Great Bend Recreation Commission Monthly Board Meeting
March 9, 2026
Old Business Items:
Reports
ENRICHMENT REPORTS- Garet Fitzpatrick, Enrichment /Activity Center Director
The following is a list of enrichment classes that were held during the month of February:
Pre-School: Jr All-Stars
Family: Imagination Playground, Family Saturday Craft, Toddler Art, Dad & Me Valentines Day Gift for Mom, Special Valentine’s Day Gift, and Daddy/Daughter Date Night.
Elementary: Crafting at Park, Winter Painting Lounge, Joy Snowman, Creative Explorers, Kitchen Crew, Pencil Playground, World of Painting, Valentine’s Love Bug, and Winter STEM Day.
Adult: Oil / Acrylic Painting, Function of Bail in the Criminal Justice System, Donuts with GB Police Department, Tree Planting Techniques, Acrylic Winter Wonder, Intro to Fly-Tying, Fly-Tying Nights, Considering Home Ownership and Wooden Barn Quilt.
We offered Half a Day of Winter Crafts on Thursday, February 19th, for students in grades 1st through 6th. This class was held at the Activity Center from 1:00 – 5:00 pm with students spending the day making winter crafts along with some other organized activities and snacks. We had 14 students registered.
We hosted a Salina Sky Trampoline Park Kids Day Out on Friday, February 20th, for students in grades 1st through 6th. They left the Activity Center at 9:00 am and spent the day at the Salina Sky Trampoline Park and then returned to the Activity Center around 3:30 pm. Students were required to bring their own lunch.
The golf course project is also an ongoing project I’ve been helping Chris with. It’s a lot of excitement for myself and the community, but we have a lot of work ahead of us to see this project be successful.
Summer is in full planning swing. Instructors are secured (as of now), and classes are getting finalized so I can have the information to Megan on March 27th. I’ve started touching base with past aides to see who is interested in returning and will be finalizing aides early this month.
ENRICHMENT REPORTS: Enrichment, Aquatic, Marketing Director-Megan Hammeke:
February Adaptive Activities:
2/3-2/24 – SN Bowling. 122 participants.
2/6 – Valentine Dance. 72 participated and we crowned a King and Queen at the event.
2/11 – Handprint Flamingo – Craft Class. 14 signed up for this craft class.
2/19 – Easy Cooking. 16 signed up for this cooking class.
2/24 – DIY Picture Frame – Craft Class. 13 signed up for this craft class.
February 50 Plus Activities:
2/16-2/17 – Defensive Driving. We had 8 participate in this course.
2/18 – 50 Plus Craft Class. 8 signed up for this craft class.
2/13 – Valentine Party. 55 participated. Congratulations to our royal couple, Delno and Pauline Meyer, who were officially crowned this year’s Valentine’s Day King and Queen.
2/24 – Coffee & Craft Class: Heart Ribbon Wreath. 5 signed up for this craft class.
March Adaptive:
3/3-3/31 – SN Bowling.
3/26 – Easy Cooking
3/30 – Chickadee Craft – Craft Class
March 50 Plus Activities:
3/2 – Matinee Club: Wicked
3/11 – 50 Plus Craft Class
3/24 – Coffee & Craft Class: Chickadee Craft
March Aquatics & Events:
3/16-3/21– Lifeguard Course #1 & Lifeguard Course #2
3/22 – Lifeguard Recertification Course #1
3/28 – PawEsome Easter Egg Hunt and Flashlight Easter Egg Hunt
February Activities:
2/2-2/27 – Fit for Life exercise Class met 12 times and had 447 participants.
2/2-2/276– Midday Stretch met 12 times and had 192 participants.
2/2-2/25 – Yoga met 6 times and had 54 participants.
2/2-2/25 – Cardio Blast met 8 times and had 38 participants.
2/2-2/26 – Gentle Yoga met 8 times and had 131 participants in the 3pm class and met 8 times and had 92 participants in the 6:30 pm class.
2/2-2/25 – Chair Yoga met 8 times and had 191 participants.
2/2-2/25 – AM HIIT Suspension Training met 6 times and had 62 participants.
2/3-2/26 – Sunrise Yoga met 6 times and had 42 participants.
2/3-2/26 – Tai Chi Intermediate met 8 times and had 38 participants.
2/5-2/26 – Tai Chi Beginners met 4 times and had 35 participants.
2/2-2/25 – Rhythm Ride (PM) met 6 times and had 34 participants.
2/2-2/25 - Spin Strength Stretch met 6 times and had 30 participants.
2/3-2/26 – Rhythm Ride (AM) met 6 times and had 39 participants.
2/3-2/26 – Winter Spin & Sculpt met 6 times and had 17 participants.
2/3-2/26 – Flexibility Foundations met 6 times and had 19 participants.
March Activities:
The 2nd Spring session of Fitness classes began the week of April 6.
SPORTS REPORT-Shane Sandberg- Sports Director:
Adult Basketball 3 on 3 league just completed their 4th week of regular season play. 10 teams are competing this season, and we have a log jam in the standings, with 3 teams sitting at 3-1 while another 3 teams hold a 2-2 record so far. We do have a team that is 4-0 on the season, but they are aided by having former NBA and Wichita State stand out Ron Baker on their roster.
Youth Basketball games began on Feb. 21 and will continue until March 14 when we will pause games for Spring Break. Kids return to the court on March 22 to finish out the rest of the season, scheduled to be completed on April 12. We have 33 teams competing across 6 leagues, with games being played on Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., and on Sundays from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Esports open play was back again this year on Tuesdays and Thursdays in February and had a similar turnout to years passed. To add to the fun, some days even saw the parents stay to play with their kids.
Lil Ballers begins again on March 24. These introductory leagues are crucial to the development of young athletes’ skills but can also play a pivotal role in establishing a positive relationship between the families and Rec Sports.
On Feb. 14, we hosted our final youth basketball tournament, partnering with Kansas Roots Basketball. We were able to use the PAC, GBMS Middle School Gyms, and the Activity Center, allowing us to complete over 50 games in one day.
The Spring Adult Volleyball Leagues are currently underway after beginning in early February. 25 teams are playing this season, and all 5 leagues will be wrapped up by April 1.
Adult Pickleball continues on with drop-in league on Sunday night. We have also had beginner level classes being taught by Debbie Munz, with this new group being one of the larger classes she has seen over the past few years.
Attendance Report- Joe Henry, Business Director:
In the month of February, there were 2,497 people enrolled in programs sponsored by the Recreation Commission. Total participation for the month was 11,883 and of that total, 3,191 were spectators. For the month, a total of 1,544 hours of supervised activities were offered.
Last year there were 2,238 people enrolled in programs with participation of 10,534 and included 3,957 spectators.
NEW BUSINESS: Chris Umphres, Executive Director
1. Golf Course Update: Information Item
Update on the golf course progress.
Other Business:
Adjournment