[From my February 4 column in the Colchester Bulletin]
For excellent reasons, there are many efforts afoot to find ways to collaborate and partner wherever possible. By teaming up to tackle challenges and take care of business, amazing things can happen. In that spirit, I am proud to say that this week Colchester Parks & Recreation took part in a joint venture that could not have succeeded without the participation of numerous contributors.
As anyone who has driven by the Town Green this week knows, there is a massive lit display of a beautiful rose towering over the gazebo. The installation of the rose was conceived by Wallis Johnson, the Director of Colchester Community Theatre’s upcoming production, as a way to promote the show. “Beauty and the Beast”, this year’s presentation, is a familiar and loved story, which includes the rose as a key symbol throughout the show.
Wallis had seen the rose displayed as part of Norwich’s annual holiday lighting exhibit and thought it would be a wonderful tie in to the show. After a few phone calls, she connected with Kathy Relyea, a dedicated volunteer in Norwich who coordinates the annual display. After connecting Kathy with our office, we were able to arrange permission from Norwich to lend it to our Colchester. Upon receiving approval and support from the Bacon Academy Board of Trustees, who actually own that half of the Town Green, we were off and running.
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The next phase, the logistics, was where the teamwork really kicked into high gear. As the Norwich Public Utilities crew dismantled the rose for the season in mid January, a few of our crew members attended to learn how the display was put together. Right away, we were worried that it might not happen, as the set up required the use of two large bucket trucks to reach various points on the forty-foot high spectacle raise the many pieces into place.
Yet, once again, people stepped up to the plate. Ron Goldstein, Chairman of the Board of Education, and an active member of the Community Theatre (not to mention a regular in their productions), reached out to electricians that were willing to donate their time, services and equipment. Answering his call were Higgins Electric, who was represented by electrician Scott Jordan and a massive bucket truck, and Don Sheak and Jason Zajac of Harbor Electrical, who wired the display into the Town Green’s electrical system. The expertise, dedication and professionalism of these people can not be understated.
Of course, one bucket truck would not have gotten the job completed in the time allotted. So once again, we reached out to our colleagues for assistance and we were not disappointed. To the rescue came Billy Standish, of Hebron Public Works, with another truck to help tackle the installation. Our eternal thanks go out to the Town of Hebron for their contribution and we look forward to the opportunity to repay their kindness.
Add to these volunteers the expertise and hard work of our own Parks Crew members and you have a recipe for construction of the rose in near record time. Without their knowledge of the display’s set up and their dogged determination, this project that started out as a dream could not have been realized.
The rose stands now not only as an incredible promotional piece for the upcoming show, but also a testament to the power of teamwork and collaboration. If you have not yet had the opportunity to see it, I urge you to take a spin by the green one evening over the next week.
And, of course, you won’t want to miss the incredible performance of the play. There will be four shows this year: Friday, Feb. 12 at 7pm; Saturday, Feb. 13 at 2pm and 7pm; and Sunday, Feb. 14 at 2pm. More information and tickets are available online at: www.colchesterct.gov/parks . You and your family won’t be disappointed!
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