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There's always something going on at the Wilmette Park District and we're committeed to keeping you up-to-date on the latest programs, special events, registration deadlines and other issues that might have an impact on your recreational activities. Check our Calendar to find out what's going on in the parks and at our facilities. And if you have questions or comments please send us a message. 

Community Shred Event Scheduled for Sept. 10

9 a.m. to Noon
The Mallinckrodt Community Center
     Dispose of cancelled checks, bank statements, old income tax forms, as well as medications and cell phones in a secure and ecologically friendly manner. Shredding takes place in the Mallinckrodt Community Center parking lot, 1041 Ridge Road. Disposal of medications and cell phone recycling takes place inside the Center. 
     Free donuts and coffee will be available indoors, as well as the chance to enter a raffle for a home shredder and attend two workshops: Plagued by Paper (9:30 a.m.) and Living Green (10:45 a.m.). View a gallery of photos taken around the world by artist Laura Rodriquez. For more information call 847-256-9623. The shredding service is kindly provided by Edens Bank, with additional support from Right at Home and Sunrise of Wilmette.

Centennial Prairie Project Thrives with Boy Scout Assistance

     Boy Scouts from Wilmette’s Troop 2 will return to Centennial Park’s Prairie Garden on Saturday, June 18, to continue planting and nurturing the wetland prairie detention basin project begun in 2010. For the second year in a row local scout Joe Bruner has organized the planting efforts. 
     This year the scouts will be planting hundreds of native prairie species in a
15-foot wide border around the one acre detention basin. The prairie garden is located in the Wilmette Park District’s Centennial Park at the corner of Wilmette Avenue and Hunter Road. Last year’s all day planting project saw the scouts install almost 600 plants (native prairie flowers and grasses) in the upland area surrounding the wetland prairie detention basin. 
     Bruner was awarded the rank of Eagle Scout by the Boy Scouts of America, Northeast Illinois Council on March 13, 2011, for his work. He continued to monitor the project after the planting and noted that the first plant to flower was the late summer/fall blooming purple New England Aster.
     The Centennial Prairie Garden has been filled with native plants that attract birds to their seeds and butterflies and bees to their nectar-and pollen-rich flowers, according to Charlotte Adelman, who originated the idea for the prairie. The project emphasizes an abundance of "host plants." These are native plants that most butterflies require to achieve successful reproduction (egg-laying and caterpillar/larvae food).
     The project was made possible through the generosity of Charlotte Adelman and Bernard Schwartz. To learn more about the plants at the prairie garden which serve as host plants, along with the composition of wetland basin seed mix and a list of the upland prairie plantings, click here.
 

Park Commissioners Seek Volunteer to Fill Board Vacancy

     The Wilmette Park District’s Board of Park Commissioners has announced that Commissioner Dennis G. O’Malley has resigned from the Board effective June 12, 2011.
      O’Malley, who served as a commissioner for eight years, notified the Board by letter that increased travel requirements related to his work made it necessary for him to submit his resignation. O’Malley was first elected to the Park Board in 2003 and had served as president for the past two years. Over the course of his service to the Park District and residents of Wilmette, O’Malley was elected to office three times. 
 Board President James Brault announced that the Board would be accepting applications to fill the vacancy through the next regularly scheduled election, which is in April 2013.
     Residents are invited to submit statements of interest and qualifications by July 8, 2011. Details regarding the application process will be posted on the Park District’s website at www.wilmettepark.org. All applications will be reviewed by a Board committee which will make a recommendation to the full Board. Brault said the Board would like to vote on the appointment at its regularly scheduled August 8 meeting.
     The Board of Park Commissioners expressed thanks to O’Malley for his years of service to the Park District and the Wilmette community.

District Receives Award for Excellence in Financial Reporting

     The Wilmette Park District has been awarded the Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting from the Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada (GFOA) for its comprehensive annual financial report. The Certificate of Achievement is the highest form of recognition in the area of governmental accounting and financial reporting, and its attainment represents a significant accomplishment by a government and its management.
     The Finance Department of the Wilmette Park District, was honored by the Award of Financial Reporting Achievement as the department primarily responsible for preparing the award-winning comprehensive annual financial report. The District received the award in December 2010.
     The comprehensive annual financial report was judged by an impartial panel to meet the high standards of the program including demonstrating a constructive “spirit of full disclosure” to clearly communicate its financial story and motivate potential users and user groups to read the comprehensive annual financial report.
     The GFOA is a nonprofit professional association serving approximately 17,500 government finance professionals with officers in Chicago, IL and Washington D.C.
 

