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TIMELINE
1984-1987
Island Rec is established in 1984.
The district's first efforts focus on building a community swimming pool.
After operating with no money for three years, voters pass a 5-cent levy
in 1987.
1988
Planning for Children's Park at the
Fairgrounds is begun.
Turn Point Park renovated.
First Children's Festival held.
1990
Children's Park
at Fairgrounds
completed.
1992
First director hired
(Cindi Baker).
Planning begins for
Sunken Park
renovation.
Camp Eagle Rock begins.
1993
Softball, soccer, hockey
programs formed.
Egg Lake Dock
repaired.
Sailing lessons
offered
1995
Sunken Park
re-dedicated
1996
Youth basketball
program begins
San Juan Island
Park & Recreation District
changes its name to
"Island Rec."
1999
Skatepark dedicated
Voters support Island Rec —
approve raise to 10-cent levy
Adult programs expanded
2000
Full time director
(Sally Kerr)hired
Trails Committee formed
2002-2004
Walking program
for seniors starts
Trail mapping gets underway
Websites launched:
islandrec.org
sanjuantrails.org
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Twenty Years Young:
Touching Lives & Helping People Grow
So much of what Island Rec does is woven into the fabric of our community. It's hard to
imagine it hasn't always been here. Twenty years ago, San Juan Island had no Park and Recreation district. No Camp Eagle Rock. No bus to take to the Mariners games. No organized soccer, softball, or triathalon. No Skatepark or Family Park at the Fairgrounds.
1984: Big ideas, big dreams
It all started in 1984. A group of islanders began to work
toward a big idea: a community swimming pool, sponsored
by a newly-formed, newly-elected San Juan Island Park and Recreation District.(That is Island Rec's official name. "Island Rec" was adopted in the 1990s to end confusion with the
County Parks Department, and eliminate phone calls for campsite reservations!)
First came the election of commissioners Janet Wilson, Robert Sandwith Jr., Henry Burden, Becky Sundstrom, and Betty Carlberg in the November election.Then came the
campaign to fund the pool, asking for over a million dollars in
two levies. After the usual exchange of opinion in the local papers Letters to the Editor sections, the proposal was defeated in early 1986.
Although the pool idea went away, the Park and Recreation
District was still in place. For the next few months, commissioners with strong pool interests turned their board seats over to those who had a vision: a genuine park and recreation district,with such things as children's parks, recreation programs, and park renovations.
The dreams were big, but there was no money. After running a levy election to develop a waterfront park and losing, board members successfully asked voters for a 5-cent levy in 1987.
Finally, Island Rec had funds with which to do their work!
That wasn't the only thing that got started that fall...a free children's picnic was held right before the election in Sunken Park. It was so successful it became the first Children's Festival, held ever since. This year marks the 14th edition of a day filled with fun, games, entertainment and food supplied by the people of the island.
1988: Children's Park is built
The Board surveyed islanders and discovered a groundswell of support for some kind of children's park. After searching for locations within the Town of Friday Harbor, County Fair Board
Chair John Evans of Orcas contacted the Board and said, "Why don't you put your Children's Park at the Fairgrounds? We'd love to have you."
Children's Park, designed by John Dustrude, was completed in the early 1990s.The
seals were built by Gordy and Cady Elliot (that's Gordy in the picture, directing his kid
helpers), next to the elegant pole shelter over the barbecue pits designed by Jim Guard.
1990: A decade of progress & growth
After the opening of the family park at the Fairgrounds, Island Rec took on a smaller project, renovating Turn Point Park. This allowed for easy kayak or small boat access to Turn
Point State Park, a short paddle away. Completed in 1992, the renovation addressed the importance of providing public access to the waterfront.
In 1993, the beginnings of the Sunken Park renovation got underway. The project, designed by Jon Roney, was helped along by a $50,000 state grant which was matched by local students' fund drives. Island Rec played a leadership role in helping get the key players -the Town, Island Rec, and the community together to make the project a reality. Completed in 1995, the park was restructured with turn-of-the-century wood sidewalks, a play area, and picnic tables.
1993: Island Rec hires first director
1993 also marked the beginning of Island Rec's recreation programs, with
the hiring of Cindi Baker as part-time director. (That's her with her 1999
fourth/fifth grade basketball team.) With Cindi's arrival, programs began
popping up all over the island. After her first program effort —
a hike led by Dick Wright and Will Hamilton —she began
organizing everybody into everything.
Cindi set up volleyball tournaments, indoor soccer, kid basketball
leagues, sailing lessons, swimming lessons,roller hockey and open skate at the Fairgrounds, tennis
lessons, coed adult softball leagues, and much, much more.
1995: Camp Eagle Rock
In 1994, County Commissioner Tom Starr approached Island Rec with an
offer to use county money dedicated to youth programs. This led to the creation of a day camp
program at Friday Harbor Elementary School called Camp Eagle Rock, which offered island parents a full day program for their kids during the summer.
1997: Skatepark planning begins
With the urging of kids and their parents, Island Rec took on
the task of building a Skatepark.Under the design direction of Jon Roney ,spearheaded by Board member Faye Chafee, and with the fundraising leadership of Jim Ricks and Kerwin Johnson, serious planning got underway in 1997. Pro skateboarder Chris Rampy helped with design ideas.
The park was located at the Fairgrounds next to Children's Park, built with hundreds of hours of volunteer labor, and opened in the summer of 1999.
