The Great Bend Recreation Commission is featured on the cover of the spring 2012 edition of KRPA Today, a publication of the Kansas Recreation & Park Association.
GRRC Executive Director Diann Henderson wrote the cover story, “Parks & Recreation in Small Communities,” and is shown on the cover with Christina Trickey, Anthony Wagner and Talaya Schwartz in a photo taken at the Great Bend Activity Center.
Henderson wrote about what other community recreation commissions are doing, along with Great Bend’s “Active Aging” program, created by GBRC and the Barton County Extension. This highlights how adults that do not have children in school become part of the “Life. Be in it.” campaign that began in 1980 and continues to be part of the GBRC philosophy today.
Henderson reported on the publication when the Great Bend Recreation Commission board met Monday at the Carl Soden Recreation Center.
In action items, the board renewed its contract with Sunflower Diversified Services to provide daytime programs for people with developmental disabilities. Program Coordinator Megan Hammeke said recent activities have included a program on the importance of fiber, painting a flower pot and planting a marigold, and walking and other exercise programs.
Recreation Program Coordinator Garet Fitzpatrick reported that this year’s children’s theater production at the Crest Theater will be “The Emperor’s New Clothes.”
For the month of April, GBRC had 4,471 enrollments. There were 7,131 participants, of which 2,974 were spectators. The recreation commission provided 857.5 hours of supervised activities.