Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to Pulse of the Region, brought to you by
the Metro Hertford Alliance. The Metro Hertford Alliance collaborates with
investors and partners to elevate the Hartford region through economic
development work, convening the community around shared challenges, and providing
local chamber support. Learn more about their mission and how
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Region is produced in partnership with oak Hill. O'kill was
(00:22):
originally founded as a school for the blind in eighteen
ninety three. Oakhill has provided holistic, person centered services for
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With empowerment and independence as its guiding principles. OKILL works
in partnership with the individuals it serves to provide residential, educational,
and enrichment opportunities. Learn more at okillct dot org. Now
(00:45):
here's your host for Pulse of the Region, Kate Balman.
Speaker 2 (00:49):
Hello, Hello, and welcome to Pulse of the Region, the
show where every week we get to highlight all of
the incredible things that are happening here throughout the greater
Hartford Region. I'm your host, Kate, and here today in
the iHeartMedia Studios with our guests, we have a packed house.
I usually don't get this many visitors, so I'm quite
excited today. We have a great group with us as
today we are getting the pulse about the Hertford Police
(01:12):
Athletic League. We're going to be hearing all about their programs,
the corporate support they receive from the community, and we're
going to talk about community partnerships with many of the
organizations here and one specifically with the Hertford Yard Goats.
So again we have quite the group joining the conversation
here today. First is the executive director of the Hertford
Police Athletic League also known as pal It is Harry Beluchi.
Speaker 3 (01:35):
Harry, welcome to the show.
Speaker 4 (01:36):
Thanks thanks for having us.
Speaker 3 (01:38):
Of course, of course.
Speaker 2 (01:40):
And next is he is the chairman of the board
of Directors for Hartford pal it is David Jorgensen.
Speaker 3 (01:46):
So Dave, David, welcome to the show.
Speaker 4 (01:48):
Thanks so much for having me, of course.
Speaker 3 (01:50):
No, we're very excited to have you here.
Speaker 2 (01:52):
And with the Hertford Yard Goats we have Tim Restall.
He is the general manager who I'm sure many of
us listening all know are big fans of the yard goos.
Speaker 5 (02:00):
Right, Tim, I hope so, Kate, I hope you are
you know that's all about yes and our friends of
the PAL, so thanks for.
Speaker 2 (02:07):
Having me on of course, no thrilled to have you
here today, Tim. And last, but certainly not least additionally
from Hartford PAL is we have Sergeant Nicole Mordeshevitz. She
is the PAL supervisor. So Nikki, welcome to the show.
Speaker 3 (02:21):
Thank you. Great to have you here.
Speaker 2 (02:23):
And we also have Vinnie Marfella who is one of
the PAL coordinators or the PAL coordinator.
Speaker 3 (02:28):
So Vinnie, welcome to the show. Thank you of course,
of course.
Speaker 2 (02:32):
So first things first, always love to do some introductions
and Harry will put you on the spot first if
you don't mind. If he's given me the look like
I don't know about.
Speaker 3 (02:39):
This, let's go. If you could talk and just tell
us about.
Speaker 4 (02:43):
PAL okay, you know.
Speaker 6 (02:45):
Harford PAL is an initiative design to foster positive relationships
between law enforcement and the Harford community. The program's aim
is to create a supportive environment for youth, promoting engagement
through various activities mentorship opportunities. By focusing on building trust
and communication. At Harford POW, we seek to address related
(03:06):
to youth violence and crime. Encouraging young people to develop
skills and confidence in a safe and nurturing environment. Through sports,
educational enhancement programs, and community events, Harford PALE provides children
and teams with constructive outlets and the chance to interact
with police officers in a non confrontational setting at PAL.
PAL helps Harford youth build valuable life skills, but also
(03:29):
enhances community safety by cultivating mutual respect and understanding. Here
at Harford PAL, we represent a proactive step towards creating
a more cohesive and resilient community where young people are
in power to thrive and law enforcement is seeing as
a partner in their development.
Speaker 2 (03:47):
Thank you so much for that overview and certainly such
incredible work that the organization does here in a Hertford
and Nikki and Vinnie would love to get your perspective
on if you could talk, you know more and kind
of expand on that relationship really between the Hartford Police
Department and the kids that participate in the PAL program.
Speaker 3 (04:05):
Yeah, sure, so.
Speaker 7 (04:07):
Being an officer and interacting with the kids in through
sports or in a way that they don't really see
us in uniform all the time that will then connect out.
So then when I see them on the street or
if any sees them on the street, they're very they're
more likely to interact with us in a more positive way.
If they're with their friends, there's that easy catch all
that they can all Yah, we've already dealt with them.
(04:29):
So that's that kind of breaks that barrier down.
Speaker 2 (04:32):
Definitely, Definitely, and any anything you want to add in
there too.
Speaker 8 (04:36):
Now, just just like Niki said, you know, we're we're there.
You know, the kids come to us, they see us,
you know, as as a role model, and you know,
if they need help with something where they have questions,
you know, they expect a good answer from us, and
you know, and I think that's what we're there for
where there, you know, to help them and just build
a good rapport with them and you know, make them
(04:59):
understand and you know, we're just like them and we're
here to help and give them what they need.
Speaker 2 (05:05):
Definitely, No, that's great. And Dave, you've served on the
board of Directors for many years.
Speaker 3 (05:09):
I won't age you.
Speaker 2 (05:10):
I don't know how many years, but I'll say many.
Speaker 1 (05:13):
Many.
Speaker 9 (05:14):
Many's an appropriate term. No, it's since twenty twelve, Okay.
I got involved in twenty twelve, and it actually kind
of it started with sort of a kitchen conversation with
another board member, Mike Clifford, who's our president now as well,
and I had just finished helping him coach his son
in Pop Warner football, and we're talking about the fact
(05:34):
that we really wanted to see more opportunities for kids
at Hartford to have those athletic opportunities, and we said,
you know, how can we make this happen? And we
were talking with a friend, nevill Brooks, who was a
former deputy chief here was a cop in Hartford for
a long time, and he said, he said, stand by,
I think you need to talk to Chief Ravella. We're
(05:56):
working on some stuff with the Police Athletic League and
it's actually pretty timely. So we went over and sat
down with Jimmy Ravella and I jokingly say, he made
me an offer I couldn't refuse. And he said, you know, unfortunately,
our Pal program, which has been around in the city
Hartford since nineteen fifty seven, so it's a you know,
long running program. There are pals all over the country,
(06:17):
but it had been in Hartford since nineteen fifty seven.
And he said, you know, we're facing some pretty severe
budget cuts.
Speaker 4 (06:24):
You know, these are the days call it.
Speaker 9 (06:26):
You know again twelve years ago when the city was
really trying to write size itself financially. In the police
department unfortunately was facing the same cuts. So he said,
you know, our thought is to create a five O
one C three to kind of take on the business
and the administration and the marketing of PAL so that
you know, whatever police resources he did have available he
(06:46):
could allocate to kind of working with the kids and
not doing a lot of the other stuff that a
five oh one C three could take on. So so
we did it. So we basically started a five oh
and C three from scratch, We drafted bylaws, we recruit
board members, and here we are today, you know, bigger
and better than ever.
Speaker 2 (07:05):
I was going to say, and we'll talk a lot
about that growth because certainly over the last several years,
some incredible work being done and you know, certainly a
lot of partners that are helping along the way. And Tim,
you know, the first things first, I'm sure many listeners
are familiar with the Yardgoats, but if you don't mind
given just a brief overview in case someone maybe hasn't
experienced the minor league baseball here and sit.
