Letter from the Parkland Mayor: Rich Walker

Dear Parkland Residents,

The start of a New Year carries with it promise of good things and new beginnings. In a psychological turning of the mental calendar, we seek to do our part to contribute to that new beginning by making promises to ourselves. But as you turn the page of your calendar, whether your psychological calendar or the one on your refrigerator, my hope for you is more than just a New Year’s resolution that may or may not be forgotten by March. My wife Catherine and I have five beautiful children and raising them, more than anything else we will ever do, will be our imprint on the world. No matter how long

I serve as Mayor, no matter the successes Catherine and I achieve personally or in our careers, raising our children will be our legacy. And while from time-to-time I may confuse their names, one thing my kids never let me forget is that they are always listening.

There are plenty of teaching moments when we focus on providing a lesson to our children and we make sure they are listening, but I always find it interesting when one of them repeats something that Catherine or I have said when we didn’t know they were listening. And now we realize they’re always listening—which means we are always teaching.

February marks the four-year anniversary of the tragedy at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School... when 17 wonderful souls were murdered, 17 more were physically injured, and countless have been mentally and emotionally impacted forever. We must never forget the 17 murdered as their lives were ended much too soon.

Each victim had their own story and tremendous potential. So many of the families of the victims continue to honor their memories by working hard in so many areas. positively helping others with scholarships, mental wellness, and changes to laws that will forever help keep other loved ones safe.

We are in this together and we can only make our world a better and safer place by working together. It amazes me how simple dialogue has become so divisive. The mentality of “you are either with me or against me” needs to come to a halt. We all come from different places, we all have different backgrounds, and we offer valuable unique perspectives. That is a profoundly positive foundation from which to work— the collaboration of different perspectives is precisely what creates the basis upon which a powerful idea and movement is born. We have so much going on in our City with amazing upgrades to our Parks, a new logo coming later this year (listen for upcoming details), fantastic programs throughout our City. We are always listening and looking for new ways to engage our residents. Our CO-ED Adult softball league is a perfect example. The residents were asking for new adult programs and our Parks and Rec Department came through with an amazing new league for adults. Our Softball league started late last year with six teams to start and this season it is now up to 11. This is a great way for our residents to engage with one another. Thank you for reading. I can be reached via e-mail at rwalker@cityofparkland.org or via cell phone at (973) 390-1453. Of course I am frequently available monthly at Parkland businesses and love to talk with residents there. I encourage you to visit the City’s website cityofparkland.org and click on the social media icon that you prefer, to ensure you stay informed on events and helpful information.

Your Parkland Mayor, Rich Walker