Next Thursday, Sept. 14, the Great Bend Recreation Commission and the Great Bend Chamber will be getting together at the City Auditorium to mark a special community milestone.
At 10 a.m., they will have a ribbon cutting to celebrate not only the completion of the building interior’s sprucing up, but also to continue the Rec’s 75th anniversary.
“The City Auditorium looks soo good,” gushed Megan Hammeke, who heads up the Rec’s aquatics and adaptive programs, as well as serving as the organization’s marketing director. “It’s all been painted, with the basic white and accents in our logo colors. It will be exciting to do the ribbon-cutting in there and have the people come in so they can see it.”
Following the ribbon cutting, Director Chris Umphres and the Rec’s sports staff have planned activities for the rest of the day, featuring programs that are held in the Auditorium, Hammeke noted. “They’ve worked up some challenges and stations,” she said. “They will have stations on anything that we actually host in the City Auditorium.”
There will be prizes for winners as well as refreshments. The fun continues through 4 p.m. so that kids can come down and participate after school lets out for the day.
“That way, we’ll be able to catch everybody,” Hammeke noted.
Ongoing celebration
It’s been a busy last couple years for the Rec, as there have been administrative changes as well as the City Auditorium revamp. Diann Henderson retired in October 2022 after four decades of service as executive director. Prior to her leaving, Umphres was named Henderson’s successor, continuing 16 years of service with the Rec Commission.
It was while Umphres was sifting through paperwork that he realized the Rec’s big anniversary was getting close.
“He was looking through some papers and then reminded us, ‘Holy Smoke, the 75th anniversary is coming up,’” Hammeke said. “That was when we decided to spread the anniversary out throughout the year, rather than pick just one big day.”
A kickoff event, literally, was celebrated Aug. 25 in tandem with Great Bend High School’s football jamboree. The ribbon cutting, as well as Santa’s Workshop in December, will have a 75th-year flavor, Hammeke said. The Rec’s fall Activities Guide also has a retro look, she noted.
“We want a continuous celebration with the community that says it’s been 75 years,” she said. “Some people only do things in the fall, or the winter, or spring or summer depending upon what their interest is, so doing it this way will catch everybody.”
More than a painting class
The Recreation Commission has been active in Great Bend since 1948. Carl Soden was hired as its first director a year later. “A lot has happened since then,” Hammeke said, noting that Soden’s challenge was to build activities using existing facilities scattered around the city. It’s interesting to note, she said, that there have only been four directors, including Soden, throughout the 75-year time span.
Meanwhile, the face and public perception of community recreation has changed, she said.
“We look at recreation differently now than we did back then,” she said. “We take a serious look at what it takes to have fun.
“It’s way more than swimming lessons or a painting class.”
Hammeke has a unique perspective among her Rec peers, in that she can see the overall picture presented by GBRC’s programming.
“In my job, I get to see it the most,” she said. “With me being aquatics, and adaptive and everything, I’m kind of the catch-all. I get to see every side of everything we do. It’s not just taking a painting class any more.”
As an example, Hammeke noted that the Rec’s Fit For Life exercise class has been meeting Wednesday mornings for more than 20 years. The class still has some original members, she said.
“It started as a grant program,” she said. “It’s evolved and changed over time, but there are ladies that have been in the class since the beginning. The class gets out at 9:30 a.m., but they then come out and have coffee and catch up.
“They check on each other, send out get well cards and things. It builds that community within the community for them.
“A lot of our programs are that way,” she said. “They involve sections of the community that might not have a way to connect and socialize without there being a Rec program that can provide the common ground.”