Speaker 5 (07:23):
Yeah, so we're a minor league baseball team that plays
about seventy games in downtown Hartford at Duncan Park. It's
DOAA Baseball, which means that it's great, great level of baseball.
We're affiliate with the Colorado Rockies, so you get to
see some major league futures and prospects coming through right
it's through Hartford, so it's a great opportunity. And we
(07:44):
have six thousand seats so it's always a fun time,
especially in the summertime to catch on the Yardgos game
and cheer them on.
Speaker 2 (07:52):
Definitely, and a great partnership between the yard Gooats and
PAL if you could talk a little bit about that relationship.
Speaker 4 (07:57):
Yeah, I was.
Speaker 5 (07:58):
I was actually thinking about this on the way over.
It was prior to even the ballpark shovel going into
the ground. In the ballpark, we connected with Dave and
Vinnie and I believe the first event we ever did
was with the turkeys around Thanksgiving time and then then
next event is we actually had an extra batting cage.
So before even Duncan Park was built, we donated a
(08:20):
batting cage to Pal, So before we were playing baseball,
we've been involved in them, and since then and Harry's
come on board, we've had pal Pal kids come out
to games enjoy things at the ballpark, baseball clinics. We
had a playoff game last year where we got to
(08:40):
bring out sixty Pal kids and get to cheer on
the yark out. So we do a lot with Pale
and Harvard amazing.
Speaker 2 (08:48):
That's great, and certainly you know a lot of programs
that Pale is offering, and you know, I'll throw it
over to you, Harry, if you could talk a little
bit just kind of you know, overview of some of
this programming.
Speaker 4 (08:59):
Wow, that's pretty extensive here.
Speaker 7 (09:02):
Hours.
Speaker 6 (09:02):
Yeah, Well, you know, I'm gonna hand this off to
Vinnie because Vinnie is the program director and a lot
of these initiatives are our teamwork that between myself, Vinnie
and Nikki, we've added programs quite a few programs along
the way, So.
Speaker 8 (09:18):
Thanks Harry. So you know, like Carry said, we offer
not only a variety of sports but also activities. So
just a few of the things we do is basketball, softball, hockey,
flag football. We label it as boxing. We have a
few kids whose parents sign them up through USA Boxing
(09:41):
and they you know, we take them to competitions and
they actually do some fighting, but otherwise it'd be more
of a cardio workout or you know, prepping and just
getting ready or learning techniques for boxing. Another good one
we brought on was martial arts. At first that was
very like, I'm like, should we do it? Should we not?
(10:04):
And we went from having ten kids so about fifty
kids in the martial arts program, volleyball, soccer, a dance program.
Nikki would probably benefit most with this one, unified sports.
She could, you know, go more on that one. On
an educational portion, we have homework club, math and STEM
(10:26):
just brought in a robotics program and we'll be going
to competitions with robotics mentoring culinary class which is very popular.
Everybody wants to learn how to cook and not only
could but eat the food, which they enjoy exciting, an
art class, and the most recent we're going to be
(10:46):
bringing on this esports. It's become popular out there. There's
other pals that are doing it, boys and girls clubs.
So we're going to pair up with other organizations and
start doing esports.
Speaker 6 (10:57):
Okay, fantastic yeah, we thought about bringing on these sports
and Ben brought it to me and now that is
a CIAC high school official sport. They literally have a
state championship in that and they haven't really started it
in Hartford schools. So our thought process was, hey, if
we can bring kids into PAL and they can really
(11:17):
learn how to do this, maybe when they get to
the high school level, there's enough interest where if enough
kids go to the principal and say, hey, we want
to start an esports team. It is a CIAC sport,
and that's part of the deal. What can we give
these skills that when they go to the high school
they're able to participate and as we know, if you're
any kid in high school that participates in sports is
(11:38):
more likely to stay out of trouble, more likely to graduate,
more likely to get better grades. That we could fill
the whole stadium with research on that. So adding those
educational enhancement aspects like the I can tell you a
quick story. John Cantyon, who is a former rocket scientist
at NASA, is a volunteer at PAL and he does
(11:59):
he does a math and STEM program and he was
working with a bunch of kids and what he tried
to do, is see where they are and see if
he can move them forward. Well he had he found
a kid. He came out, he goes, you know, Jose,
and I said yeah. He said he's a genius. I said,
what do you mean. He said he was doing multiplication.
Within three weeks, he's doing algebra two. Goodness and what
(12:20):
Jose said, I didn't know I was smart, said I
didn't know. Well, these kinds of programs where John is
pushing them forward and you know, getting them where they
really are instead of just kind of going along with
where they are in class. So those kinds of things
happen and make me so proud to be part.
Speaker 2 (12:36):
Of how I definitely no, that's I'm sure so many
stories like that.
Speaker 3 (12:40):
And Nicky, I don't know if.
Speaker 2 (12:41):
You want to chime in a little bit more kind
of on the programming and some of the activities you're
involved with a lot.
Speaker 7 (12:47):
So one of the programs, well, we just started up hockey.
Our first our first day on the ice was yesterday
and the kids, from what I understand, they had a
great time. We're going out tonight back to the Accel Center,
so we appreciate all their health.
Speaker 2 (13:00):
Well, I was just gonna say, these kids are not
just skating in some little rink.
Speaker 3 (13:03):
I mean they're they're on center ice correct in the
big leagues. Yeah, So but the kids love it. They've
been super excited.
Speaker 7 (13:11):
We've got like twenty five kids going to that right now,
so that that's up and running. And then our unified
sports program, which we're on our second year with Special
Olympics actually approached us, actually approached all the PALS to
try to get more unified sports programming within our different programs.
So obviously the police department is very intertwined with Special Olympics.
Speaker 3 (13:34):
We do tort Run.
Speaker 7 (13:35):
I sit on the Torch Run Council, so that was
an obvious Yes, we've had a great success with that.
We've done unified basketball, the kids have gone out and
we came home with the gold medal last year. So
we're gonna start floorball. We have about eleven kids in
that program and.
Speaker 3 (13:51):
The goal of it is really not just for.
Speaker 7 (13:53):
Unified sports, but they've actually come to PAL programming just
at regular power programming, like they've they've now moved in
transition to where they're coming in out of the building
and they're just involved with all of us which is great.
Speaker 3 (14:06):
So that's been a huge success. Nice. That's great to hear.
Speaker 2 (14:09):
And you mentioned the building and this is something that
a few years ago there's you know, Peal invested in
a new facility and David flowed love if you could
talk about this transition and really what the facility brings
to the community.
Speaker 4 (14:21):
Yeah.
Speaker 9 (14:21):
Well, you know, so for those who don't know, we're
in the old Quirk Middle School. And Quirk Middle School
was around for some forty years and was closed down
in two thousand and six I believe, and one half
of Quirk was converted into the Global Communications Academy, you know,
brand new, beautiful building and our half, unfortunately was the old,
(14:42):
tired side, but had some really good bones to gymnasiums,
an auditorium, a pool, a bunch of classrooms. But it
was really I think we all agreed, it was a
really dark and tired old building. And while we were
doing good work, you know, the heat it was either
a thousand degrees or one, agree in the building. It
was just a lot of a lot of old mechanicals,
(15:03):
a lot of stuff that just needed to be done.
And you know, it was on it was on the
list for the city to be renovated a couple times,
and again, you know the city budget issues that we
were facing over the years, it just couldn't get done.
So at one point I said, you know what, let
me let me go to some friends at the at
the state and see what we can get done there.
And so I approached the state delegation, Matt Ritter, John
(15:25):
von Fara, Julia Concepcion, Jimmy Sanchez, folks in the Governor's
office as well. This was Governor Maloy at the time,
and I said, you know, guys, we have this great program.
