News: A Note from the Supervisor

This year’s Recreation Department motto is “A 20/20 Vision for Clifton.”

Dear Fellow Residents… Welcome to 2020!
This year’s Recreation Department motto is “A 20/20 Vision for Clifton.”
The term 20/20 vision is synonymous with “perfect vision” but perfection is often challenging to attain.  Maybe a better term is “seeing clearly”.  Perfection is often based on your own views of what it means to be perfect.  If you focus on seeing thing “more clearly” it will help you to see others as they are and less as how you expect them to be. Wouldn’t it be nice if we could recognize in 2020 that most things in life are not about one or the other being “right” but that life would be a little less conflicted if we could apply our critical thinking skills to understand that we all perceive situations differently.   As we improve on our critical thinking skills, we can be more tolerant of others’ points of view.  This will result in helping us to consider that there is always another possible conclusion to any challenges that may arise, giving us a wider view on the method of accomplishing improvement.  Participation in recreational activities provides a great place where people are more open to talking and listening to one another’s views.  Make sure that you engage in recreational activities whenever possible, it will help you improve your vision and to see more clearly.
In 2020, we are placing our department’s energies on providing recreational opportunities that open doors to all ages, abilities, race, creed and genders not only as individual groups, but with mixed and diversified group interaction.  Our vision is to explore ways of how Recreation can contribute toward helping Clifton have a more clear vision for the coming year.  It is one thing to talk about having a vision, but it is another to take action.  A simple quote from Anthony J D’Angelo says, “If you have a vision, do something with it.”  The Recreation Department is going to do something about our vision of striving toward seeing things more clearly in 2020, by incorporating the needs of our community into our programs, our facilities, and our communication with our residents. 
Something New for 2020
The Monday Campaign is a non-profit public health initiative associated with Johns Hopkins, Columbia and Syracuse Universities that dedicates the first day of every week to health improvement.  Mondays have been selected because people view Monday as a day for a fresh start and are more likely to begin diets and exercise regimes, quit smoking, or schedule doctor’s appointments on a Monday than any other day of the week.  There are a bunch of great ideas that are simple for families to incorporate into their weekly routines such as: Meatless Mondays, Kids Cook Monday, De Stress Mondays, Quit and Stay Quit Mondays, and Move it Mondays.  We will be posting information on our website throughout the year for each of these ideas.  Use Mondays to kick start a healthier you in 2020.
 
 “A 20/20 Vision for Clifton”
Debbie J. Oliver
Recreation Supervisor