Former East Brunswick director receives honorary bench

EAST BRUNSWICK – After years of service for helping the disabled community, former recreation director Karen Bourque-Scott was presented with an honorary bench.

Scott volunteered for the East Brunswick Department of Recreation, Parks and Community Services for eight-and-a-half years. She was the acting director of the department for two years, altogether serving the township for 26 years.

More than 60 residents attended the ceremony where Daisy Recreation Supervisor Janice Pennington and Daisy Association President Mindy Listwa presented Scott with an honorary bench on May 3 at the Crystal Springs Family Aquatic Center.

The Aronow Foundation provided the money for the bench, according to Scott.

“What made me happy about the bench being presented was not that [my] name was on it, but more that when the kids are down there and the adults are down there, they really didn’t have enough benches for the kids and young adults to sit on when they change their clothes to go into Crystal Springs,” Scott said. “So what makes me happy is that it is going to be something that is used. It’s more important to me that they have that.”

While working for the department, Scott said she helped revitalize the Daisy Association’s Daisy Recreation program.

For more than 50 years the Township of East Brunswick has provided programs for people with special needs, Daisy Recreation being the first and oldest program, according to the township website.

Scott said the Daisy Association was started in 1973, first called the Brain Injured Children’s Association. The Daisy program was a custodial care program, which meant that it included some education, but was more about babysitting for the parents or guardians.

With the program being her first love, Scott said, “When I came in I did not like that at all, so the gentleman that I hired, his name was Fred Smith, and he and I changed that program. It took us five years of meeting four nights a week, changing programs [and] trying new things. … I wanted education and so did Smith, so we changed the whole program. It became a whole different entity to how to service the Daisy children and adults.”

Scott said unfortunately in New Jersey, once a disabled person reaches 21 years old, there are not many programs for them.

“That is the reason why [the association] has additional programs … so as they get up the ladder in age there is something for them to do socially,” Scott said. “What is also very important is to give the parents that rest that they need. Imagine having a disabled child 24/7 and not having a break, it’s not easy.”

Due to her work with the Daisy Recreation program, Scott said the department was honored by the New Jersey Recreation and Parks Association and by the National Recreation and Parks Association.

“We became the model and I would go around the state and go to different towns and do a presentation and then I would hand them a stack of books and that would be all the rules, regulations, policies and everything we formulated over those five years,” Scott said. “When I would give it to them they would say, ‘What do I owe you?’ and I’d say, ‘The only thing you owe me is that if you find a better way to do it, let me know so I can pass it on.’”

Born in Queens, New York, Scott said she moved to Brooklyn when she was eight years old. After living in Brooklyn, she moved to Dover where she started her family. Once her husband got a job in East Brunswick, she moved to the township with her husband and four children who were all under four years old.

After volunteering with the department for more than eight years, Scott said her former supervisor Eileen Shrem walked to her house one day and asked her to come work for the department.

“I looked at her and I said, ‘[Eileen] are you out of your mind? I am raising four kids … my husband is fire chief and I have an 11-room house.’ She said, “OK, think about it over the weekend and I will see you Monday morning at 10 a.m.’ and walked away,” Scott said. “So I [thought] about it all weekend … and I said, ‘OK I will give you a month,’ meanwhile there’s my career. … I retired on June 29, 2001.”

Currently, Scott is the vice president of the Daisy Association, director of the New Jersey Commission on Recreation for Individuals with Disabilities and an active member of the Colts Neck Community Church.

Scott said she was also a member of the East Brunswick Recreation Parks Advisory Board, a liaison to the East Brunswick Museum, a life member of the East Brunswick Historical Society, a liaison in several veterans groups, a member of the East Brunswick Arts Commission, a liaison to the East Brunswick Youth Council and a liaison to the Daisy Fair Association.

In order to raise funds for the program, Scott said the association started hosting its annual Daisy Breakfast event 35 years ago. The association also hosted its annual Daisy Fair events and this year, hosted its first tricky tray event.

“It’s been an adventure, I have to say, and I wouldn’t change it for the world, because it helped our kids. … My husband [Sam] has been great, all of my kids support the program and they help get the word out about the Daisy Breakfast,” Scott said. “The Daisy breakfast is our biggest fundraiser and every penny that is raised for the Daisy program in East Brunswick goes to the kids. The township supports the program and the Daisy Association does the fundraising to offset the costs and to also provide extra programming.”

While working for the department, Scott said she also fought and helped established girls/women’s sports within the township.

At that time, Scott said the government would provide money for boys, but not for girls, so she fought to provide uniforms and a field for girls to practice and play on. She also is the president and founder of the East Brunswick Girl’s Sports Boosters.

Scott said she coached girls’ basketball and softball for the East Brunswick recreation teams for at least 10 years.

While she was acting director, Scott said, “I was only as good as my staff was; you cannot do this stuff alone. I relied on my staff a lot even with brainstorming and getting their opinion … that was really important, because they bought into it and the program became even better.”

For more information about the Daisy Recreation Program, visit www.eastbrunswick.org/daisy.

Contact Vashti Harris at [email protected].