Changes to parks and recreation, senior center staffs



Cody Clarkin on the phone in his office at the recreation center Tuesday afternoon. Clarkin, who worked in Charlestown for Ray DeFalco, director of parks and recreation, has reunited in Jamestown with his former boss.

Cody Clarkin on the phone in his office at the recreation center Tuesday afternoon. Clarkin, who worked in Charlestown for Ray DeFalco, director of parks and recreation, has reunited in Jamestown with his former boss.

Spring means to begin anew, and two of the town departments that interact the most with the public have some new faces that will do just that.

Cody Clarkin started as the program coordinator for the parks department Feb. 25, Lealah O’Neill was promoted to recreation and facilities supervisor Feb. 16 and Susan Jameson joined the senior center as a wellness consultant in January.

O’Neill is likely the most familiar of the three to Jamestown residents, as both a lifelong islander and as a longtime fixture at the recreation department. She previously facilitated youth programming, oversaw several clubs, worked on the summer camp programs and answered phones at the rec center. O’Neill had filled some of the supervisor responsibilities on an interim basis after Deb Hagie left the department in November, and she ultimately was hired for the position full time.

“It really gave me practical experience in dipping my toe into trying out the role before I ultimately applied for it,” she said.

Lealah O’Neill organizes her calendar Tuesday afternoon at the recreation center. The 36-year-old has been promoted to recreation and facilities supervisor after years of running summer camps and creating programs for the rec department. PHOTOS BY ANDREA VON HOHENLEITEN

Lealah O’Neill organizes her calendar Tuesday afternoon at the recreation center. The 36-year-old has been promoted to recreation and facilities supervisor after years of running summer camps and creating programs for the rec department. PHOTOS BY ANDREA VON HOHENLEITEN

Prior to that, O’Neill, 36, had assisted Hagie by answering inquiries from interested parties about rentals, camping and applications. Ray DeFalco, director of parks and recreation, said O’Neill’s experience with the town, the department and the position made her a natural fit for the job.

“Lealah has extensive experience with the department,” he said. “She understands the needs of the community really well, and she really knows how to communicate. I was always very comfortable with how she handles any sort of issue or problem or answering questions.”

As the recreation and facilities supervisor, O’Neill is responsible for scheduling, staff and operations of Fort Getty and its on-site pavilion rentals and RV campgrounds. She also oversees the operations of Mackerel Cove and rental of the upstairs at the new golf clubhouse.

During her time with the department, O’Neill started or taught several clubs and programs for children, including crochet, Dungeons & Dragons and the “Magic: The Gathering” card game. While O’Neill plans on continuing to teach crochet in the fall and winter, she already passed on the two popular game clubs to instructor Josie Wall before she was chosen as facilities supervisor. Her new position also means O’Neill will be leaving her longtime summer camp role, but she will stop by the camps when possible this year.

“I will be taking a step back from youth programming and summer camp, which I’m already missing,” O’Neill said. “I do plan on making time this summer to stop down to camp and see the kids and say ‘hi.’ ”

In addition to O’Neill’s new role, the department also has added Clarkin as the program coordinator. Clarkin, 23, worked in Charlestown’s parks and recreation department as the beach manager and camp director, and was part of DeFalco’s staff when he was Charlestown’s rec director, the job he had before coming to Jamestown last May.

“He helped me run a lot of programs,” DeFalco said. “I knew him and his work ethic from working with him in Charlestown. His resume is quite extensive for someone his age.”

As program coordinator, Clarkin is responsible for all parks and recreation programs, summer camps and the teen center, which reopened last week after being closed since November following a rise in COVID-19 cases. DeFalco said Clarkin’s new role is similar to the coordinator role once held by Molly Conlon, who is now the director of senior services. Some of O’Neill’s old responsibilities, including the summer camps, also have been transferred to Clarkin.

Since he joined the staff, Clarkin said he was happy to see the teen center reopen after four months of closure.

“It’s been exciting to see a community center in action, and to see the teen center reopen is very cool,” he said. “We’ve always had a couple kids, but we’re really starting to see the numbers expand.”

Clarkin said he has been working for Charlestown’s department since he was 14. He started as a camp counselor and was then promoted to the assistant director of camps. After that, he became the beach manager and worked as the summer assistant handling the budgets, payroll and scheduling for the town’s beaches. He also worked on off-season basketball programs.

Outside of the parks department, Clarkin was an Eagle Scout and received the Prudential Spirit of Community Award in 2013 as one of two young Rhode Islanders recognized for their volunteer work that year. He was elected to the Charlestown Town Council in 2020. He is currently working on his master’s degree in teaching online through the online Western Governors University. DeFalco said he picked Clarkin for the role due to his experience and volunteer work.

Clarkin has added a new movie night program, which had its first screening Friday in the rec center gym. That first event was limited to only 30 children, but Clarkin is planning to eventually expand that number to 50 or more. He also has other plans for the new event.

“I’m seeing where we can go with that,” he said. “Maybe doing a movie theater night in the holiday season that’s open to the community and maybe 100 people, and see where we can grow and have really fun events for the community.”

Because Clarkin has experience with beach management, O’Neill said he has been a resource for her with some aspects of her new facilities supervisor role. She also is helping him with her expertise with programming and the summer camps.

“Being able to use each other as a resource and bounce ideas off each other has been beneficial to both of us in our new roles,” O’Neill said.

While Clarkin fills the role once held by Conlon, the newly appointed director of senior service also has a new addition, Susan Jameson, to her team at the Grange on West Street.

Jameson is from Narragansett, and she has been involved with health services for around 40 years. She worked with South County Home Health for 32 years as a physical therapist and also works for Woonsocket Senior Services. Conlon said the town has worked with Jameson in the past through her role with South County Home Health.

Unlike Clarkin and O’Neill, Jameson has been appointed as a consultant and not a full-time employee of the department. She is in Jamestown for 10 hours a week to develop the wellness component of the town’s senior services under Conlon’s direction and collaboration.

“I was looking to expand health and wellness programming because that’s an area that could grow in the department,” Conlon said. “With her vast knowledge of seniors and senior health, she’s going to help expand that programming.”

Conlon said Jameson will develop and schedule new programs and continue existing ones that were successful and popular with the senior population. For instance, the seniors said they were interested in nutrition as a topic, and Jameson found a nutritionist to speak with them.

After Jameson started with the senior center, she and Conlon sent out a survey to Jamestown seniors about what kind of health and wellness programs would be of interest to them. While they have not received all of the responses yet, they have gained guidance and feedback as to what the seniors were looking for. They also met with the Friends of Jamestown Seniors and the director of the Pemberton Apartments to gain their input.

Jameson’s first full month with the senior center was February, which is American Heart Month, and she worked with the seniors on activities relating to heart health. This past month, she offered balance screenings for seniors. She is looking to introduce lectures on various clinical trials and a six-week program on healthy eating from the Rhode Island Department of Health. On June 7, the center will offer two clinics offering free pairs of fitted shoes to seniors with diabetes.

“We are just trying different things that have been mentioned in the surveys or come up verbally,” Jameson said. “We’re just waiting to get the whole batch of surveys together. We’re starting things and looking to build all the opportunities available.”

Jameson said she has enjoyed working with the Jamestown seniors since she started at the center .

“They’re a good bunch,” she said. “The ones I’ve met have been very welcoming and interested in the senior center.”