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Health & Fitness

A Great Week for Summit

     Summit was well-represented at the 2014 New Jersey Parks and Recreation (NJRPA) Conference which took place last week in Atlantic City.  In attendance at the conference were Summit DCP staff members Judith Leblein Josephs - Director of Community Programs, Mark Ozoroski - Assistant Director of Community Programs, David Guida, Sophie Mannaerts, Shark Diddy and Scotty McMuni.  Also representing Summit were Chief Robert Weck and Sergeant Rick Proctor from the Summit Police Department, Tim Duetsch and Lou Vecchia from the Summit Fire Department, Kevin Cummings - President and CEO of Investors Bank, as well as Jamie Colucci, newly elected Presiding Officer of the DCP Advisory Board, and Mike Fusco of SummitSoundz Entertainment.


     Both Shark Diddy, icon of the Summit Family Aquatic Center, and Scotty McMuni, icon of the Summit Municipal Golf Course, came fully prepared to present first thing Monday morning along with several members of the DCP staff and the Ringwood Parks and Recreation staff.  Ryan LaCorte of Ringwood, NJ spoke briefly on how the Summit DCP inspired his community to create and develop a mascot of their own, Ringo the bear.  The DCP staff then proceeded to explain all of the necessary steps for maintaining a local icon, covering everything from basic mascot anatomy to the overall promotion and marketing of a mascot within the local community.  The session, although silly at times, was quite informational for those NJ recreational organizations that may be considering a town mascot of their own in the near future.


      Newly elected Presiding Officer, Jamie Colucci and Mike Fusco of SummitSoundz Entertainment both attended the conference as exhibitioners and were even awarded first place for best overall booth.  Colucci, CEO of James Colucci Enterprises LLC, demonstrated his company’s specialty in Aerial Photography and Videography which can be used as a valuable resource to any community willing to show off and market their fields and facilities from a completely new perspective.  In fact, Colucci has offered his Aerial Videography and Photography services to the City of Summit on several occasions.

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      Mike Fusco proudly represented SummitSoundz Entertainment both at the exhibition as well as at various conference events such as the Monday night Hollywood Oscars-themed party.  Partygoers enjoyed their glamour shots in the SummitSoundz photo booth, clutching to their very own Oscar trophies while decorated in an assortment of photo booth accessories and props.  Even Diddy and McMuni posed for a few pictures in between dancing and mingling with the crowd.       


     The following day, Chief Robert Weck and Sergeant Rick Proctor made the Summit Police Department proud as they presented on separate occasions at the conference, Proctor leading a presentation titled “The Active Shooter,” and Weck presenting “Verbal Judo,” a demonstration of communication methods necessary to get out of a potentially heightened situation.  Both Weck and Proctor spoke to packed rooms, giving conference-goers vital information for keeping their facilities and programs one-hundred percent safe.

Find out what's happening in Summitwith free, real-time updates from Patch.


     The New Jersey State Firemen’s Mutual Benevolent Association’s (NJS FMBA) “Where Angels Play – Sandy Ground Project” was later recognized at Tuesday’s NJRPA luncheon with a Board of Trustees Award for the “Summit to the Shore” event, inspired by the “Sandy Ground Project” itself.  This project has helped restore faith in all those affected by Hurricane Sandy as well as the victims of the Newton, Connecticut school shootings.  Committed to re-building 26 playgrounds in the tri-state area, each one dedicated and named in honor of the lives lost at Sandy Hook Elementary School, the Foundation has truly inspired the state of NJ and the world to maintain hope in times of distress.  Those that attended the luncheon were overcome with emotion as they viewed a CNN piece highlighting the significant impact the “Sandy Ground Project” has had on Jersey Shore Recovery Efforts and the families of Newton, Connecticut.  Accepting the award were Summit Firefighters, Tim Duetsch and Lou Vecchia. 


     Investors Bank, a proud sponsor of several Summit DCP events including the “Summit to the Shore” event was also recognized the following night at the NJRPA Awards Banquet.  Kevin Cummings, Summit resident and President and CEO of Investors Bank, accepted the Fay S. Mathewson Award for “Friend of Recreation, Parks and Conservation” which recognized Investors’ remarkable contributions to New Jersey residents and to the Recreation and Parks Profession over the years.  Every summer at the DCP “Hot Summer Nights Concert Series,” Summit residents look forward to being greeted by a “Green Army” handing out ice cream, and other giveaways.  Investors Bank always goes above and beyond simply sponsoring an event.  Rather, they become truly “invested” and take pride in the success of the event, in turn helping the DCP and other local organizations with their community outreach efforts.


     The DCP staff was also proud to have one of their own, David Guida, take home the Agency Marketing Campaign Award for his work in the 2013 “Share the Fun!” Lip Dub Campaign.  Guida’s campaign has helped to reinforce the DCP’s “Share the Fun!” brand, featuring both the DCP Staff and the Recreation Summer Camp lip dub at the DCP’s award-winning “Screen on the Green Summer Movie Series.”  Both lip dubs were choreographed, written, directed, and filmed by Guida himself. 


     In the end, the Summit DCP, along with Investors Bank and the NJ FMBA, were all deeply grateful to have been recognized for their hard work and longstanding dedication to surrounding NJ communities at the 2014 NJRPA Conference.  It is with great pride that the DCP staff will continue to dedicate its efforts to creating and promoting successful community events.  The DCP, along with their proud sponsors, looks forward to “Sharing the Fun!” with the Summit community for many years to come.


For more information on any of the aforementioned companies and organizations, please visit the following links:

www.cityofsummit.org/recreation

http://www.realestatemarketingsupport.com/

http://summitsoundz.com/

http://www.njfmba.org/

https://www.myinvestorsbank.com/home/community/foundation       

 

Become a fan of the Summit DCP by following us on Facebook and Twitter.  Keep the fun going by following Shark Diddy and Scotty McMuni for all of the latest updates from the Family Aquatic Center and the Municipal Golf Course.

www.facebook.com/summitcommunityprograms

www.facebook.com/SummitSharkDiddy

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Scotty-McMuni/591221030969773?ref=tn_tnmn






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