It's also a regional asset. The police academy, the Hartford
Police Academy is in our building as well, which is
a regional asset. And I don't think a lot of
people realize that, you know, our police academy actually trains
(15:49):
police officers for a lot of the surrounding towns as well.
It's not just Hartford cops. So I kind of made
a play to them and said, listen, you know this
is this is a regional asset, but it's more important.
We're delivering a really you know, a really much needed service,
not only these kids and families, but also for our
law enforcement officers who you know, we wanted to create
(16:10):
better relationships with, so they found a way to to
to raise some money for us. I think all in
it was about eight million dollars that they came up
with for us from state bonding ass money, and they
were able to get get this renovation off the ground.
We didn't get to do everything we wanted to, but
we got the really big stuff done and we were
(16:32):
able to turn this place into a new, functional, modern
space with lots of light, and I think the kids
and also our staff and our officers are are more
happy to be there now. You know, it's a it's
a fun, inviting place to be. You know, we've got classrooms,
we redid the gymnasiums. We've got a kitchen, like a
(16:53):
full working kitchen where we're doing a lot of these
cooking classes and training as well. We have a band room,
we have the stem lab, you know computer lab, and
we have you know offices obviously for our staff and
classrooms for our kids. We have the boxing gym downstairs,
which is a pretty state of the art boxing gym,
(17:14):
and then we also have the batting cages that Tim
mentioned that the yard goats so graciously donate to us.
We have those set up downstairs as well, so now
it's a facility that really can serve all the different
programming that we want to deliver. We have the capacity
to take in even more and more kids as well.
So really proud of that project and you know, happy
(17:34):
that we were able to get it done.
Speaker 2 (17:35):
Definitely and would love to hear you know, Nick, you
and I'll start with you first just the impact of
this new facility kind of for yourself personally, but then
also what you're seeing from the kids.
Speaker 7 (17:45):
Well, I mean the kids come in and every time
we add something new, it's always fun to see like
their reaction to it, Like especially when people have never
been in our building.
Speaker 3 (17:52):
If they come down and see like there's a.
Speaker 7 (17:54):
Batting cages down there, the kids light up and they're like, Oh,
I want to do this. You know. That's kind of
what we're giving them opportunities for things, and that's kind
of like the cool part about what we do. I
get to see the reaction of kids, like when I
get to take them to Baltimore and they get to
go on a plane for the first time, or you know,
travel out of the city. Those are things that we're
giving them those first time moments that are important. So
(18:17):
that's cool.
Speaker 3 (18:18):
That's kind of the cool thing.
Speaker 2 (18:19):
So important there, and of any anything kind of from
your perspective on just the opportunity to have all this
new updated facilities.
Speaker 8 (18:28):
Now, it's like what Dave and Nikki said, it's a
great opportunity. It's challenging to me because I'm always there
trying to get more done. So I'll go to Harry
and Dave and the board and be like, hey, can
we get this room fixed next? And this room fix next.
It's just the reaction and seeing the kids go through
this year to year because they're you know, constantly coming
(18:51):
back to us. It's not just hey we're there for
a month and we're not coming back now, the kids
coming back continuously. I've been there for eight years now,
and it's seeing the same faces, watching the kids grow
and just being there and just you know, trying to
find new spaces or new ideas or new programs.
Speaker 4 (19:10):
Come up with.
Speaker 8 (19:11):
It's just it's fantastic for them and just the reactions great.
Speaker 3 (19:16):
That's wonderful.
Speaker 2 (19:17):
And one question I was remissed and asking Harry is
about how many kids do participate in pal on a
year to year basis.
Speaker 4 (19:24):
Well, Vin has the numbers on that, does it.
Speaker 2 (19:26):
Okay, very sorry, I'm putting you on the spot, Harry,
Sorry about that.
Speaker 4 (19:29):
So the numbers do fluctuate, you know.
Speaker 8 (19:32):
Realistically kids that come into our building yearly it is
probably like between three fifty to like five hundred. Well,
we also have areas in you know, in the school,
so we do after school programs that one of the
schools in Harford in the South End, and then there's
another school in the South End, so it's like two
(19:53):
to three locations we actually also go to. Okay, so
it's not only our building that serves as a location.
We actually go into schools and we do programs with
other schools. So at an average year, we're probably reaching
out to over a thousand kids.
Speaker 3 (20:09):
Wow, that's wonderful.
Speaker 8 (20:10):
Just between all the programs and the different schools that
we go to.
Speaker 3 (20:15):
Okay, nice.
Speaker 6 (20:17):
There's something new this year is now we are partners
with our Harford public schools, which is why we were
able to bring what we call pal Saddle lights to
Naylor School in Harford, m d. Fox where we're talking
to the Burns principal that's going there and if we
if we end up in burn school will probably be
servicing about two hundred kids a day in PAL and
various different programs, which is important. But the one thing
(20:39):
we didn't talk about about the building is we will
soonly soon have a new renovated auditorium and once we
get that done, we had a contract with Hartford Stage,
but obviously it took a little longer to get the
auditorium done, as it always does any construction. So once
we get that done, we'll be offering theater classes, music classes,
(21:03):
dance classes right so now because we have more we'll
have more space in Pound now. So that's something that
I'm super super excited about. And the fact that we're
able to a big problem in the city for a
lot of the parents is transportation.
Speaker 4 (21:17):
Can they get their kids to PAL? Can they get
them home?
Speaker 6 (21:20):
By us being able to work with the Hufer Public
School system, we're able to now bring PAL to them
and obviously, you know, hiring more staff and that's where
the donations come in to be able to pay for
the expanding program and to be able to continue to
expand and be able to pay for these programs, which
we're excited about. So PAL is growing to every part
(21:40):
of the city and we're so excited about that.
Speaker 2 (21:42):
That's great and real quick too, is it's the PAL program.
Excuse me, there is free for any child that wants
to participate.
Speaker 4 (21:49):
Correct, There is never any charge for anything at PAL.
And what beautiful thing about PAL.
Speaker 6 (21:54):
If some kid at Naylor School is coming on Monday
to nailor PAL, but he sees there's a boxing class
on Wednesday at PAL, he's already a palkad. He just
has to come to Palate sign up. He's a Palkad
no matter where he goes. So yeah, that's that's super exciting.
Speaker 3 (22:09):
That's great.
Speaker 2 (22:09):
And where would parents go or families go if they're
interested in getting their kids involved?
Speaker 6 (22:13):
Well, the first thing I would do is send them
to the website, uh, and then they either give a
call and Vin will set up an appointment where they
can come in. The big thing is we want to
meet the parents. We want to sit down and talk
with the parents, right because that's important to have the
families engage in what we're doing here at PAL. And
then they'll give Vin a call and they'll come in
(22:34):
and they'll sit down and we'll register them and then
we give them a choice of what you know, pals
off program based. There's no kids just sort of running
around there. If you come in, you go to a
program and then they pick their child schedule and then
off you go.
Speaker 3 (22:48):
Okay. Nice.
Speaker 2 (22:49):
So it sounds like, Tim, we're gonna need some more
tickets with all this expansion.
Speaker 4 (22:52):
Absolutely, absolutely so.
Speaker 2 (22:54):
And I would love it, you know, Tim, to hear
a little bit more. You know, it's so important. It
seems through the yard gootes to you know, we hear
it from you, We see it every day in the community.
Speaker 8 (23:02):
But it's so.
Speaker 2 (23:02):
Important for you to give back, and if you could
just talk a little bit more about kind of the
why behind that.
