Welcome to MRC's new e-newsletter, Community Connections. Throughout the year, we will send MRC news and stories. If you have a story to share about how MRC has impacted your (or a family member's) life, please email it to sarah@midcoastrec.org by October 15 and your name will be entered into a drawing for a free 6-month fitness membership. This quarter, our newsletter features Tennis for Fun, MRC news briefs, info about a new community program, upcoming fall programs and events, and stories about Bruce Meyer and John Bennett. We hope you enjoy it and will share it with friends and family on social media. Thank you! |
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20 Years of Tennis For Fun |
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Each Monday afternoon at Midcoast Recreation Center, Tennis For Fun (TFF) athletes work hard at improving their tennis game. Team members give high-fives and encourage each other when they see a good shot, and there are smiles all around. Founded by Nathan and Judy Moore, TFF provides free tennis instruction for athletes with special needs, giving participants the opportunity to have fun playing tennis, to learn basic skills and to socialize with each other. TFF specializes with athletes of all ages that are intellectually handicapped, especially those with Down Syndrome. All special needs athletes who qualify for Special Olympics are welcome to join. TFF is run entirely by volunteers who give time and equipment. For the past twenty years, MRC has donated courts and provided volunteer instructors to keep the program going strong. On October 11, the MRC Tennis For Fun team will head to the 2022 Special Olympics Tennis Competition at Bates College. If you are interested in getting involved as a volunteer or participant, contact Judy Moore at 813-417-3751. Check out the video below to see how TFF athletes celebrate birthdays. |
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Vote for MRC's Community Program |
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In 2021, MRC hockey players Dexter and John had an idea. They wanted all kids in their community to be able to skate anytime they wanted to. For their 9th birthdays, they gave up gifts and instead asked everyone they knew to donate skates for their "Pay it Forward" program. In partnership with Midcoast Recreation Center and the St. George parks and recreation department, their family put a lending library/locker right next to their community's outdoor rink. All winter long, community members borrowed skates and spent time at the rink - all for free! We want to expand Dexter and John's idea to provide skating and tennis equipment lending libraries in underserved communities to give more people access to skating, hockey and tennis. We need your help! MRC has applied for a grant from WinterKids and could receive up to $10,000 to launch the project with lending libraries and free learn to play clinics. Grant winners will be determined by community vote. Each person can vote one time per email address between 9/1-9/30. Please vote today and help us spread the word to others! |
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In Tennis News, fall tennis groups and classes started September 12 and the courts are full of players and activity. Weekly UTR events and USTA leagues began last week. On October, 22, MRC will host a benefit tournament and silent auction to raise money for scholarships and court resurfacing. A Junior USTA tournament will be held October 29-30. Click here for more tennis information. In Ice News, the rink is going in this week. The 2022-23 ice season will kick-off September 25 with a figure skating show, Grace: The Power of Dance on Ice. Storm Clinics begin September 26. Skating and Hockey programs start the week of September 28 and the Bruins Academy program begins October 7. Click here for more arena details and registration. In Fitness News, memberships are available and include unlimited fitness and open skates and some free tennis and pickleball on the weekends. Click here for more info. In Pickleball News, all pickleball programs have moved back to the tennis courts. Open play fills up quickly, so sign up today. Learn to play Pickleball classes will meet on Wednesdays at 9am (sign up through Five Town Adult Ed). The pickleball tournament schedule will come out in October. Private lessons and contract times are available. If you are interested in serving on the MRC Pickleball committee to help with tournaments, programs, and discussing outdoor courts, see Craig Wilson. Click here for more pickleball info. In Golf News, the summer discount will extend to October 31. The $15 discounted hourly rate (regularly $35/hour) will continue for one more month. Golf programs begin in November. The junior program and league will begin in December. Goose River Golf Club members will continue to have a discounted rate starting in November. Click here for more golf info. Below, check out the video of the MRC arena getting painted and ready for the ice-making process. Come to the Arena's first live event this Sunday - Grace: The Power of Dance on Ice, featuring US Open Champions Kseniya Ponomaryova and Collin Brubaker. Click here to purchase tickets (use discount code GRACE2022 for $5 off). |
