ALL THE RIGHT MOVES

Serving League City’s Special Needs Community

During a Saturday night this past April, over a hundred teens and young adults gathered inside the gym at Hometown Heroes Park for League City’s first-ever Adaptive Prom. It was a night to get dressed up, dance, and make memories.

Renee Bennett and Kenny Walsh, Assistant Director of Parks and Cultural Services.

For Kenny Walsh, Assistant Director of Parks and Cultural Services, it was a night for him and his staff to celebrate their years of work to expand the services and programs League City provides to individuals in our community with special needs.

Walsh saw firsthand the benefits of a successful city-led adaptive programming effort while working for the City of Allen’s Parks and Recreation Department. When he was hired by League City, he saw an opportunity to start something similar to the program in Allen, but on a smaller scale. In 2017, Walsh reached out to the Verne Cox Adaptive Recreation Center in Pasadena to ask for advice on how to get started and to seek training for himself and the City’s entire recreation team.

The result was the creation of a successful “Family Fun Day” for individuals with disabilities and their families later in 2017. The day included a variety of adaptive recreational activities, and also provided an opportunity for Walsh and his staff to gather feedback from parents regarding their needs and the needs of their children. Fast forward to today, Walsh and his team have built a robust adaptive recreational program that offers special events and services including dances, cooking classes, gardening, and even an adaptive Easter egg hunt featuring beeping eggs for the visually impaired.

Expanding Programs

Shortly after Walsh and his team began the City’s adaptive programming efforts, the Clear Creek Independent School District approached the City about hosting a weekly adaptive physical education program for their students. At first, CCISD provided the staff. Now, League City has its own instructor, and the program is open to anyone on Tuesdays and Fridays from 10 to 11 a.m. at the League City Community Center.

In addition, the Hometown Heroes Recreation Center hosts a variety of adaptive recreational programs for residents of all ages every Wednesday from 4 to 5:30 p.m. From April to October participants can enjoy adaptive water aerobics, and throughout the rest of the year programming varies from Zumba to pickleball and tennis.

Building Community Partnerships

Walsh and the Parks and Recreation Department have also formed partnerships with local groups and organizations that serve individuals with special needs. Shortly after the first Family Fun Day, Renee Bennett and her husband Doug, a League City volunteer firefighter, approached Walsh about collaborating with Hewitt’s Heroes—a program named after longtime League City Fire Chief Art Hewitt. The Bennett’ s started the program to provide an opportunity for their specialneeds son, Christian, and other young adults with disabilities to volunteer once a month at a League City fire station. Since Walsh took over managing the program, Christian and fellow members of Hewitt’s Heroes now volunteer at nearly every adaptive event the City hosts, as

“Our work to grow our adaptive programming efforts is extremely rewarding and reminds me of why I originally pursued a career in parks and recreation. It’s about engaging and listening to our citizens so we can expand and evolve our programming to better serve their needs .”

-Kenny Walsh

well as other Parks and Recreation events. The program is so successful that it was recently honored with the “Innovative Program of the Year” award from the East Region of the Texas Recreation and Parks Society.

The Parks and Recreation Department also collaborates with the Christina Sullivan Foundation, a non-profit that encourages a healthy and active lifestyle for children and adults with intellectual and physical challenges. In the last year, the Foundation and League City have partnered to host adaptive bocce ball and beep baseball—a version of America’s favorite pastime adapted for the blind and visually impaired.

What’s next for Walsh and the Parks and Recreation team? Growing League City’s adaptive program offerings and creating more events to serve special needs children and adults throughout League City and surrounding cities in the Bay Area. Have an idea or want to help League City’s efforts? Email Walsh at kenny.walsh@leaguecitytx.gov

A Message from the Office of Emergency Management

During an event—planned or unplanned— League City’s Office of Emergency Management (OEM) coordinates information both internally and externally, ensures adequate resources are available for responders, and keeps everyone on the same page while working towards common goals and objectives. The OEM works with multiple departments and agencies to coordinate all four phases of emergency management: mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery.