IT'S ABOUT RESULTS - Riverfront Recapture

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RIVERFRONT’S MOST IMPORTANT STORY IS YOUR STORY – and the ways in which the river and the parks touch our lives. We’re happy to share the stories of people who see the changing Riverfront changing lives. You are invited to share your stories with us by emailing stories@riverfront.org. When LUIS QUINONES was a high school student in 1990, he was a boat-builder in Riverfront Recapture’s LT. LUIS QUINONES summer youth employment program. The next summer, he was a landscaper in Riverside Park – clearing brush to help make way for riverwalks and park improvements that would come later. “There was nothing there in those days,” he says. “But I loved that program. It made kids like me aware of the river.” Today, his career as a Hartford firefighter brings him back to Riverside Park, where 2 The Changing Riverfront– Changing Lives he trains personnel assigned to the fire department’s rescue boat. The quiet river that Lieutenant Quinones remembers is busier these days – and the teenager who cleared brush is back on the Riverfront helping to keep boaters safe. REGAN CONSIDINE Some high school students are attracted to Riverfront Recapture’s rowing program by the outdoor exercise; others like the fun of making new friends from other communities. REGAN CONSIDINE was drawn to the sport’s competitive nature – and worked hard to excel. Regan, a Hall High School student from West Hartford, started rowing in Riverfront’s program and became one of 40 rowers in the nation at the US Junior Women’s National Team’s High Performance Camp last year. This fall, she will row for Yale University, which won the 2010 NCAA Women’s Rowing Championship. “I wouldn’t have progressed as far or as fast,” she says, BRIAN BARANOWSKI, left “without my Riverfront coaches – who empowered me to reach a higher level as a rower and person.” More than 1,200 volunteers helped to keep the Riverfront parks in great condition last year – and BRIAN BARANOWSKI was one of them. A bass fisherman, he is familiar with the river but most of the other employees from ING’s Windsor office hadn’t been to the Riverfront until
they volunteered for a park clean-up last June. “We removed debris that a flood left behind on mountain bike trails,” he recalls. “We also stained picnic tables – and when a youth group and their counselors saw what we had done they gave us a big round of applause. We realized then that we were doing something that everyone can enjoy – and we looked around at this incredible resource and said, ‘Wow, this is beautiful.’” The top 25 finishers in the Connecticut State Open DHAHRAN VELASQUEZ qualify for the New England Cross-Country Championships – a feat that no Hartford runner had accomplished in nearly 40 years until DHAHRAN VELASQUEZ did it last fall. Dhahran is a sophomore at Capital Preparatory Magnet School, located within running distance of the Hartford Riverfront, where he and his classmates train. Capital Prep runners consistently win individual and team honors – including the boys team’s 3rd place finish in the 2011 Class S State Championships. “Our partnership with Riverfront Recapture,” says Coach Scott Wojnarowicz, “has enabled us to grow into a power in cross country. Without the Riverfront trails, we would not be this competitive.” When ERIC AND ROSI CAVOLI began planning their wedding, they immediately thought about a reception at the Riverfront Boathouse. They ride their bikes in the parks and Rosi competes in 5K ERIC AND ROSI CAVOLI LAM PHOTOGRAPHY scrambles on the Riverfront. “When you’re standing near the Boathouse and look at the river and the skyline, it’s like you’re seeing a completely different city,” Eric says. “It’s a beautiful spot – and we wanted to share it with family and friends, most of whom had never been to the Riverfront. And people were blown away by it.” As they celebrated their love for each other, Eric and Rosi also introduced their guests to their love of the river and the parks. Beautiful birds impressed DENISE JERNIGAN on an African safari in 1986. Back home, she set out to learn more about our own extraordinary birds. The Riverfront is among the places she now regularly visits to look for birds. She heads to East Hartford’s Great River Park early in the morning, especially during the Hartford Audubon Society’s summer bird count, an annual event that records all birds seen within 15 miles of WOOD DUCK Hartford’s center, for an analysis of bird population trends. While she’s birding, she also sees more people in the parks – walking, riding bikes, or rowing. “I’m impressed with how the parks have integrated both banks of the river,” she says. “The river is no longer an obstacle that separates us. Now we can see the river as an asset that ties us together, as well as providing a welcome habitat for birds.” PAUL CIANFAGLIONE www.riverfront.org / 3
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IT'S ABOUT RESULTS - Riverfront Recapture

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