the future as we look to continue to grow and develop the facilities within the New Gloucester community. One of the big areas where growth happened this year was in our community outreach and partnerships. Developing a better connection with the community was a focus of the department of recent years. This year several different relationships were strengthened, the future for the program is very promising. One of the biggest illustrations of our collaboration efforts was the creation of GNG Recreational Programming. The recreation departments in Gray and New Gloucester began to look at ways to maximize our efforts to provide the best quality programs to the GNG community. In the fall our first GNG Rec Program was a smashing success with the offering youth soccer to over 230 kids from the age of 3 to 12. It was a great example of how a community can come together and provide a top quality program. The GNG Rec Programming model is going to be expanded once we are able to return to programming in the community to include youth sports like, lacrosse, track & field (both were planned for the spring, but cancelled due to the pandemic and now scheduled for the fall), field hockey, and flag football. The department has also been working with our GNG travel sports programs, a wonderful partnership with the Patriot Soccer Club became cemented this year. The department and organization agreed to a multi-year agreement of

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