Great Bend Recreation Commission Monthly Board Meeting
Date: 10/13/25
Old Business Items:
Reports
ENRICHMENT REPORTS- Garet Fitzpatrick, Enrichment /Activity Center Director
Our fall afterschool programs in the school sites started October 6 and come to an end the second week of December.
This fall we will be offering the following Kids Day Out programs when school has early dismissal and when school is out for the day: Birds & Bugs with KWEC: Monday, October 6th, from 9:00 am – 4:00 pm (canceled, 5 kids), Babysitting 101: Monday, October 6th, from 1:00 – 5:00 pm (canceled 1 kid), Strataca at the Kansas Underground Salt Mine Kids Day Out: Friday, October 17th, from 8:30 am to 4:00 pm, Half Day of Spooky Crafts: Thursday, October 23rd, from 1:00 – 5:00 pm, and Heartland Farm & Bowling Kids Day Out: Friday, October 24th, from 9:00 am – 4:00 pm.
We hosted a couple of Morning at My BackYard Playground events on September 3rd and 17th from 9:30 – 11:00 am. We had several activities set up and some special handouts while supplies lasted. This event was open for children under 5 and accompanied by an adult.
One of the new programs that was offered this fall was Critter Morning at My BackYard Playground. Parents and their children were invited to stop by the My BackYard playground on Friday, September 26th, and meet some of the little critters from the Great Bend-Brit Spaugh Zoo. This free animal presentation started at 10:00 am and lasted approximately 30 minutes. Families were encouraged to come early or stay late and enjoy the playground with other parents and children. We had 15 total participants.
We helped sponsor a Kansas Hunter Education Class on Saturday, September 20th, from 8:00 am – 2:00 pm at the Great Bend Police Training Facility. Tim Boxberger was the head instructor along with 6 other certified instructors. We had a full class of 21 participants ages 11 and older registered for this free class. We had 15 students show up for the class and they all passed the class. The local Ducks Unlimited Chapter also helped sponsor the class providing pizza for lunch.
ENRICHMENT REPORTS: Enrichment, Aquatic, Marketing Director-Megan Hammeke:
September Adaptive Activities:
9/2-9/30 – SN Bowling. Bowling met 5 times and had 175 participate in the weekly bowling program.
September 50 Plus Activities:
There was no other September activities planned as we began preparing for our Fall programming.
October Adaptive Activities:
10/7-10/28 – SN Bowling
10/8 – Stacked Pumpkins
10/17 – SN Halloween Dance
10/23 – Easy Cooking – Pumpkin
10/29 – Pumpkin Decorating
October 50 Plus Activities:
10/6 – Matinee Club
10/15 – 50 Plus Craft
10/21 – Coffee & Craft – Mini Pumpkin Patch
10/31 – Halloween Party at the Senior Center
September Activities:
9/8-10/3 – Fit for Life exercise Class met 10 times and had 318 participants.
9/8-10/2 – Midday Stretch met 13 times and had 191 participants.
9/8-10/1 – Yoga met 7 times and had 52 participants.
9/8-10/1 – Cardio Blast met 7 times and had 45 participants.
9/8-10/2 – Gentle Yoga met 7 times and had 52 participants in the 3pm class and met 6 times and had 53 participants in the 6:30 pm class.
9/8-10/1 – Chair Yoga met 7 times and had 117 participants.
9/1-10/1 – AM HIIT Suspension met 7 times and had 49 participants.
9/9-10/2 – Sunrise Yoga met 7 times and had 41 participants.
9/9-10/2 – Tai Chi Intermediate met 7 times and had 23 participants.
9/11-10/2 – Tai Chi Beginners met 3 times and had 13 participants.
9/9-10/2 – AM Rhythm Ride met 7 times and had 52 participants.
9/8-10/1 - Spin Strength Stretch met 7 times and had 38 participants.
9/8-10/1 – PM Rhythm Ride met 8 times and had 38 participants.
October Activities:
The next session of Fitness classes began the week of October 7th. Below is a list of offered Fitness classes:
Fit for Life & 50 Plus & Fit
AM HIIT Suspension Training
Sunrise Yoga, Yoga, Chair Yoga & Gentle Yoga
Cardio Blast
Midday Stretch & Strength and Spin Strength Stretch
AM & PM Rhythm Ride
Tai Chi Beginners & Intermediate
SPORTS REPORT - Shane Sandberg- Sports Director:
Instructional Outdoor Soccer finished on September 25th. We had 32 4- and 5- year-olds participate this year compared to 18 last year. We did drills for 3 weeks and then played scrimmage games during the final week. The scrimmages are very chaotic but also fun to watch with that age group. Most of those kids are returning for Instructional Indoor Soccer that starts on October 21st. We have well over 50 kids enrolled in that program.
1st and 2nd grade volleyball also ran on Tuesdays and Thursdays in September and we had 25 participants compared to 23 last year. I had a new instructor running the lessons this year and 2 new aides and received several compliments on the program.
K-6th Flag Football started playing games at the beginning of September and the 4th-6th grade and 2nd-3rd grade leagues have already played their championship games. Congratulations to Jason Perry’s Eagles and Dan Quillen’s Barbarians on winning those leagues. The K-1st grade league will play their postseason games on Monday October 13th.
K-8th Outdoor Soccer has also completed their regular season games. The postseason starts Thursday October 16th and championship games will be played Saturday the 18th.
Fall adult volleyball leagues started back up the first week of September and there are 26 teams competing. At this point in the season, it looks like we could have new champions in 3 of the 6 leagues! It will be exciting to see how it plays out over the final few weeks.
Men’s 3 on 3 basketball started their fall league on Sunday September 6th. The league is full with 8 teams for the 4th straight session. Postseason games will be played and a champion will be crowned on Sunday October 25th.
Attendance Report - Joe Henry, Business Director:
In the month of September, there were 3,816 people enrolled in programs sponsored by the Recreation Commission. Total participation for the month was 17,461 and of that total, 8,025 were spectators. For the month, a total of 1,582 hours of supervised activities were offered.
Last year there were 3,991 people enrolled in programs with total participation of 14,338 of which 5,677 were spectators.
NEW BUSINESS:
1. 2024-2025 Audit Presentation: Action Item:
Adams Brown Strategic Allies and CPA’s will be presenting the 2024-2025 audit for approval.
2. Commission Member Appointment: Information Item:
Enclosed is the Recreation Commission Member’s Appointment chart. This year a city position is scheduled to expire on December 31, 2025. Randy Goering currently holds this position. He is eligible to be re-appointed to the Commission Member at Large position for a second term.
3. Auditorium Door Replacement: Action Item:
Included for your approval will be quotes from Jim Lo Glass and Quality Glass to replace the North and South main doors of the City Auditorium. These doors have a lot of traffic coming in and out throughout each year. The doors are not shutting properly and also letting weather in at times. Unfortunately, they are not making parts for the age of these doors. Ultimately, this is part getting the City Auditorium up to date and secure. We will discuss options on Monday. The board accepted the low bid from Jim Lo Glass.