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Date: 2/10/2021
EAST LONGMEADOW – This year, National Recreation and Parks Association (NRPA) and “Parks & Recreation” magazine’s Young Professional Network (YPN) created its first “30 Under 30,” a who’s-who of up and coming professionals in the world of parks and recreation. East Longmeadow’s Recreation Deputy Director Geordi Emmanuel has been named to that prestigious list.
“It’s definitely an honor,” to be recognized nationally by the industry, Emmanuel said.
East Longmeadow Parks and Recreation Director Donna Prather spoke about some of the reasons Emmanuel excels in the field.
“He’s [an] A-plus, when it comes to customer service. The staff just adore him because he’s such a people person,” said Prather. He’s also been a well-spring of new ideas. Prather said that the department had always offered youth sports, but the deputy director had other ways to engage with the community.
Emmanuel has taken the lead on the town-wide tag sale and egg hunt. He also brought in Safe@Home by Safe Sitter, a program that teaches kids in fourth through sixth grade how to be safe when they are home alone; babysitting classes and has revamped the swimming lessons. Emmanuel said that registration for that program has taken off, “which feels really good.”
Emmanuel’s signature program is the extreme team adventure camp (EXTAC).
“I know there’s a lack of teen programming in the area,” Emmanuel told Reminder Publishing. To tackle that issue, he created a program in which kids go on day trips Monday through Thursday. Some of the destinations include Six Flags, Dave & Busters, Fenway Park, and the beach. On Fridays, the participants spend the day at Pine Knoll Summer Cap, where they have access to swimming, games, sports, arts and crafts.
Emmanuel began with the department in January of 2019. Prior to, that he had worked as a camp counselor in the Rocky Hill, Connecticut Parks and Recreation Department. He then became the Teen Program Coordinator in Glastonbury, CT’s department. While there, he had a conversation with his boss and, though he was in college for business management at the time, he walked away thinking, “Oh, this is something I’d like to do full time.” After a short stint as South Windsor’s sports program coordinator, Emmanuel came to East Longmeadow.
While in Glastonbury, Emmanuel began working with kids with special needs through the twice-monthly social group, the “Friday Night Club.” He still works with the program every other week. “I actually wanted to start something similar here but I haven’t had the time,” Emmanuel said.
Emmanuel’s background in business management gives him an edge in the parks and recreation world. Because the department doesn't receive state or municipal funding aside from salaries and office supplies, any program is pay to play. He said that a large part of the job is balancing programming with costs. For example, the department recently put together a ski trip. Recreation would have broken even if they charged participants $400 but they had to lower the price to make the activity more accessible. Although they lost money on that program, there are others where they make a profit. “It evens out,” Emmanuel said.
Deciding what programming will be successful is another major part of Emmanuel’s job. “Every community is different,” he said. “Something that worked in another community I’ve worked in doesn’t necessarily work here.” He said that being just seven to 15 years older than the people who participate in the programming helps get an idea of what will be of interest. He uses social media to examine trends to see if the things that he was interested in as a child are still popular.
During the pandemic, Emmanuel said that he relied heavily on the YPN. “You’re able to connect with millennials in the field,” and communicate about the creative ways recreation departments have found to continue offering programs.