 It is budget crunch time at the Brainerd City Parks and
Recreation Department and todayıs speaker, Director Bruce
Ericson, spoke to us about how he and his staff intend to cope
with the money shortfall. His basic message was one of
encouraging Sertoma to continue to be involved by donating money
to projects and providing much needed volunteers. He especially
emphasized the kids that are involved in the program for fun,
fitness, and learning. His group currently supervises 13 parks
totally between 250-300 acres including the Disk Golf Course
which Sertoma sponsored and the little known but very popular RV
park at Lum Park. The department serves Brainerd residents but
it is utilized more extensively by those in the surrounding
area. In the youth category, for instance, last year saw 1147
registrations with 61% of them not residents. Currently, ten
full time staff and 3 Civic Center Staff are supplemented by
80-100 seasonal employees. The Civic Center is operational year
around and hosts things such as broom ball tournaments, hockey
camps, and shows and exhibitions that generate revenue. The
total amount they have to cut is $140,000, which will mean that
seasonal staff will be reduced by 50%, all seasonal maintenance
people have been cut, and all areas are going to be much more
dependent on volunteer support. Besides volunteer coaches, Bruce
is looking for office help and maintenance workers who are
willing to give a few hours a week to help support these
invaluable programs. For instance, last year their fastest
growing program, Little Buckaroos T Ball expanded from 40 to
180. The Parks and Recreation serves a very necessary part in
the quality of life in the Brainerd Area and deserves our
support. |
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| Announcements |
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March 21 - 5 p.m TWO setups Rohlfings and the Women's Forum
at the Armory 5 p.m |
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March 22 - 4 p.m. Take Down the Woman's Forum |
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March 24 - 5 p.m. Take Down Rohlfings |
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We are looking forward to next Wednesday's meeting where the
Heritage Essay Winners will be presented as the program.
This year's topic was again, "When is freedom worth fighting for?"
Many thanks to Bruce Heilman for heading up this annual event
which has been part of Sertoma for 20 years. Thanks to the judges:
Karen Owen, Pam Sachs, Julia Sullivan and Reed Campbell. |
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Joe Schultes and Last Yearıs Rookies have started a new
fund raiser. They purchased the gossamer ceiling which added a
great deal to their Rookie Party Masquerade and are now renting it
out to other users of the armory. It brings in almost $400 in rent
and is already scheduled enough times to add a couple thousand
dollars to the Rookie Party fund and other Sertoma causes. On
March 13th they set it up and it needs to be taken down March 17th
from 20th 11:30 a.m. Call Joe if you can help |
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FAS: Winner this week was Beth Burnard who read fast and
discovered no names and called Pam first. Runner Up was Reed
Campbell. If Cathy Christensen reads this and calls Pam before
Wednesday next week, she will win her sawbuck. The number is eight
two nine seven seven six one. |
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| Ticket
Winner |
| Reed Campbell, Pam Sachs, Brian Hokkanson,
Bryan Barre--donated to the Serteens for their Rockathon. |
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| Pot-O-Gold
Winner |
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Would have been Brent Rivers |
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| Attendance |
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We welcomed Cathy Christensenısfuture
stepson, Jean who was celebrating her birthday by coming
toSertoma with Dave Burggraff and a potential new member from
the NationalGuard. |
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| Greeter
Schedule |
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| April 2 |
April 2 Brian Lehman, Kathy Bittner Lee
Jean Marshon |
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Rumors |
Which Quality Graphics guy had which Power Loon's husband as a
teacher when he was a senior? By the way, he is singing
"California Here I Come" with a stopover in Vegas. If Joe Brenny
reads this and calls Pam at eight two nine seven seven six one
before Wednesday of next week, he will collect his $10 at the
meeting.
Hmm we sure hope the Serteens got big bucks from old campaign
Gary.
 Speaking of big bucks, what about the guy who takes his
receptionist to a free dinner for her birthday?
Our swinging blonde sergeants were in full force today. One of
them made mention of some talents that might qualify her to take
over Karlaıs job at the Blue Ox. |
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Notes |
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Welcome back Brenda Meech. Brenda brought five members of
her Serteen Club which is currently based in Pillager and they
gave us a report since we are their sponsoring organization. They
meet twice a month at the Pillager Family Center. Their president
was currently on spring break but they gave us a good idea of what
their club does. They have one fund-raiser and one social per
month. They have worked at the Senior Center, the Pillager Fair,
and Camp Confidence. They were part of Gary Walters campaign
staff. They have hauled wood, contributed to Shoes for Haiti, and
helped with Hoofing it for Hart. They are going to stage a
Rockathon (24 hours of continuous rocking in a rocking chair) to
raise money for their projects. See Brenda if you wish to
contribute. You are invited to attend their meetings also. |
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Pipe and Drape |
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2002 Pipe and Drape Schedule |
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Pipe and Drape gets into full swing. Julia Sullivan is heading up
the substitute committee to help out Mike Howard who is
recuperating. She would love to have some experienced help since
she knows nothing about the program.
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