Rec events reach over 1,000 people in 2019
At this time last year, the City of Holyoke’s recreation department announced a goal to reach 1,000 people in 2019. At the department’s annual review Feb. 12, director Victoria Dunker reported that 1,210 people were reached through 20 events.
Of those participants, 1,025 were kids and 185 were adults. About 300 came from out of town, and the events drawing the largest out-of-town crowds were flag football and the 3-on-3 basketball tournament.
Always cognizant of the fact that her position is funded, in part, by a lodging tax, Dunker shared some numbers resulting from Referendum 2B, which Holyoke voters passed in 2016.
In its first year, the 2.5% lodging tax generated $22,857.03. In 2018, that number grew to $24,362.09, and it went up again in 2019 to $26,446.71. Dunker pointed to that growth as evidence that the tax is not having a negative impact on the local hotels.
A standing goal of the recreation department is to host events that bring people in from other communities and that they will stay overnight.
“We have very nice hotels in this town,” Dunker said. “I’m thankful for the part they play.”
Looking at the tax collected each month in 2019, recreation advisory committee member Trisha Herman pointed out that January through April are slower months for local hotels. It’s during that time that the department could aim for overnight events, she said.
Summer intern is valuable asset
Last summer, HHS graduate Emma Roll interned with the recreation department through Ogallala Commons and Phillips County Economic Development. Roll was the first intern the department has had, and the extra help made a big difference during summer baseball, Dunker said.
The internship was mutually beneficial, and Dunker would like to have an intern join the department this summer as well.
New events added in 2019
Though the standard lineup of annual programs remains unchanged, there were a handful of new events last year, too. Perhaps the biggest of which was Point Guard College.
The prestigious two-day basketball clinic was the first overnight event put on by the recreation department. About half of the participants were from Holyoke, but the rest came from out of town.
In January, the recreation department brought Nuggets Community Ambassador Mark Randall to Holyoke schools to speak to students.
Dunker again partnered with the school for Random Acts of Kindness Day in April. Students helped the recreation department clean up the tennis courts and parks. Dunker said she received feedback from community members who specifically appreciated the tennis courts being cleaned up. In events like that, she added, it’s hard to put a number on how many people were reached. It’s likely that the total number is actually greater than the 1,210 that were able to be counted.
During the summer, Dunker and Roll filled in to lead some senior exercise classes at Sunset View. The classes are regularly taught by community members, but Dunker said that she remains available to fill in when needed.
Annual programs that the department intends to run every year include basketball, the 3-on-3 tournament and the Nuggets Skills Challenge in winter. In spring there are soccer and the Rockies Skills Challenge. Summer includes T-ball, baseball and softball. Flag football and women’s volleyball are the standard winter programs.
While they’re repeated, these programs often see changes and improvements from year to year. Take flag football, for example. In 2019, teams were started in Sedgwick County, Haxtun and Sterling, and they traveled to Holyoke for competition.
Additional events keep residents busy year-round
Some of the recreation department’s events aren’t new but aren’t annual staples either.
In 2019, the department hosted youth activities during spring break. A free movie and a free pool day were both well attended — almost at capacity. This March, the department will host two movies and a pool day.
A second youth golf clinic was also held in 2019 with Brent Vasa as the instructor. Probably half of the participants didn’t have their own golf clubs, Dunker noted, and the clinic truly introduced them to the sport.
At the Phillips County Fair, the department had an informational booth as well as free activities for children.
“It really reaches a different group of kids,” Dunker said of her activities at the fair.
At National Night Out, the recreation department once again hosted a water fight.
One of Dunker’s favorite activities last year was decorating Christmas mugs. Theresa Tharp’s fifth grade class visited Regent Park and decorated mugs with the residents. It’s different than many of the department’s other activities, but Dunker enjoyed seeing the kids interact with that particular subset of the community.
Department builds up resources
As the recreation department establishes new programs, new equipment is purchased and used year after year. Recently the department received a $5,000 grant from the Phillips County Recreation District for three sets of new soccer goals. Soccer is one of the department’s biggest programs, so the new goals will be used by several teams each year.
A different type of resource that the department is building up is its online following. City of Holyoke Recreation has 626 followers on Facebook. That’s up 120 from a year ago. Posts average about 1,000 views with some reaching over 2,200 people. It’s a good resource for getting the department’s information out to the community as well as sharing information for other local organizations.
2020 goals focus on utilizing local facilities, bringing people in from out of town
Throughout 2020, the recreation department hopes to grow existing events and add new ones as well.
Following the success of PGC in 2019, Dunker would like to host it again. She has already been contacted by clinic director Dustin Aubert who wants to return to Holyoke for another PGC clinic. The primary obstacle the department faces is finding someplace to host it. Gym floor renovations at Holyoke High School, Dunker explained, make it unlikely to be available this summer.
Dunker has also received input from community members who would like to see a co-ed volleyball season, and she’s working to make that happen. Again, scheduling gym time is a challenge.
Looking beyond activities that require a gym, Dunker is planning an event at the disc golf course at Homesteaders Park. She is also looking to schedule something in the Bank of Colorado Pavilion.
Tournaments are good for bringing in out-of-town competitors and spectators. Dunker has started looking into adding a fifth and sixth grade basketball tournament and a youth baseball tournament to the department’s schedule. A youth golf tournament was held in 2018 but not in 2019. Dunker would like to bring it back again this year as well.
It has long been a goal to bring Pedal the Plains back to Holyoke, and though it won’t happen in 2020, Dunker said she is trying for 2021.