Speaker 5 (23:06):
Absolutely you know, oftentimes I say, we're in the business
of putting smiles on people's faces at the ballpark, and
what better organization to do that with PAL helping support
the community of Hartford and also with the Harvard Police Department.
You know, it's something that you know, we always talk
about want to leave this place better than we found it,
and I think doing this and being involved in PAL
(23:26):
is one of the first organizations that we partner with
here and be able to see their growth and be
able to help and support them from their golf tournaments
to their charity events or whatever the case may be.
We've always been always there with the pal folks to
support them.
Speaker 2 (23:42):
Definitely know and then in addition to a lot of
other partnerships you have throughout the city throughout the state,
if you could, you know, highlight a couple of those or.
Speaker 5 (23:49):
Again I was going to say, you think, Harry took
a lot of time, I would take a lot. But
you know, we work with a lot of organizations throughout
the state that we always help and you know, we
oftentimes focus on the youth and making an impacting youth.
Speaker 4 (24:05):
But we do a lot.
Speaker 3 (24:06):
So that's great. Well, thank you so much for that.
Speaker 2 (24:09):
And the last piece I want to touch on, and
you know, Harry you started to talk about is the donations.
You know, certainly a lot of it does come down
to corporate support, individual support, and Dave wanted to kind
of start off if you could talk a little bit
about the corporate support and also your board. It seems
you have an extremely engaged board and if you kind
of talk about this group and what that does for
the organization.
Speaker 9 (24:28):
Yeah, well, you know, I think a lot of this
starts with the board and obviously we you know, we
we all the board members are volunteers, right, They're they're
they're donating their time, their money, their connections to kind
of help the mission of PAL. And so you know,
you've got obviously myself as chairman. You've got Mike Clifford
as president. He owns BRD Builders up in the North End.
(24:50):
He owns a North End business, he owns a Hartford business.
You've got Peter Getz, former Hertford Police Department detective who's
been working at EDNA now for the last probably fit
fifteen years or so. You've got Cynthia Saliz who's been
an attorney with Apartment and Children and Families the State
Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection. And then you've
(25:11):
got Matt Gyaski who's a principal with Clifton Larson and
Allen who's our treasurer. So you know, we try to
try to have folks who bring different skill sets and
and you know, and take care of the different responsibilities
for us. But without without those folks and the rest
of our board who you know, I can't mention everybody here,
but you know, we just we couldn't get it done
without those folks out there sort of shaking the trees
(25:34):
and building the brand and making the connections to help
our staff deliver the programming to the kids. You know,
from a corporate perspective, obviously, the yard Gooats have been huge,
huge partners of ours, and I will say Tim never
says no to anything, at least when it comes to us,
So we appreciate that. But I know, you know, they
(25:55):
get pulled in a lot of different directions, but these
guys are truly committed to our city and to our kids.
It's you know, Travelers has been there from the beginning.
These folks and Andy Bissett and Marlene Iibsen and Aaron Haberman,
they've been there with us since the beginning. Really really
helped us get the five one CE off the ground.
Without them, there's no way we could have done it,
(26:17):
made it. Made a meaningful commitment to us in the
beginning that really helped us get this thing going. The
Hartford has been with us for many years as well.
ETNA obviously through Peter and his folks. Laz Parking has
also been a huge supporter of ours over the years.
Jimmy Marzy, Alan Lezowski, Louis Enrieks so we appreciate all
(26:37):
of those corporate partners, and without them, we couldn't do it,
and really they kind of paved the way for us.
And now we're able to get more and more funding
from the state and from the city as well. So
now you know, kind of the whole thing is just
really snowball. But without those sort of initial partners that
I mentioned, you know, I don't think we're here today
talking about you know, the scope and scale that that
(26:57):
pal has reached, right.
Speaker 2 (26:59):
And the which is just incredible, and you know, her
if you could touch a little bit individuals who may
be looking to potentially donate time or you know, certainly
funding resources, if you talk a little bit how they
could get involved.
Speaker 6 (27:11):
Yeah, Volunteer opportunities are always available if you go to
our website, give Vin a call, and if you want
to come in.
Speaker 4 (27:19):
I think that's how we ended up with the robotics.
People may come in.
Speaker 6 (27:22):
And volunteering and now we have this huge, awesome robotics
program and any program that you can do hands on
with the kids, they absolutely love. And here's the thing,
it doesn't matter whether it's twenty five dollars or ten
thousand dollars. Every single dollar helps build programming at PAL.
It's important. We also another aspect that we also employ
(27:43):
twelve to fifteen Harford teenagers who are counselors there who
have a group of ten kids and they bring them
to different program So not only that we're providing kids
with programs that keep them safe and off the streets,
we also provide jobs for teenagers in Harford.
Speaker 4 (27:58):
And it's an awesome process.
Speaker 6 (28:01):
But in saying that, you know, all of this takes
help from everybody, not just the corporations, from regular people,
from anybody who thinks, hey, PAL is a good program.
Speaker 4 (28:11):
Let's donate twenty bucks, you know. And we do have
a pool of that.
Speaker 6 (28:15):
So if anybody wants to get a pool named after him,
it's about three million dollars.
Speaker 4 (28:18):
They can not right about that.
Speaker 6 (28:21):
The thing here, you know, the one thing I want
to say about Tim is is I called Tim three
or four times a year, and you know, just to
say hi, and they're usually an ask. And what I
never hear is no, I just said, Tim, I need
some tickets for a baseball game. His next question is
how many do you need? And then two seconds later
they're in Vinnie's account and we're taking kids to ball game.
(28:43):
So Tim just appreciate you know, Baseball's come on, get
them whatever we need. It's never no, it's always yes.
So thank you Tim for all you do for Harford PAL.
Speaker 4 (28:52):
You're a great partner.
Speaker 9 (28:54):
Yeah, and I would say for the city also. You know,
I don't pump Tim's tires too much.
Speaker 5 (28:58):
Here I'm gonna say this, this this podcast is not
about it's about PAL.
Speaker 4 (29:02):
But but it is.
Speaker 9 (29:03):
But it's also about creating an identity and and uh,
you know some pride in our city and I think
the yard goes do that and they help us do
that at PAL as well.
Speaker 5 (29:12):
Absolutely well, like I said, we're in the business is
putting smiles on people's faces and going you know, when
I took the tour of Pale earlier this year and
I could see all the kids in the new areas,
and I mean, I you know, Dave, I remember walking
through there about over ten years ago. It's a much
different space. And so you know, to see those areas
being utilized and here the team talk about all the
(29:34):
programming that's being involved. You guys are making a huge
impact in the community.
Speaker 4 (29:39):
So thank you guys.
Speaker 3 (29:41):
Definitely. Well with that, we will close out. If someone
what is the Powell website.
Speaker 9 (29:45):
I know we've mentioned it a couple of times. It's
Hartford pal dot org.
Speaker 2 (29:48):
Hartford pal dot org fantastic and Tim for those looking
for maybe some gift ideas for the holiday season.
Speaker 5 (29:56):
Option yeah, yard Goots baseball dot com where you can
visit our store.
Speaker 4 (30:00):
The Ballpark.
Speaker 2 (30:00):
Fantastic. Well, thank you guys so much for being on
the show today. Again, I love all the visitors. This
was wonderful but truly making a huge difference in the community.
Speaker 3 (30:08):
So thank you to each of you, and thanks.
Speaker 2 (30:10):
To your teams and for all the details about today's show,
you can visit Pulseoftheregion dot com. A big thank you
to our show partner Oakhill, and of course thanks to
you for listening.
Speaker 3 (30:19):
I'm Kate Bauman.
Speaker 2 (30:20):
Go out and make today a good day here in Connecticut.