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In each edition of Community Connections, we will introduce you to MRC community members who make a difference. To nominate someone for a feature story, email sarah@midcoastrec.org. |
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Bruce Meyer has taught tennis at MRC for more than 20 years. "Tennis has been my constant companion," he said. Throughout his life, he has worked tirelessly to bring people together, both on the tennis court, and in various parishes during his work as a Lutheran minister. His dad taught him to play tennis as a child in Bellevue, Ohio, and he played competitively on his high school team. He went on to play college tennis at Capital University in Ohio. During his seminary years, he coached the Capital University team, and later found ways to be involved with tennis wherever he and his wife Martha served - in Maryland, New Hampshire and Maine. His all-time favorite MRC program was the Friday Night Mixer, which brought together people of all ages and abilities for about twenty years. He and Martha have also worked tirelessly to alleviate world hunger. The annual Hunger tournament (complete with the Meyer Man Challenge) has been a great source of joy and fulfillment for Bruce, along with seeing multiple generations of Meyers enjoying tennis together. When asked what it is like working for his son (Seth Meyer), Bruce said, "Seth tells me what to do, then I do whatever I like, then he tells me, 'Good job, Dad!'" Bruce says the greatest sound is laughter coming off the tennis court, and the sound of a tennis ball hitting the sweet spot. John Bennett, MRC's longest running Zamboni driver and skate sharpener, is still going strong at 80 years old. When the MRC facility was built more than 20 years ago, John and his son, Mike, poured the cement foundation. One day, Mike asked the Arena Manager if he needed a Zamboni driver. Soon after, John was hired. John grew up playing hockey and enjoys telling stories of people he has played with and venues he has played at. He had a short stint as a young person driving a Zamboni, back when the Zamboni was a tractor. He remembers shoveling the front out when he had finished driving it around. John spent the majority of his career working in the automotive industry as a technician and selling auto parts. Most importantly, he was devoted to raising his children. "John is a good man," Jesse Simko said, "He is never late to work and always steps up when people need help. He almost never calls out sick unless it’s for a really serious reason. John is trustworthy, loyal and dependable both on and off the ice. Many people trust him to sharpen their skates over anyone else in Maine, and he is absolutely trustworthy with our ice. I am pretty sure John can run the Zamboni with his eyes closed at this point." If you see Bruce or John around MRC, take a moment and thank them for their wonderful service to MRC over the years and for making our community a better place. |
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Annual Benefit Tournament & Silent Auction |
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MRC's annual tennis benefit tournament and silent auction returns in October after a two-year hiatus due to covid. All proceeds from this event will support junior tennis scholarships and the resurfacing of the tennis courts (coming in spring 2023). The tournament will be held October 22 at 1pm and is open to 32 players. A catered meal will be provided for tournament participants at 4pm. The silent auction will conclude at 5pm and will feature a variety of items, including this beautiful CedarWorks playset. If your kids or grandkids would enjoy this, be sure to get your bid in and bid high. Other items will include a weekend getaway at Appleton Retreat, an overnight stay and gift certificate at 16 Bay View, a vacation in Prince Edward Island, various works by local artists, gift certificates to local restaurants, gift baskets, and many more items. A complete listing and a link to online bidding will be sent October 1, and a printed booklet will be available at MRC in October. To bid on any of the items (between October 1-22), stop by MRC, call 207-236-9400, or bid online at midcoastrec.org. Click here to register for the benefit tournament. |
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Did you know that MRC is a nonprofit? Program fees only approximately 85% of the actual cost, and we need to raise $150,000 annually to cover operating expenses, special programs and facility improvements. We want to continue making MRC programs accessible to all through our scholarship program. Please consider making a tax-deductible donation today. You can donate by cash or check, using a credit card or making a stock gift. There are a variety of sponsorship and advertising opportunities available. There are also naming opportunities for donors who want to name a program or section of the MRC facility in honor of a loved one. Consider including MRC in your will to leave a lasting legacy in our community. For more information about charitable giving, contact Sarah Glenn at 207-236-9400 or sarah@midcoastrec.org. |
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