New recreation director: 'We are a team'
By Linda Lemmon
Town Crier Editor
PUTNAM — Asked why recreation is important, Putnam’s new Parks and Recreation Department Director James Callaghan said: “It’s one of the biggest foundations of life. And especially when you look at Putnam. It’s not just getting kids moving with youth hoops. It’s not just with getting our older population moving, it’s about social interaction.”
Recreation touches so many parts of life, he said. The events see thousands of people interacting with people. You’re talking with your neighbors – you might find somebody who lives down the street.”
Callaghan was born and raised in Enfield and said he was into sports his entire life. He said he picked his major, sports and leisure management (with a minor in business), based on the love of sports growing up. He played basketball but there was also Little League, hockey, tennis, cross country and more. He said his father was “the biggest sports fan I know.”
His original plan, he said, was to get into the professional sports business side of things and work for a team. He had interned with the Springfield Thunderbirds hockey team when he was in school. But then — COVID -19 — and professional sports shut down. He had some experience with the municipal recreation side of things and thought to himself “this could be an option.” He came to Putnam after a little more than a year as full-time recreation director in Willington.
One accomplishment he’s proud of in Willington was helping set up a scholarship fund in memory of a Willington resident who had passed. He worked with the family and collected $2,000 or $3,000 to help Willington kids who needed financial assistance playing youth basketball. He said he also enjoyed putting together community events.
“One of my favorite things is seeing the community come together, you know, old and young. Getting everyone in one place and everyone having a good time.”
He learned there how important volunteers and sponsors are for any event. “I think it’s important to always recognize the people – everybody who is involved. You know, not just the main people everybody thinks of but the volunteers.” And staff deserves a spotlight. He pointed to the high school kids who help make things like camps happen. “They play a huge role in making sure everything goes smoothly.”
He’s connected with town officials and with the police and especially the Parks and Recreation Department staff. He said “They made me feel extremely comfortable.” He found the staff “all extremely competent. They know what’s going on. I think Willie left everybody in a great place – everybody knows what needs to be done.”
He said the “big focus” right now is to make it through the “event lineup we have coming up this year and then I think, once we get through — once I’ve gotten my feet wet — look at expanding after that.”
What would you like the people of Putnam to know about you? “If you see me out at youth hoops or an event on a weekend, stop and say ‘hi,’ just have a conversation. And it doesn’t have to be about parks and rec. It can be about how the Red Sox are doing. How the Bruins are doing. How your kids are doing.” Because I’m here to serve the people of Putnam.
“The biggest word to describe it is community. People may have their differences but at the end of the day, we all live in Putnam. And to use another sports team analogy, ‘We’re all on the same team.’”
“We want what’s best for each other and we all want the town to succeed.”
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