Parks and Rec

There are 153 posts filed in Parks and Rec (this is page 12 of 16).

Mordecai board splits Interpretive Center vote

I’ve served on the board of Historic Mordecai Park for over two years now as part of my Parks board service. At most meetings we have few things of importance to discuss. Tonight, however, we were presented with location options for the new Interpretive Center. This was the biggest decision I’ve yet had to make as a boardmember.

The problem was, however, that a boardmember quickly put forward a motion to recommend approval of the location, which staff recommends to be adjacent to Wake Forest Road. In the discussion phase of the motion I made it known that I was not comfortable supporting this recommendation and needed more time to think it over. A vote was taken anyway and passed on a 3-2 majority.
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Lots going on

As usual when you don’t hear much from me, there are a lot of things happening at the moment. And they’re good things, really. Can’t complain.

On the work front things are cranking up. I was busy with a few projects which have expanded my knowledge of the product. I was expecting to be traveling south to Orlando next week for a trade show but my plans changed abruptly today when the company realized I should be in New York state instead. So rather than enjoying high temperatures of 80 degrees I’ll be looking at 55 degrees instead. Oh well: at least the work will be interesting! I will be far more active in NY than at any trade show, so my product knowledge will increase exponentially from this change of plans.

Outside of work my community involvement continues. I nailed down the East CAC’s November agenda, and through the magic of Le Calendar I have proclaimed this month’s to be the last meeting of the year. We’ll have a holiday social event and hobnob this month. It’s always one of my favorite meetings.

On the Raleigh CAC front, I’ve been asked if I would like to become chair. I’m not really looking for any more feathers in my cap but I don’t want the organization to lose ground, either. Still trying to figure out if I want to take something else on, though as of now I’m leaning towards “no.”
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Tennis turnaround

Travis’s first tennis lesson was this morning. We headed to nearby Lions Park and arrived in time. I walked up to a young man sitting at a portable table and proudly announced that we were here for the class.

“Uhh, class? Hold on a second,” he said, pulling out his cellphone. After a few minutes of concerned talk, he looked up.

“I’m sorry but there’s no class here,” he said.

I looked over his shoulder at the courts. Every one was being used for singles games. There is almost never a soul on these courts and here they were, full. I glanced at the paper in front of the man: it was a tournament bracket.
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Busy end to busy week

Wow, what a week I just had. I had a sales presentation I had to complete for work, to be done in-between conducting two days of product training for customers. After work I conducted the East CAC meeting Monday night, attended a public hearing Tuesday night, presented at the Raleigh Neighborhood Recognition Awards Wednesday night, went to my first Parks board meeting as the vice-chair Thursday night, took Travis to his piano lesson Friday night and then attended a neighborhood party afterwards.
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Lunchtime bike ride

I co-conducted a four-hour training session this morning at work, so afterwards I was ready to move around some. I’d been looking for someone to go biking with me during lunchtimes so Kelly volunteered to join me. She’s training for her upcoming triathlon so she was motivated.

We got in 45 minutes of intense riding on the Crabtree Creek Greenway, riding ten miles total. It was a pace I’m not used to riding as we usually have the kids along. And, uh, truth be told we were going faster than the greenway “speed limit” so don’t tell anybody!

Now it’s close to 10 PM and I’m feeling a little achy. It sucks getting old!

Reading the script

So, remember how I once vowed to put up or shut up when it came to doing voiceover work? Well, I finally got my chance. Thumbing through the recent Raleigh Parks’ Leisure Ledger, I found an upcoming class that taught voiceovers. With a small price tag and professional trainers in town, I knew I couldn’t let another chance slip away. I signed up for the September 28th class and counted down the days until it arrived.

In the meantime, though, the peculiar, breathless phrasing of the class description caught my eye so I plugged it into The Google. It didn’t take me long to trace the class to its trainers: a group in Vermont called Such A Voice. On their website I watched free online videos which explained the whole process. Soon I felt as if I had taken the class already.
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Political musical chairs in Southeast Raleigh

Political goings-on in my area of town just got more interesting. Long-time Southeast Raleigh activist and Wake County Commissioner Harold Webb has tendered his resignation, citing his health. Raleigh’s District C City Council representative James West is being considered to replace him. Should West get appointed, this will leave a vacancy on the City Council that the Council will fill by making its own appointment. The leading candidate for that is Eugene Weeks, a Democratic Party activist, co-chair of the South CAC, and my colleague on Raleigh’s Parks board.

I have worked with Eugene on parks issues for the last two years and fully support his nomination to the Council, should West be tapped for County Commissioner. Eugene has worked hard to improve Raleigh’s parks as well as his Southeast Raleigh neighborhood. I have no doubt he will work just as hard for the citizens of Southeast Raleigh.

Epic bike ride

At Umstead State Park

Yesterday was my last day at my last job so, being in-between jobs and with the kids in school, I took the opportunity to spend the day bike riding with Kelly. We rode from our house through downtown Raleigh, then on the Chavis Way greenway to Chavis Park. While at Chavis we got a chance to ride the beautifully-restored carousel before heading on. The Little Rock Creek greenway brought us past the Walnut Creek Wetlands Center, at which point we headed west along the Walnut Creek Greenway.
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