Mayor Thomas Holds First Meeting of Mount Vernon Sports Board
More than 20 stakeholders attended the first meeting of the Mount Vernon Sports Board on Thursday at the Wartburg Conference Center.
Led by Mayor Richard Thomas, the group included teachers, coaches and business leaders who gathered because of their commitment to enhancing youth sports in Mount Vernon.
“Youth sports play a big part in helping kids grow up on the right path to becoming successful adults,” said Mayor Thomas. “But sports also play a big part in the quality of life of the entire community and can play an important role in the local economy.”
Participants included Lowes Moore of the Mount Vernon Boys & Girls Club, coaches Laura Cross and Bob Cimmino and Peter Novak, a coach, public speaker and entrepreneur, who joined the meeting via telephone conference. Novak highlighted the importance of having a group like the Sports Board and the impact it can have on the lives of youth.
The vision behind the Sports Board is to build a “model where youth will be able to engage in recreational and community sporting, and the more promising and committed athletes will advance to varsity, intercollegiate and professional sports.”
The board will focus on four major development areas.
- Intramural/ Recreational Sports
- Instructional/Clinical Sports
- Competitive/AAU Sports
- Interscholastic Sports
“Thursday’s initial meeting of the MV Sports Board brought together stakeholders with strong commitment to the advancement of youth sports, including advocacy for funding, improvements to our parks and field,” said Recreation Commissioner Darren Morton.
By the end of the meeting, the participants committed to vision and organized into four committees focused on: field and facilities development, youth sports quality control; marketing and communication; and advocacy and fund development. These committees will begin developing strategies next month and the collective group will reconvene at least on a quarterly basis.”
Full slide presentation available here.
For more information contact Christina Woo at 914 665 -2362
