ABCs of DGPD
Wed April 8, 2020
We miss seeing you! We are excited to begin connecting with you virtually with the ABCs of DGPD!
Hello from bill mcadam!
A is for Arts
Anna Fontanetta, Cultural Arts Recreation Supervisor
B is for BEES
Ryan Maywin, Recreation Supervisor, Outdoor Education
C is for Community Athletics
Anna Kish, Community Athletics Supervisor
Even though Community Athletics in groups and out the parks is not possible right now, we still hope you are staying active by playing games as a family at home. Being in your yard together to shoot hoops, hit a whiffle ball or kick around a soccer ball are great ways to stay safe and still get some exercise. Keeping your family active will help you stay healthy, but also prepare everyone to be ready to get back to activities once things resume.
We not only look forward to getting back to work in a usual way but we are really excited to get our programs and activities going again and we can’t wait to see you all soon.
D is for Design
Danielle Strohmier, Marketing & Creative Development Specialist
E is for Events
Darby Beasley, Community Events & Sponsorship Specialist
F is for Fitness
Luke Wyss, General Manager at 4500 Fitness
F is for Facilities
Kevin Rozell, Superintendent of Facilities
I hope you are all staying healthy and safe with your families during this unfortunate time. We miss seeing all of you in our Parks and Facilities. During this time of working at home, I am planning for the future and when we reopen. In addition, I am monitoring all of our buildings weekly to try and prevent any unforeseen issues. We are well aware of things changing of how we operate on a daily basis moving forward. We are looking forward to seeing all of you back in our parks and facilities soon. Stay safe and we will get through this crisis together as a community.
G is for Golf
Ken McCormick, General Manager at Downers Grove Golf Club
H is for History
Felicia Camacho, Recreation Supervisor, Historical Programming
I is for Interactive Tree Map
Mike Stelter, Superintendent of Natural Resources
J is for Join Our Team
Marian Olund, Director of Human Resources
K is for Kid Events
Amy Shearer, Recreation Supervisor, Gymnastics and Events
L is for Leagues
Liz Frazier, Athletic Supervisor
The Downers Grove Park District offers many athletic leagues throughout the year! We offer six athletic leagues for adults - bags, baseball, basketball, soccer, softball and volleyball. And for our youth participants, we offer three athletic leagues - basketball, flag football and soccer. We are eager to get our leagues up and running again as soon as possible! Liz Frazier, Athletic Supervisor at DGPD, hopes everyone is staying healthy and is looking forward to seeing you all again real soon!
M is for Miner Mike's
Josh Williams, Athletic Supervisor
N is for Nature
Kate Johns, Recreation Supervisor, Outdoor Education
O is for Open Space
James Less, Landscape Architects
Open space is essential for our well being. During these unusual times we are experiencing today, open space provides an essential playground for both physical and mental expression while maintaining social distance under current CDC guidelines. The Park District offers various open space opportunities including Patriots Park, Lyman Woods and Belmont Prairie. Whether you are walking, biking, hiking, birding or fishing, open space provides a connection with nature and benefits your overall well being. During these challenging times, we hope you and your family are healthy and look forward to a return to activities when this pandemic passes.
P is for Preschool
Sara Cunningham, Recreation Supervisor, Early Childhood
Q is for Questions
Sally Hayduck, Superintendent of Customer Service
R is for Recreation
Michelle Pusateri, Superintendent of Recreation
S is for Summer Camp
Sam Donovan, Recreation Supervisor, Teen & Youth
T is for Trees
Jim Weimer, Park Forester
Thank you to everyone who participated in our Arbor Day Giveaway Program. You've helped to plant 391 new trees in the Downers Grove community! During this challenging time, we thought it was important to give back to our residents and provide a positive way to promote hope and growth in the community. Here at the Downers Grove Park District, I’m making sure that the trees in our parks are well taken care of so that you'll have a beautiful place to visit if you want to get out of the house during the Stay at Home Order. I can’t wait to see everyone's smiling faces out in our parks soon!
U IS FOR urban forest management plan
Mike Stelter, Superintendent of Natural Resources
I hope “U” all are doing well during this unprecedented time. The District’s UFMP was completed in Fall 2019, based upon information collected during our comprehensive tree inventory. It serves as a flexible road map for tree management in the District for the next 25 to 30 years. Downers Grove Park District currently cares for and manages 5,169 trees spreading over 600 acres of open space.
The long-term Urban Forest Management Plan will help the District:
- Prepare for, and perpetuate the future of the Urban Forest by ensuring continuity in tree care, guide our future tree planting efforts
- Improve the resiliency of the tree population by increasing diversity
- Plan for the reduction of invasive species, such as buckthorn and honeysuckle in the parks
Interested in learning more? Visit https://bit.ly/2ScDMga.
Take care of yourselves and your families, stay healthy and we hope to see “U” in the parks real soon!"