Lee Sturdivant was an active Board member during this
period of intense focus on park development and renovation. She remembers, "That's the way it's gone. First it was Children's Park, then the renovation of Sunken Park and Turn Point Park,
then the ambitious plan that became the Skatepark. All were put together with the love, sweat, and determination of boatloads of volunteers offering their time, expertise,and backs to do the
heavy lifting required to make first-class parks."
Also in 1999, Island Rec asked for, and island voters approved, a ten-cent levy, which had a direct effect on Island Rec's ability to maintain the programs it had begun, and to look for new
ways to meet the community's recreation needs.
By this time,the programs offered by Island Rec had ballooned in size and number, and it was clear a full-time director was needed. In late 1999, when Cindi decided to move with her
family to the Northeast, Island Rec hired Sally Kerr (at right, running the egg toss at the Fourth of July picnic)as its first full-time director.
2000: New director, new beginnings
Under Sally's direction, Island Rec continued its pattern
of growth, with islanders of all ages now participating in the
increasingly diverse program offerings.
2001-2003 saw a huge boom in expansion of recreation programs, including the popular free Music on the Lawn summer concert series; after school rec for middle schoolers; youth basketball (expands to 6th-8th grade boys and girls); Teen Gym
(offered weekly); the Jon Pettingill Triathalon & Relay, which
raises $2000 annually for youth scholarships; and the Friday
Harbor 8.8K Loop Run,formerly the Journal Run. Island Rec
teamed with the San Juan Fitness Center to keep this 27-year
island tradition alive.
In 2002 a 14-passenger bus was acquired to enhance summer programming for Camp Eagle Rock and RecX. It's used throughout the year for youth and adult programs, including birdwatching, rafting trips, skiing and snowboarding trips, and more.
To enhance the quality and diversity of the recreation program, Island Rec contracts
with professionals to provide yoga, youth sports camps, and nature programs including
those offered by the San Juan Nature Institute.To make the most of limited resources,
we also partnered with the County Health Department to provide the Be Active Walking program, the School District to provide adult and family basketball, volleyball, and badminton programs. The district has also joined with Farmers' Market, and the Soropomists and Kiwanis Clubs to help with special events throughout the year.
Island Rec worked closely with San Juan County Public Works, the Land Bank, and the Port of Friday Harbor to acquire the donation of land from the Lafarge Corporation to be used for development of a community park.
Island Rec worked closely with San Juan County Public Works,the Land Bank,and the Port of Friday Harbor to acquire the donation of land from the Lafarge Corporation to
be used for development of a community park. In 2003, the district went to voters asking for a 20-cent levy increase, part of which would be used for the planning required for future
park development. That levy did not pass, so for now Island Rec will focus on this year's levy renewal to maintain existing programs.
Seeds from the 1990s keep growing
As it enters its third decade, Island Rec has much to celebrate from its short history. The facilities and programs that were once a dream to that first Board are now a reality that
many islanders appreciate and enjoy.
Although that public swimming pool was never built, for the past eleven years hundreds of island children have learned to swim at the year-round learn-to-swim program at San Juan
Island Fitness supported by Island Rec.
Programs initiated by Cindi over a decade ago continue to thrive: The San Juan Sailing Foundation sees nearly a hundred kids and adults each year in spring and summer sailing
classes. Coed softball is now played two evenings a week, with 17 teams participating. Roller hockey and family open skate continue at the Fairgrounds, while Camp Eagle Rock continues to provide an essential service to working families and granparents,as children benefit from safe, healthy, creative
recreational programming. The youth soccer program seeded in 1993 by Island Rec became autonomous two years later, blooming into the present San Juan Island Soccer Association 's 23 teams with over 225 players.
What's ahead: the evolution of vision
Island Rec's vision of what it takes to provide a quality Park and Recreation District continues to grow and change. The present slate of programs offers everyone from kindergartners
to seniors a chance to get involved, and in that there is much to celebrate.
After two decades of incredible growth, Island Rec continues
to serve this island community. The public's requests for more programs and services continue to
grow. Clearly the need for a Park and Rec District has been established.
In the fall of this year, Island Rec will ask voters to renew the current 10-cent levy. Renewal of this levy will see a continuation of our current programs and services for another six years.
This is not a new tax. If this levy fails, the programs described here would no longer exist. We are confident the benefits that Island Rec brings to our community are both clear and appreciated by the people of this island. The first 20 years have been great...and the second twenty hold even more promise.
Board Members over two decades
The all-volunteer elected Board of Commissioners
for the San Juan Island Park and Recreation District
has always included members who not only get things
done, but who are often the ones who actually do the
digging, the coaching, the planning.
Founding members: Janet Wilson, Robert
Sandwith Jr., Henry Burden, Becky Sundstrom, Betty Carlberg,
Jim Guard, Sandy Richard, Mark Schwinge, Beverly
Steele, Dorie Westhoven, Martha Ahart, Marshall Sanborn, Elaine Fleming, Chris Nelson, Lee Sturdivant, Marty Ahart, Dick Morrison.
1990s: Roger Boyer, Dennis Hazelton,Jeff Brash,
Roberta Crist*, Beverly Champlin, Roy Cope, Faye Chaffee, Bill Cumming*, Alan Marriner.
2000s: Janna Gingras, Ralph Hahn*, Denice Brown.*
* still serving
This special supplement to the 2004 Summer Program Guide was prepared by By Design's Ian Byington with the invaluable assistance from former Island Rec Board member Lee Sturdivant and Island Rec staff. Thank you Ian. |