New opportunities for people with disabilities
to enjoy Gillson Park and Beaches 

     Access to Wilmette’s Gillson Park and Beach has been enhanced by a number of options available to persons with disabilities who wish to enjoy the lakefront. The Wilmette Park District and the Wilmette Commission for Persons with Disabilities would like to call attention to some improvements that can make a trip to the beach or park more fun and less frustrating.
     Two plastic beach mat runners, in place throughout the summer season, make it possible to navigate over sandy terrain. A 250-foot long mat runs from the beach house to the shore on the swimming beach, offering mobility-impaired sunbathers and swimmers a flat, supportive, surface to transverse the beach to the water edge. A similar 300-foot long plastic mat is on the sailing beach to assist mobility-impaired sailors, family or patrons.
     An all-terrain manual wheelchair (beach access chair), designed to negotiate sand, water and pavement, is available to patrons who want to assist disabled friends or family members in the enjoyment of the beach and water. The beach access chair provides transport from the parking lot directly into the water. The beach access chair is available upon request in the beach house. Supervision is required. Coast Guard Approved Life Jackets are also available for adults and children throughout the season upon request at the beach house.
     Planning a picnic in the park with family and friends? Wheelchair accessible picnic tables are available at the south and north ends of the Gillson Park Overlook Drive. Each table is adjacent to handicapped parking spaces. A seasonal lakefront parking decal, or Village of Wilmette sticker, is required for vehicles parked on the Overlook Drive. Without a decal or sticker you risk receiving a ticket.
     For additional information on these lakefront resources from the Wilmette Park District, please contact Lakeview Center at 847-256-9656, or Lakefront Manager Holly Specht at 847-256-9659.

Board names new Executive Director
Stephen Wilson's appointment takes effect Jan.1, 2011

     Stephen Wilson has been named Executive Director of the Wilmette Park District, effective January 1, 2011, the Board of Park Commissioners has announced. Wilson succeeds Thomas Grisamore who will retire from his position as Executive Director on December 31, 2010. Grisamore has worked for the Park District since 1972.
      “The Board has the highest regard for Tom Grisamore’s dedication to the Park District and leadership through nearly four decades of service to our community,” said Dennis O’Malley, president of the Board of Park Commissioners. “We will miss his depth of knowledge and expertise.” Grisamore has been the fifth superintendent/director in the Park District’s more than 100-year-old history.  
     “Looking forward, we are delighted that Steve Wilson has agreed to accept the job as the district’s Executive Director,” O’Malley said. “We know our residents can look forward to a continuation and expansion of the district’s quality programs and services.”
     “I am excited and grateful for the opportunity to serve this community in a new role,” said Wilson. “The park boards and staff that preceded me built a highly regarded district that I look forward to guiding for years to come.”
     Wilson, 33, joined the Park District in 2007 after serving as Accounting Manager for the Skokie Park District. A Certified Public Accountant, he also worked as an auditor for several park districts prior to his work in Skokie. Wilson’s duties have included overseeing all financial aspects of Park District operations as well as human resources matters.
     Wilson spearheaded the Park District’s recent technology upgrades which allow it to better serve Park District patrons. One of his top priorities will be the development of a Lakefront Master Plan—addressing user and safety issues along the entire public stretch of land from Langdon Park to the Wilmette Harbor. 
     “I am looking forward to working with our staff and the elected board members to help them continue the Park District’s record of being responsive to the wishes of the community,” said Wilson.
     Grisamore, 65, was born and raised in Wilmette. He came to the Park District via a merger between the Village of Wilmette’s Recreation Department and the Wilmette Park District in 1972. Since joining the Park District Grisamore served as Assistant Superintendent of Programs, Superintendent of Leisure Services, and Superintendent of Facilities and Recreation. 
     Recreation has come a long way since he started working in the business, Grisamore said. Expectations for quality programs are now high, and competition from private industry—especially in the areas of summer camps, golf and fitness—demand a careful balance of fees and program content. “We have seen a growth in the cooperation of facility use and independent contractor services to get a better product for our residents,” he noted.
     The Park District’s unique relationship with Wilmette Public School Districts 39 and 37 has allowed it to provide affordable programming, Grisamore said. “We are unusual (compared to other communities) in the way we work with the school districts which allow us to use some of their facilities when the schools are not in use. It lets us keep our programs affordable while sharing community resources, which is a big plus for the taxpayers.”
      “This has been a great 38 year run,” said Grisamore, adding he leaves the directorship in good hands. “The professional staff is a good mix of long term employees and newer, younger staff members who bring fresh ideas to the community.”
     Wilson is a graduate of the University of Illinois-Champaign and a native of south suburban Matteson. In his off time Wilson likes to play golf, basketball and spend time with his wife and two children. He currently lives in the northwest suburbs.