Welcome to Pulse of the Region, brought to you by
the Metro Hertford Alliance. The Metro Hertford Alliance collaborates with
investors and partners to elevate the Hartford region through economic
development work, convening the community around shared challenges, and providing
local chamber support. Learn more about their mission and how
to get involved at Metrohartford dot com. Pulse of the
Region is produced in partnership with oak Hill. O'kill was
(00:22):
originally founded as a school for the blind in eighteen
ninety three. Oakhill has provided holistic, person centered services for
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With empowerment and independence as its guiding principles. OKILL works
in partnership with the individuals it serves to provide residential, educational,
and enrichment opportunities. Learn more at okillct dot org. Now
(00:45):
here's your host for Pulse of the Region, Kate Balman.
Speaker 2 (00:49):
Hello, Hello, and welcome to Pulse of the Region, the
show where every week we get to highlight all of
the incredible things that are happening here throughout the greater
Hartford Region. I'm your host, Kate, and here today in
the iHeartMedia Studios with our guests, we have a packed house.
I usually don't get this many visitors, so I'm quite
excited today. We have a great group with us as
today we are getting the pulse about the Hertford Police
(01:12):
Athletic League. We're going to be hearing all about their programs,
the corporate support they receive from the community, and we're
going to talk about community partnerships with many of the
organizations here and one specifically with the Hertford Yard Goats.
So again we have quite the group joining the conversation
here today. First is the executive director of the Hertford
Police Athletic League also known as pal It is Harry Beluchi.
Speaker 3 (01:35):
Harry, welcome to the show.
Speaker 4 (01:36):
Thanks thanks for having us.
Speaker 3 (01:38):
Of course, of course.
Speaker 2 (01:40):
And next is he is the chairman of the board
of Directors for Hartford pal it is David Jorgensen.
Speaker 3 (01:46):
So Dave, David, welcome to the show.
Speaker 4 (01:48):
Thanks so much for having me, of course.
Speaker 3 (01:50):
No, we're very excited to have you here.
Speaker 2 (01:52):
And with the Hertford Yard Goats we have Tim Restall.
He is the general manager who I'm sure many of
us listening all know are big fans of the yard goos.
Speaker 5 (02:00):
Right, Tim, I hope so, Kate, I hope you are
you know that's all about yes and our friends of
the PAL, so thanks for.
Speaker 2 (02:07):
Having me on of course, no thrilled to have you
here today, Tim. And last, but certainly not least additionally
from Hartford PAL is we have Sergeant Nicole Mordeshevitz. She
is the PAL supervisor. So Nikki, welcome to the show.
Speaker 3 (02:21):
Thank you. Great to have you here.
Speaker 2 (02:23):
And we also have Vinnie Marfella who is one of
the PAL coordinators or the PAL coordinator.
Speaker 3 (02:28):
So Vinnie, welcome to the show. Thank you of course,
of course.
Speaker 2 (02:32):
So first things first, always love to do some introductions
and Harry will put you on the spot first if
you don't mind. If he's given me the look like
I don't know about.
Speaker 3 (02:39):
This, let's go. If you could talk and just tell
us about.
Speaker 4 (02:43):
PAL okay, you know.
Speaker 6 (02:45):
Harford PAL is an initiative design to foster positive relationships
between law enforcement and the Harford community. The program's aim
is to create a supportive environment for youth, promoting engagement
through various activities mentorship opportunities. By focusing on building trust
and communication. At Harford POW, we seek to address related
(03:06):
to youth violence and crime. Encouraging young people to develop
skills and confidence in a safe and nurturing environment. Through sports,
educational enhancement programs, and community events, Harford PALE provides children
and teams with constructive outlets and the chance to interact
with police officers in a non confrontational setting at PAL.
PAL helps Harford youth build valuable life skills, but also
(03:29):
enhances community safety by cultivating mutual respect and understanding. Here
at Harford PAL, we represent a proactive step towards creating
a more cohesive and resilient community where young people are
in power to thrive and law enforcement is seeing as
a partner in their development.
Speaker 2 (03:47):
Thank you so much for that overview and certainly such
incredible work that the organization does here in a Hertford
and Nikki and Vinnie would love to get your perspective
on if you could talk, you know more and kind
of expand on that relationship really between the Hartford Police
Department and the kids that participate in the PAL program.
Speaker 3 (04:05):
Yeah, sure, so.
Speaker 7 (04:07):
Being an officer and interacting with the kids in through
sports or in a way that they don't really see
us in uniform all the time that will then connect out.
So then when I see them on the street or
if any sees them on the street, they're very they're
more likely to interact with us in a more positive way.
If they're with their friends, there's that easy catch all
that they can all Yah, we've already dealt with them.
(04:29):
So that's that kind of breaks that barrier down.
Speaker 2 (04:32):
Definitely, Definitely, and any anything you want to add in
there too.
Speaker 8 (04:36):
Now, just just like Niki said, you know, we're we're there.
You know, the kids come to us, they see us,
you know, as as a role model, and you know,
if they need help with something where they have questions,
you know, they expect a good answer from us, and
you know, and I think that's what we're there for
where there, you know, to help them and just build
a good rapport with them and you know, make them
(04:59):
understand and you know, we're just like them and we're
here to help and give them what they need.
Speaker 2 (05:05):
Definitely, No, that's great. And Dave, you've served on the
board of Directors for many years.
Speaker 3 (05:09):
I won't age you.
Speaker 2 (05:10):
I don't know how many years, but I'll say many.
Speaker 1 (05:13):
Many.
Speaker 9 (05:14):
Many's an appropriate term. No, it's since twenty twelve, Okay.
I got involved in twenty twelve, and it actually kind
of it started with sort of a kitchen conversation with
another board member, Mike Clifford, who's our president now as well,
and I had just finished helping him coach his son
in Pop Warner football, and we're talking about the fact
(05:34):
that we really wanted to see more opportunities for kids
at Hartford to have those athletic opportunities, and we said,
you know, how can we make this happen? And we
were talking with a friend, nevill Brooks, who was a
former deputy chief here was a cop in Hartford for
a long time, and he said, he said, stand by,
I think you need to talk to Chief Ravella. We're
(05:56):
working on some stuff with the Police Athletic League and
it's actually pretty timely. So we went over and sat
down with Jimmy Ravella and I jokingly say, he made
me an offer I couldn't refuse. And he said, you know, unfortunately,
our Pal program, which has been around in the city
Hartford since nineteen fifty seven, so it's a you know,
long running program. There are pals all over the country,
(06:17):
but it had been in Hartford since nineteen fifty seven.
And he said, you know, we're facing some pretty severe
budget cuts.
Speaker 4 (06:24):
You know, these are the days call it.
Speaker 9 (06:26):
You know again twelve years ago when the city was
really trying to write size itself financially. In the police
department unfortunately was facing the same cuts. So he said,
you know, our thought is to create a five O
one C three to kind of take on the business
and the administration and the marketing of PAL so that
you know, whatever police resources he did have available he
(06:46):
could allocate to kind of working with the kids and
not doing a lot of the other stuff that a
five oh one C three could take on. So so
we did it. So we basically started a five oh
and C three from scratch, We drafted bylaws, we recruit
board members, and here we are today, you know, bigger
and better than ever.
Speaker 2 (07:05):
I was going to say, and we'll talk a lot
about that growth because certainly over the last several years,
some incredible work being done and you know, certainly a
lot of partners that are helping along the way. And Tim,
you know, the first things first, I'm sure many listeners
are familiar with the Yardgoats, but if you don't mind
given just a brief overview in case someone maybe hasn't
experienced the minor league baseball here and sit.
