It would be difficult if not impossible to find someone in our community that would not put our parks and natural resources at the top of their list of Point Pleasant’s greatest attributes. Those that have lived their lives here have seen the preservation of Slade Dale and Dorsett Dock, and witnessed, if not advocated for, the development of Beaver Damn, Community, and Riverfront Parks. For those like me that chose to settle in Point Pleasant, these great spaces drew us here because they couldn’t be matched in any other town. Plenty of towns have playgrounds or basketball courts hidden away behind developments, but how many have carefully planned and developed spaces like ours? And more so, how many have parks with the great potential of ours?
I vividly remember the first time we went to Community Park and the visions of big bands, orchestras, community theatre, movie nights, festivals, and holiday celebrations that flew through my mind. Our band shell is iconic and I think the poster art for the new and improved Summerfest is proof positive. That is an image that can help brand our town to a degree that no other town in Ocean or Monmouth could hope for. Think of how many great destinations are instantly recognized by the silhouette of a building? The Statue of Liberty, The Liberty Science Center, Disney, The Sydney Opera House, Big Ben, The Eiffel Tower, or my favorite, the stands at Hayward Field! I don’t mean that we should exploit or town. I know how deeply we want to preserve the intimacy and connectedness that we all enjoy. What I do mean is that as we look to the future development and growth of our borough we have an opportunity to develop its identity, and in creating that identity we have every marketer’s dream-an easily identifiable image, a symbol, of Point Pleasant.
More important than the symbol of something special, we already have the ingredients of a great town. We are small, self-contained, and more like one large neighborhood than anything else. We enjoy schools and services we can all be proud of and that are the envy of surrounding towns. We don’t need to create a vibrant commercial area, we just need to nurture the one we already have. And as we move forward with new ways to celebrate our community and share it with neighbors near and far, we don’t need to create the settings, they’re already here and they are magnificent. I can’t wait to see Summerfest in Community Park. I can’t wait to see the Relay For Life on full display in the heart of our community, sending the signal to other towns that we don’t tuck our relay away, we put it right up front so everyone can see our strength and passion. Riverfront Park provides an intimacy perfect for other events like this year’s Earth Day Festival. How could you not celebrate the spirit of Earth Day in our finest example of forward thinking and environmental planning? Now just imagine Jazz in the Park, Car Shows, parties, flower shows, cook outs, you name it! We have the raw material and as I wrote in my letter to the Ocean Star, now we need the willingness.
Fortunately Point Pleasant’s greatest resource is our friends and neighbors. There are so many of us with visions and beautiful dreams. I’ve been fortunate to meet many of them this past year in the schools, sports clubs, the skatepark, and making the rounds campaigning. Our community has a rare opportunity for self-examination and careful planning. This is our chance to turn the earth and prepare for next year’s crops. I for one can’t wait to see what springs up.
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