Recreation leader oversees diverse programs

Jennifer Young loves to recreate, and that’s a big plus in her job.

Young, 46, has worked for the Kalispell Parks and Recreation Department for 21 years.

She fell in love with Montana when she came to Bozeman to ski during a holiday break in 1988. She was going to high school in Minnetonka, Minn., at the time.

She later attended the University of Montana and graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Recreation Management.

Young’s tastes include music and personal fitness, and those are big parts of why she loves her job.

Organizing the Picnic in the Park summer concert series is her “biggest accomplishment,” she said. Musicians play in Depot Park downtown in the series, which features rock, blues, jazz, reggae and New Age genres.

“People are calling me from across the Northwest” to play in Picnic in the Park, Young said.

She heard LeRoy Bell and His Only Friends perform in Spokane in September at Pig Out in the Park.  She liked them so much she booked them for July 26, 2011, as part of Picnic in the Park.

Young enjoys interacting with musicians because “they’re very unique and very creative.”

At Picnic in the Park, she sees all ages, from babies to seniors, coming to watch and listen.

“They all know me because I’ve been doing it for 20 years. They’ll come up to me in the grocery store and ask me who’s playing next week. It’s really rewarding.”

She also loves the variety in her job. “Because the seasons change, so do the events. It’s not the same,” she said.

Young helps organize children’s sports activities and an after-school program.

Soccer, basketball, day camp and ice skating at Woodland Park are just some of the things she organizes.

“It’s a feel-good job,” she said. “We don’t get a lot of calls of people complaining.”

Young’s life is very busy.

She is married to Steve Burglund, 55, who also hails from Minnetonka. The two didn’t meet until they were in Montana.

Young has three children from a previous marriage: Hanna Reese, 16, Garrison Reese, 14, and Jackson Reese, 10.

Burglund has two children from his previous marriage: Kyle, 29, and Brett, 26.

“Having the opportunity to get a second chance and meet the love of my life, I feel very lucky,” she said.

“My life is very busy. There’s a lot of flexibility [with this job],” she said. “I come in later or leave early during the week if there’s events on Saturdays. [Parks and Recreation Director] Mike Baker has been wonderful as far as ‘family comes first’,” she said.

Young has a goal to get youths involved in sports and other activities so they don’t become overweight or obese.

“People aren’t spending time as a family outside,” she said. “It’s not the norm anymore. The media has caused parents to become fearful if they let their kids outside to play.”

This is her biggest challenge, she said.

Young began working for Parks and Recreation part time in 1989. She started as a day camp counselor while working as a waitress and as a Big Mountain ski instructor. She was hired full-time as a recreation programmer two years later.

Young was promoted to her current job as recreation superintendent three years ago.

She supervises two employees, Emily Williams and Val Hemsley, and some 100 seasonal employees.

The Parks and Recreation Department had 65 organized activities three years ago.

Due to budget cutbacks, there are 35 now. But children’s programs were spared.

In fact, participation in youth sports activities increased 40 percent from 2009 to 2010, she said. The after-school program also has seen increased activity.

“We averaged 25 kids per day in 2009. This year, we’re averaging 42 kids a day,” she said.

“Parents have realized their priority is to keep their kids active [during the recession],” she said. “People say we provide quality programs at a nominal fee.”

She notes that the city will provide a full-day program for children over the holiday break. A day camp at Elrod Elementary, “Camp Freeze Out,” will feature mini field trips.

The after-school program is one of only two in the state run by city staff, she said. The other is in Colstrip. The elementary school children who participate are bused to Elrod School at the end of the day. Parents pick them up later in the evening.

The city has received a $5,000 federal grant each of the past five years for the after-school program, now in its sixth year.

Some of the programs Young oversees have the advantage of using Kalispell’s Kidsports complex

“It’s one of the premier facilities in the state, or in the Northwest,” Young said.

Some English soccer coaches who came to town last year for a soccer camp “were amazed at the quality of the facilities,” she said, noting the coaches had been to California, Nevada, Washington, Utah and Colorado.

Although she loves her job, Young doesn’t plan to stay until she retires for good. “In 10 years, I would like to do something different.” That would be as a personal trainer and/or photographer.

Young taught Pilates, a core strengthening program for women, for four years, but is not teaching currently. “That’s where my passion is,” she said.