Speaker 5 (07:23):
Yeah, so we're a minor league baseball team that plays
about seventy games in downtown Hartford at Duncan Park. It's
DOAA Baseball, which means that it's great, great level of baseball.
We're affiliate with the Colorado Rockies, so you get to
see some major league futures and prospects coming through right
it's through Hartford, so it's a great opportunity. And we
(07:44):
have six thousand seats so it's always a fun time,
especially in the summertime to catch on the Yardgos game
and cheer them on.
Speaker 2 (07:52):
Definitely, and a great partnership between the yard Gooats and
PAL if you could talk a little bit about that relationship.
Speaker 4 (07:57):
Yeah, I was.
Speaker 5 (07:58):
I was actually thinking about this on the way over.
It was prior to even the ballpark shovel going into
the ground. In the ballpark, we connected with Dave and
Vinnie and I believe the first event we ever did
was with the turkeys around Thanksgiving time and then then
next event is we actually had an extra batting cage.
So before even Duncan Park was built, we donated a
(08:20):
batting cage to Pal, So before we were playing baseball,
we've been involved in them, and since then and Harry's
come on board, we've had pal Pal kids come out
to games enjoy things at the ballpark, baseball clinics. We
had a playoff game last year where we got to
(08:40):
bring out sixty Pal kids and get to cheer on
the yark out. So we do a lot with Pale
and Harvard amazing.
Speaker 2 (08:48):
That's great, and certainly you know a lot of programs
that Pale is offering, and you know, I'll throw it
over to you, Harry, if you could talk a little
bit just kind of you know, overview of some of
this programming.
Speaker 4 (08:59):
Wow, that's pretty extensive here.
Speaker 7 (09:02):
Hours.
Speaker 6 (09:02):
Yeah, Well, you know, I'm gonna hand this off to
Vinnie because Vinnie is the program director and a lot
of these initiatives are our teamwork that between myself, Vinnie
and Nikki, we've added programs quite a few programs along
the way, So.
Speaker 8 (09:18):
Thanks Harry. So you know, like Carry said, we offer
not only a variety of sports but also activities. So
just a few of the things we do is basketball, softball, hockey,
flag football. We label it as boxing. We have a
few kids whose parents sign them up through USA Boxing
(09:41):
and they you know, we take them to competitions and
they actually do some fighting, but otherwise it'd be more
of a cardio workout or you know, prepping and just
getting ready or learning techniques for boxing. Another good one
we brought on was martial arts. At first that was
very like, I'm like, should we do it? Should we not?
(10:04):
And we went from having ten kids so about fifty
kids in the martial arts program, volleyball, soccer, a dance program.
Nikki would probably benefit most with this one, unified sports.
She could, you know, go more on that one. On
an educational portion, we have homework club, math and STEM
(10:26):
just brought in a robotics program and we'll be going
to competitions with robotics mentoring culinary class which is very popular.
Everybody wants to learn how to cook and not only
could but eat the food, which they enjoy exciting, an
art class, and the most recent we're going to be
(10:46):
bringing on this esports. It's become popular out there. There's
other pals that are doing it, boys and girls clubs.
So we're going to pair up with other organizations and
start doing esports.
Speaker 6 (10:57):
Okay, fantastic yeah, we thought about bringing on these sports
and Ben brought it to me and now that is
a CIAC high school official sport. They literally have a
state championship in that and they haven't really started it
in Hartford schools. So our thought process was, hey, if
we can bring kids into PAL and they can really
(11:17):
learn how to do this, maybe when they get to
the high school level, there's enough interest where if enough
kids go to the principal and say, hey, we want
to start an esports team. It is a CIAC sport,
and that's part of the deal. What can we give
these skills that when they go to the high school
they're able to participate and as we know, if you're
any kid in high school that participates in sports is
(11:38):
more likely to stay out of trouble, more likely to graduate,
more likely to get better grades. That we could fill
the whole stadium with research on that. So adding those
educational enhancement aspects like the I can tell you a
quick story. John Cantyon, who is a former rocket scientist
at NASA, is a volunteer at PAL and he does
(11:59):
he does a math and STEM program and he was
working with a bunch of kids and what he tried
to do, is see where they are and see if
he can move them forward. Well he had he found
a kid. He came out, he goes, you know, Jose,
and I said yeah. He said he's a genius. I said,
what do you mean. He said he was doing multiplication.
Within three weeks, he's doing algebra two. Goodness and what
(12:20):
Jose said, I didn't know I was smart, said I
didn't know. Well, these kinds of programs where John is
pushing them forward and you know, getting them where they
really are instead of just kind of going along with
where they are in class. So those kinds of things
happen and make me so proud to be part.
Speaker 2 (12:36):
Of how I definitely no, that's I'm sure so many
stories like that.
Speaker 3 (12:40):
And Nicky, I don't know if.
Speaker 2 (12:41):
You want to chime in a little bit more kind
of on the programming and some of the activities you're
involved with a lot.
Speaker 7 (12:47):
So one of the programs, well, we just started up hockey.
Our first our first day on the ice was yesterday
and the kids, from what I understand, they had a
great time. We're going out tonight back to the Accel Center,
so we appreciate all their health.
Speaker 2 (13:00):
Well, I was just gonna say, these kids are not
just skating in some little rink.
Speaker 3 (13:03):
I mean they're they're on center ice correct in the
big leagues. Yeah, So but the kids love it. They've
been super excited.
Speaker 7 (13:11):
We've got like twenty five kids going to that right now,
so that that's up and running. And then our unified
sports program, which we're on our second year with Special
Olympics actually approached us, actually approached all the PALS to
try to get more unified sports programming within our different programs.
So obviously the police department is very intertwined with Special Olympics.
Speaker 3 (13:34):
We do tort Run.
Speaker 7 (13:35):
I sit on the Torch Run Council, so that was
an obvious Yes, we've had a great success with that.
We've done unified basketball, the kids have gone out and
we came home with the gold medal last year. So
we're gonna start floorball. We have about eleven kids in
that program and.
Speaker 3 (13:51):
The goal of it is really not just for.
Speaker 7 (13:53):
Unified sports, but they've actually come to PAL programming just
at regular power programming, like they've they've now moved in
transition to where they're coming in out of the building
and they're just involved with all of us which is great.
Speaker 3 (14:06):
So that's been a huge success. Nice. That's great to hear.
Speaker 2 (14:09):
And you mentioned the building and this is something that
a few years ago there's you know, Peal invested in
a new facility and David flowed love if you could
talk about this transition and really what the facility brings
to the community.
Speaker 4 (14:21):
Yeah.
Speaker 9 (14:21):
Well, you know, so for those who don't know, we're
in the old Quirk Middle School. And Quirk Middle School
was around for some forty years and was closed down
in two thousand and six I believe, and one half
of Quirk was converted into the Global Communications Academy, you know,
brand new, beautiful building and our half, unfortunately was the old,
(14:42):
tired side, but had some really good bones to gymnasiums,
an auditorium, a pool, a bunch of classrooms. But it
was really I think we all agreed, it was a
really dark and tired old building. And while we were
doing good work, you know, the heat it was either
a thousand degrees or one, agree in the building. It
was just a lot of a lot of old mechanicals,
(15:03):
a lot of stuff that just needed to be done.
And you know, it was on it was on the
list for the city to be renovated a couple times,
and again, you know the city budget issues that we
were facing over the years, it just couldn't get done.
So at one point I said, you know what, let
me let me go to some friends at the at
the state and see what we can get done there.
And so I approached the state delegation, Matt Ritter, John
(15:25):
von Fara, Julia Concepcion, Jimmy Sanchez, folks in the Governor's
office as well. This was Governor Maloy at the time,
and I said, you know, guys, we have this great program.
