I Gotta Feeling...
It doesn’t sound as good when I say it compared to the Black Eyed Peas, but you get the gist. I gotta feeling that this place, this community, is alive and well. It’s easy to stay with the status quo and to avoid change. Sometimes we get content with the way things are and sit back and coast through. It’s not that this is bad; sometimes taking a break is a healthy thing. But, striving for excellence, for better, for continuous improvement – that’s admirable. It’s courageous.
At EJRP we added a high school rec soccer league this fall. It was the brainchild of an EHS senior – Reece Tanguay, and served more than 50 high schoolers. Over 500 community members attended the first annual Pumpkin Fest at Maple Street Park on a nice fall Saturday. Meanwhile, the ground was tilled and cover crops were planted on 40 new community garden plots for next spring at the West Street Community Gardens. In this brochure you’ll see that for the first time we are offering winter swim lessons and proudly opening a new community fitness studio – Aspire.
Throughout the greater community there are citizens hard at work on building a Bike Park and soon a Dog Park. The Heart & Soul of Essex community group aspires for a better Essex, one that develops with the input and guidance of the people. Truly a novel idea. Citizens are meeting to enhance participation and interest in the Village Annual Meeting. And, our local government has a proposal that is gaining traction that would seriously alter traffic patterns at the 5 Corners.
Our youth are no slouches either. Just recently they held a sit-in to promote diversity and tolerance, and won an MTV Above the Influence contest. Our kids were one of four selected from 400 communities across the country to host an unwasted weekend, celebrating making substance free choices. The proceeds from the weekend will go to Unified Sports, supporting athletes with intellectual disabilities.
So you can see why “I Gotta Feeling.” There’s an energy about this community lately, and it’s contagious. I’m fortunate to live and work with so many dedicated, hard working, caring people. People who aren’t afraid to step outside of the box, and do so not just to say they stepped outside of the box, but because they truly see a better, brighter, more efficient, more effective, more inclusive way.
Yours Truly in Recreation,
Brad Luck, Director