Recreation director retiring after more than 36 years

After 36 years as town recreation director, Garth Griffin, 63, is turning over the reins this month to Bethany Ortmann.

“I always thought I would know when it was time to retire,” he said last week.

A trip to visit friends in Florida last February was all he needed to convince himself that the freedom to enjoy travel and pursue other interests was what he wanted. He had hoped to make the transition by May, but it took a bit longer for the Town Board to name a successor, he said.

“It’s all positive for me,” he added, referring to both the years he’s spent on the job and the challenges ahead. “I’m proud and happy that I was able to serve the town.”

He started working with the recreation program as a part-time aide under directors who tended to last about two years each. When he took over the program and quickly learned that it required his focus 24-7, he knew he had to reorganize and bring in more aides who could oversee specific responsibilities.

“Surrounding myself with the best aides — that’s what made it possible,” he said. Among them have been Kathy Doroski, Debbie Brewer, his brother Gregg Griffin, Zippy Reeve and Cory Cass.

“Having these people, you weren’t dependent on thinking about it all the time,” Mr. Griffin said.

When the FIT Center opened , it gave the Island a place for the residents to exercise, and the town was also able to offer a pace for physical therapy he said.

But it became a balance act between activities at the FIT Center and those at the Youth Center at the American Legion Post, he said. Lee Oliver, Ian Kanarvogel and Todd Gulluscio have taken over a lot of the activities at the Youth Center, enabling Mr. Griffin to concentrate more of his energies on the FIT Center.

Activities at the two venues have gone in cycles, he added. Sometimes more people have gravitated toward the FIT Center and other times toward the Youth Center. For awhile, many students preferred to play video games at the Youth Center while in recent years, more have been drawn to the FIT Center to work out, he said.

“Knowing what the kids want is the key to the whole thing,” he said.

The adults served by the Recreation Department have come to think of the FIT Center as a school program because of its location, and he sees that as a plus in bringing the population together as one community.

If there was one down time in his years as recreation director, it was when he temporarily located the youth center at the Town Recycling Center. People said they were relegating the kids to the dump, he said.

“But we gave them a place” for their activities until a better solution could be found.

On the positive side, when Walter Richards was inducted into the school’s Athletic Hall of Fame a few years ago, he thanked Mr. Griffin for helping him develop his basketball jump shot.

“It was special to be publicly thanked,” Mr. Griffin said.

One challenge he’s had could become more demanding for Ms. Ortmann — staffing beaches with qualified lifeguards during summer months, since requirements are becoming stricter for the position.

For example, in the past the lifeguards were allowed to be on duty while eating lunch, but now the state is requiring a second person be available as a backup for such breaks. And when there are other concerns at Crescent or Wades beaches, he has sorted out situations so his lifeguards could pay strict attention to what’s going on in the water.

At the same time, Southold has opened a program for training lifeguards and that will be a help to Ms. Ortmann, Mr. Griffin said.

As for the immediate future, he’ll continue to drive buses when students or seniors have to be transported off-Island for various activities, he said. He’ll step up his property management activities and hopes to become more active with the Shelter Island Fire Department now that he’ll have more time. In past years, he volunteered with both the Fire Department and Emergency Medical Services.

He’ll consider running a couple of boats to Florida for owners and plans to play some golf.

“Shelter Island was my life and it still is and will be,” Mr. Griffin said. The town has always been his first priority, he said.

“It was a great run and went pretty quickly,” he said.