It's also a regional asset. The police academy, the Hartford
Police Academy is in our building as well, which is
a regional asset. And I don't think a lot of
people realize that, you know, our police academy actually trains
(15:49):
police officers for a lot of the surrounding towns as well.
It's not just Hartford cops. So I kind of made
a play to them and said, listen, you know this
is this is a regional asset, but it's more important.
We're delivering a really you know, a really much needed service,
not only these kids and families, but also for our
law enforcement officers who you know, we wanted to create
(16:10):
better relationships with, so they found a way to to
to raise some money for us. I think all in
it was about eight million dollars that they came up
with for us from state bonding ass money, and they
were able to get get this renovation off the ground.
We didn't get to do everything we wanted to, but
we got the really big stuff done and we were
(16:32):
able to turn this place into a new, functional, modern
space with lots of light, and I think the kids
and also our staff and our officers are are more
happy to be there now. You know, it's a it's
a fun, inviting place to be. You know, we've got classrooms,
we redid the gymnasiums. We've got a kitchen, like a
(16:53):
full working kitchen where we're doing a lot of these
cooking classes and training as well. We have a band room,
we have the stem lab, you know computer lab, and
we have you know offices obviously for our staff and
classrooms for our kids. We have the boxing gym downstairs,
which is a pretty state of the art boxing gym,
(17:14):
and then we also have the batting cages that Tim
mentioned that the yard goats so graciously donate to us.
We have those set up downstairs as well, so now
it's a facility that really can serve all the different
programming that we want to deliver. We have the capacity
to take in even more and more kids as well.
So really proud of that project and you know, happy
(17:34):
that we were able to get it done.
Speaker 2 (17:35):
Definitely and would love to hear you know, Nick, you
and I'll start with you first just the impact of
this new facility kind of for yourself personally, but then
also what you're seeing from the kids.
Speaker 7 (17:45):
Well, I mean the kids come in and every time
we add something new, it's always fun to see like
their reaction to it, Like especially when people have never
been in our building.
Speaker 3 (17:52):
If they come down and see like there's a.
Speaker 7 (17:54):
Batting cages down there, the kids light up and they're like, Oh,
I want to do this. You know. That's kind of
what we're giving them opportunities for things, and that's kind
of like the cool part about what we do. I
get to see the reaction of kids, like when I
get to take them to Baltimore and they get to
go on a plane for the first time, or you know,
travel out of the city. Those are things that we're
giving them those first time moments that are important. So
(18:17):
that's cool.
Speaker 3 (18:18):
That's kind of the cool thing.
Speaker 2 (18:19):
So important there, and of any anything kind of from
your perspective on just the opportunity to have all this
new updated facilities.
Speaker 8 (18:28):
Now, it's like what Dave and Nikki said, it's a
great opportunity. It's challenging to me because I'm always there
trying to get more done. So I'll go to Harry
and Dave and the board and be like, hey, can
we get this room fixed next? And this room fix next.
It's just the reaction and seeing the kids go through
this year to year because they're you know, constantly coming
(18:51):
back to us. It's not just hey we're there for
a month and we're not coming back now, the kids
coming back continuously. I've been there for eight years now,
and it's seeing the same faces, watching the kids grow
and just being there and just you know, trying to
find new spaces or new ideas or new programs.
Speaker 4 (19:10):
Come up with.
Speaker 8 (19:11):
It's just it's fantastic for them and just the reactions great.
Speaker 3 (19:16):
That's wonderful.
Speaker 2 (19:17):
And one question I was remissed and asking Harry is
about how many kids do participate in pal on a
year to year basis.
Speaker 4 (19:24):
Well, Vin has the numbers on that, does it.
Speaker 2 (19:26):
Okay, very sorry, I'm putting you on the spot, Harry,
Sorry about that.
Speaker 4 (19:29):
So the numbers do fluctuate, you know.
Speaker 8 (19:32):
Realistically kids that come into our building yearly it is
probably like between three fifty to like five hundred. Well,
we also have areas in you know, in the school,
so we do after school programs that one of the
schools in Harford in the South End, and then there's
another school in the South End, so it's like two
(19:53):
to three locations we actually also go to. Okay, so
it's not only our building that serves as a location.
We actually go into schools and we do programs with
other schools. So at an average year, we're probably reaching
out to over a thousand kids.
Speaker 3 (20:09):
Wow, that's wonderful.
Speaker 8 (20:10):
Just between all the programs and the different schools that
we go to.
Speaker 3 (20:15):
Okay, nice.
Speaker 6 (20:17):
There's something new this year is now we are partners
with our Harford public schools, which is why we were
able to bring what we call pal Saddle lights to
Naylor School in Harford, m d. Fox where we're talking
to the Burns principal that's going there and if we
if we end up in burn school will probably be
servicing about two hundred kids a day in PAL and
various different programs, which is important. But the one thing
(20:39):
we didn't talk about about the building is we will
soonly soon have a new renovated auditorium and once we
get that done, we had a contract with Hartford Stage,
but obviously it took a little longer to get the
auditorium done, as it always does any construction. So once
we get that done, we'll be offering theater classes, music classes,
(21:03):
dance classes right so now because we have more we'll
have more space in Pound now. So that's something that
I'm super super excited about. And the fact that we're
able to a big problem in the city for a
lot of the parents is transportation.
Speaker 4 (21:17):
Can they get their kids to PAL? Can they get
them home?
Speaker 6 (21:20):
By us being able to work with the Hufer Public
School system, we're able to now bring PAL to them
and obviously, you know, hiring more staff and that's where
the donations come in to be able to pay for
the expanding program and to be able to continue to
expand and be able to pay for these programs, which
we're excited about. So PAL is growing to every part
(21:40):
of the city and we're so excited about that.
Speaker 2 (21:42):
That's great and real quick too, is it's the PAL program.
Excuse me, there is free for any child that wants
to participate.
Speaker 4 (21:49):
Correct, There is never any charge for anything at PAL.
And what beautiful thing about PAL.
Speaker 6 (21:54):
If some kid at Naylor School is coming on Monday
to nailor PAL, but he sees there's a boxing class
on Wednesday at PAL, he's already a palkad. He just
has to come to Palate sign up. He's a Palkad
no matter where he goes. So yeah, that's that's super exciting.
Speaker 3 (22:09):
That's great.
Speaker 2 (22:09):
And where would parents go or families go if they're
interested in getting their kids involved?
Speaker 6 (22:13):
Well, the first thing I would do is send them
to the website, uh, and then they either give a
call and Vin will set up an appointment where they
can come in. The big thing is we want to
meet the parents. We want to sit down and talk
with the parents, right because that's important to have the
families engage in what we're doing here at PAL. And
then they'll give Vin a call and they'll come in
(22:34):
and they'll sit down and we'll register them and then
we give them a choice of what you know, pals
off program based. There's no kids just sort of running
around there. If you come in, you go to a
program and then they pick their child schedule and then
off you go.
Speaker 3 (22:48):
Okay. Nice.
Speaker 2 (22:49):
So it sounds like, Tim, we're gonna need some more
tickets with all this expansion.
Speaker 4 (22:52):
Absolutely, absolutely so.
Speaker 2 (22:54):
And I would love it, you know, Tim, to hear
a little bit more. You know, it's so important. It
seems through the yard gootes to you know, we hear
it from you, We see it every day in the community.
Speaker 8 (23:02):
But it's so.
Speaker 2 (23:02):
Important for you to give back, and if you could
just talk a little bit more about kind of the
why behind that.
