Page 1 - PGA Community News - January '21

VOL. 31 NO. 1 FAX 561-624-9088 • E-MAIL canpga@yahoo.com JANUARY 2021

On behalf of the PGA POA Board of Governors and Staff

we want to wish all of you

a happy and HEALTHY New Year.

Thank you for all you do to make our jobs easier

and for your patience over this past difficult year.

Commissioner’s Update

Make Fitness A Priority facilities, including athletic facilities, campsites, trails and • Carlin Park is a great place to visit the beach, play
beaches, as well as two water parks. These parks include some tennis, or have a small family picnic, and now offers
By County Commissioner more than 8,000 acres of land for residents and visitors a free, new “Functional Fitness” program outdoors for
Maria Marino to explore, offering more than 50 miles of trails. adults and seniors. See the calendar and register at:
One of the highest The county expands its reach in offering programs https://discover.pbcgov.org/parks/Lists/EventsCalendar/
priorities for our community accessible to all residents through public/private EventDispForm.aspx?ID=1017.0.2020-12-07T13:30:00Z
in my view is to expand partnerships with nearly 500 teams, leagues, service &Source=https%3A%2F%2Fdiscover%2Epbcgov%2Eor
and enhance our parks clubs, agencies, homeowner associations, neighborhood g%2Fparks%2FLists%2FEventsCalendar%2FGeneralCo
and recreation systems groups, schools, companies and nonprofit organizations. mmunity%2Easpx&ContentTypeId=0x0102007E5E79B
for the health and well- Whether you are interested in having your child play in C7D09B14D9EBE35EF456801ED.
being of our children and a league sport, enroll in a summer camp, or just increase • Infrastructure Sales Surtax dollars funded a recent
families. This has become their time outdoors, there is a wide array of options in renovation of Juno Park’s playground on Ellison Wilson
even more critical given our community. Road.
the gravitation to remote Here are just a few of the exciting happenings in Palm • Small groups of volunteers are getting outdoors to
learning and working over the past year. Getting outdoors Beach County parks in District 1: help clean our county public park beaches with an eye
and being active is extremely important for mental and • The Gardens North County District Park is meeting toward eliminating discarded plastics that wash ashore,
physical health, and research has shown that students the need for additional multipurpose fields for soccer contributing to a healthy environment while enhancing
perform better scholastically when their days include and other field sports. A partnership of the City of Palm their own physical fitness. Friends of Jupiter Beach has
time for recreation. Beach Gardens with Palm Beach County brought this to regularly scheduled small group cleanups for youth,
Recent studies performed by UNICEF, the British fruition. Phase 2 of the project will include a state-of- family and individual participation. You can obtain more
Journal of Sports Medicine, and sporting marketing the-art indoor recreation facility and will be constructed information at https://friendsofjupiterbeach.org/.
surveys have revealed some startling statistics: through a public/private partnership between the city, the • County Parks’ staff produced several videos for you
• The United States ranks last – 38th out of 38 rich county and a not-for-profit foundation. to enjoy at home, featuring yoga, animal encounters,
countries in the physical health of our children, and 32nd • Limestone Creek Park, one of our oldest neighborhood workouts, DIY activities and more. Check out all the
out of 38 countries in mental health and well-being parks, just received a basketball court expansion with new videos on PBC Parks TV (youtube.com).
• Children in the United States ranked 47th out of 50 backboards. Resident input will help finalize plans for As an athlete since my youth and a professional golfer,
countries in fitness native landscaping. I know first-hand how physical activity enriches our
• Ninety-three percent of children in the United States • West Jupiter Recreation Center plans to host JTAA health, our quality of life and stimulates learning, and I
are not active according to CDC physical activity standards basketball and volleyball youth sports programs this look forward to developing additional programs to help
• Sixty-two percent of all children in America cannot winter with additional COVID-19 protocols in place. our children, families and seniors stay active.
afford to play sports • North County Aquatic Complex has worked closely Please contact me with your ideas and let me know
• Inactivity leading to major physical and mental health with youth swim and dive teams, master swimmers, how I can assist you. You can reach me at (561) 355-2201
issues is dramatically higher in low-income families water aerobics and public participants to allow safe or by email at mmarino@pbcgov.org.
We can help change these statistics for the better by continued activity at the
getting the word out about Palm Beach County’s award- pool, allowing for fitness
winning Parks and Recreation Department facilities and and achievement in aquatic
programs. The county operates 110 parks and recreation sports.