West Deer is looking for someone to join its parks and recreation board.

The township is accepting letters of interest for a new board member through Thursday, Oct. 15.

The parks and recreation board is made up of seven people. It is seeking one new board member to replace Tracy Harrington, who resigned. The remaining board members are Chairwoman Amy Stark, Vice Chairwoman Arjona Karpuzi, Secretary Carol McCaskey, Nina Jonnet, Taite Hopwood and Sara Kreidler.

The Township is currently accepting Letters of Interest from residents interested in serving on the Parks & Recreation...

Posted by West Deer Township on Tuesday, September 8, 2020

The board meets the fourth Wednesday of each month at 7 p.m. Members are responsible for planning, organizing and hosting recreational events for the community. All the events are free.

The coronavirus cancelled several events the board was planning this year, including the annual Easter Egg hunt and Community Days. Stark said the board is still deciding what to do about its Trunk-or-Treat and Breakfast with Santa events because social distancing isn’t possible for either one.

“We’ve gotten up to 500 people for Breakfast with Santa, and obviously how can you have a whole bunch of people sit on Mr. and Mrs. Claus’ laps?” Stark said. “It’s really, really difficult for us to try to plan things based upon what’s going on. We’re really trying our best.”

The board hadn’t met since the beginning of the year due to covid-19 but started meeting again in August.

Stark said the situation is disappointing because the three new people appointed to the board in January haven’t really had the chance to do anything.

“New members mean new ideas, which is exactly what we wanted,” Stark said. “We wanted some fresh ideas, like farmers markets and community gardens.”

Township Supervisor Beverly Jordan oversees the parks and recreation board. Before she was a township supervisor, she served as board chairwoman.

She normally plays the Easter Bunny at the egg hunt. She salvaged some Easter magic this year by dressing up in the costume and handing out treats from the back of a truck.

“We literally drove around to every neighborhood and street in this town … and just threw candy,” Jordan said.

Jordan said joining the parks and recreation board is a good way to show the community you care.

“It’s something free that kids and families can do. I think there’s a lot of families that don’t have that extra money to do things. It’s just something nice that they can be a part of,” Jordan said of the events.

Stark said even if someone is not appointed to the board, they can always volunteer. Volunteers play a crucial role.

“It’s the community’s parks and rec board. It’s the township’s board. If they have great ideas … or they want to get involved with things, we would love that,” Stark said.

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