Speaker 5 (23:06):
Absolutely you know, oftentimes I say, we're in the business
of putting smiles on people's faces at the ballpark, and
what better organization to do that with PAL helping support
the community of Hartford and also with the Harvard Police Department.
You know, it's something that you know, we always talk
about want to leave this place better than we found it,
and I think doing this and being involved in PAL
(23:26):
is one of the first organizations that we partner with
here and be able to see their growth and be
able to help and support them from their golf tournaments
to their charity events or whatever the case may be.
We've always been always there with the pal folks to
support them.
Speaker 2 (23:42):
Definitely know and then in addition to a lot of
other partnerships you have throughout the city throughout the state,
if you could, you know, highlight a couple of those or.
Speaker 5 (23:49):
Again I was going to say, you think, Harry took
a lot of time, I would take a lot. But
you know, we work with a lot of organizations throughout
the state that we always help and you know, we
oftentimes focus on the youth and making an impacting youth.
Speaker 4 (24:05):
But we do a lot.
Speaker 3 (24:06):
So that's great. Well, thank you so much for that.
Speaker 2 (24:09):
And the last piece I want to touch on, and
you know, Harry you started to talk about is the donations.
You know, certainly a lot of it does come down
to corporate support, individual support, and Dave wanted to kind
of start off if you could talk a little bit
about the corporate support and also your board. It seems
you have an extremely engaged board and if you kind
of talk about this group and what that does for
the organization.
Speaker 9 (24:28):
Yeah, well, you know, I think a lot of this
starts with the board and obviously we you know, we
we all the board members are volunteers, right, They're they're
they're donating their time, their money, their connections to kind
of help the mission of PAL. And so you know,
you've got obviously myself as chairman. You've got Mike Clifford
as president. He owns BRD Builders up in the North End.
(24:50):
He owns a North End business, he owns a Hartford business.
You've got Peter Getz, former Hertford Police Department detective who's
been working at EDNA now for the last probably fit
fifteen years or so. You've got Cynthia Saliz who's been
an attorney with Apartment and Children and Families the State
Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection. And then you've
(25:11):
got Matt Gyaski who's a principal with Clifton Larson and
Allen who's our treasurer. So you know, we try to
try to have folks who bring different skill sets and
and you know, and take care of the different responsibilities
for us. But without without those folks and the rest
of our board who you know, I can't mention everybody here,
but you know, we just we couldn't get it done
without those folks out there sort of shaking the trees
(25:34):
and building the brand and making the connections to help
our staff deliver the programming to the kids. You know,
from a corporate perspective, obviously, the yard Gooats have been huge,
huge partners of ours, and I will say Tim never
says no to anything, at least when it comes to us,
So we appreciate that. But I know, you know, they
(25:55):
get pulled in a lot of different directions, but these
guys are truly committed to our city and to our kids.
It's you know, Travelers has been there from the beginning.
These folks and Andy Bissett and Marlene Iibsen and Aaron Haberman,
they've been there with us since the beginning. Really really
helped us get the five one CE off the ground.
Without them, there's no way we could have done it,
(26:17):
made it. Made a meaningful commitment to us in the
beginning that really helped us get this thing going. The
Hartford has been with us for many years as well.
ETNA obviously through Peter and his folks. Laz Parking has
also been a huge supporter of ours over the years.
Jimmy Marzy, Alan Lezowski, Louis Enrieks so we appreciate all
(26:37):
of those corporate partners, and without them, we couldn't do it,
and really they kind of paved the way for us.
And now we're able to get more and more funding
from the state and from the city as well. So
now you know, kind of the whole thing is just
really snowball. But without those sort of initial partners that
I mentioned, you know, I don't think we're here today
talking about you know, the scope and scale that that
(26:57):
pal has reached, right.
Speaker 2 (26:59):
And the which is just incredible, and you know, her
if you could touch a little bit individuals who may
be looking to potentially donate time or you know, certainly
funding resources, if you talk a little bit how they
could get involved.
Speaker 6 (27:11):
Yeah, Volunteer opportunities are always available if you go to
our website, give Vin a call, and if you want
to come in.
Speaker 4 (27:19):
I think that's how we ended up with the robotics.
People may come in.
Speaker 6 (27:22):
And volunteering and now we have this huge, awesome robotics
program and any program that you can do hands on
with the kids, they absolutely love. And here's the thing,
it doesn't matter whether it's twenty five dollars or ten
thousand dollars. Every single dollar helps build programming at PAL.
It's important. We also another aspect that we also employ
(27:43):
twelve to fifteen Harford teenagers who are counselors there who
have a group of ten kids and they bring them
to different program So not only that we're providing kids
with programs that keep them safe and off the streets,
we also provide jobs for teenagers in Harford.
Speaker 4 (27:58):
And it's an awesome process.
Speaker 6 (28:01):
But in saying that, you know, all of this takes
help from everybody, not just the corporations, from regular people,
from anybody who thinks, hey, PAL is a good program.
Speaker 4 (28:11):
Let's donate twenty bucks, you know. And we do have
a pool of that.
Speaker 6 (28:15):
So if anybody wants to get a pool named after him,
it's about three million dollars.
Speaker 4 (28:18):
They can not right about that.
Speaker 6 (28:21):
The thing here, you know, the one thing I want
to say about Tim is is I called Tim three
or four times a year, and you know, just to
say hi, and they're usually an ask. And what I
never hear is no, I just said, Tim, I need
some tickets for a baseball game. His next question is
how many do you need? And then two seconds later
they're in Vinnie's account and we're taking kids to ball game.
(28:43):
So Tim just appreciate you know, Baseball's come on, get
them whatever we need. It's never no, it's always yes.
So thank you Tim for all you do for Harford PAL.
Speaker 4 (28:52):
You're a great partner.
Speaker 9 (28:54):
Yeah, and I would say for the city also. You know,
I don't pump Tim's tires too much.
Speaker 5 (28:58):
Here I'm gonna say this, this this podcast is not
about it's about PAL.
Speaker 4 (29:02):
But but it is.
Speaker 9 (29:03):
But it's also about creating an identity and and uh,
you know some pride in our city and I think
the yard goes do that and they help us do
that at PAL as well.
Speaker 5 (29:12):
Absolutely well, like I said, we're in the business is
putting smiles on people's faces and going you know, when
I took the tour of Pale earlier this year and
I could see all the kids in the new areas,
and I mean, I you know, Dave, I remember walking
through there about over ten years ago. It's a much
different space. And so you know, to see those areas
being utilized and here the team talk about all the
(29:34):
programming that's being involved. You guys are making a huge
impact in the community.
Speaker 4 (29:39):
So thank you guys.
Speaker 3 (29:41):
Definitely. Well with that, we will close out. If someone
what is the Powell website.
Speaker 9 (29:45):
I know we've mentioned it a couple of times. It's
Hartford pal dot org.
Speaker 2 (29:48):
Hartford pal dot org fantastic and Tim for those looking
for maybe some gift ideas for the holiday season.
Speaker 5 (29:56):
Option yeah, yard Goots baseball dot com where you can
visit our store.
Speaker 4 (30:00):
The Ballpark.
Speaker 2 (30:00):
Fantastic. Well, thank you guys so much for being on
the show today. Again, I love all the visitors. This
was wonderful but truly making a huge difference in the community.
Speaker 3 (30:08):
So thank you to each of you, and thanks.
Speaker 2 (30:10):
To your teams and for all the details about today's show,
you can visit Pulseoftheregion dot com. A big thank you
to our show partner Oakhill, and of course thanks to
you for listening.
Speaker 3 (30:19):
I'm Kate Bauman.
Speaker 2 (30:20):
Go out and make today a good day here in Connecticut.
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