Paul Blake was just three weeks into his retirement from his position as recreation supervisor for the Town of North Hempstead last fall when he started feeling funny about being inactive.
And then former Williston Park Trustee Ray Cross asked him if he’d be interested in taking a position as pool manager in Williston Park.
Blake, 57, applied for the job and the Williston Park Board of Trustees hired him. For which Blake is very thankful.
“There’s nothing like a nice pool to remind you of why you got into the business,” Blake said. “It’s not so much the village pool as it’s everybody’s backyard.”
A native of Garden City, Blake was pool director in that village from 1986 to 1995, when he became its superintendent of recreation. After six years in that position, he went to work for a company in Pelham, NY selling park equipment. But he soon felt the urge to go back to what he had been doing.
He took a position with the Town of North Hempstead as staff supervisor at Clinton G. Martin Park in 2003, moving on to the Manor Haven Pool in Port Washington as staff supervisor the following year. In the fall of 2004, Blake was named recreation supervisor for the town, working under the town’s Commissioner of Parks Gerard Olsen.
“Once you get into this business, you can’t stop,” Blake said.
So far, Blake said things are going smoothly at the Williston Park’s village pool, with 1,050 memberships sold so far this year, slightly ahead of last year’s numbers.
“Everything’s been running great,” Blake said.
Village of Williston Park Mayor Paul Ehrbar said he is very happy with the way Blake’s handled his job.
“I’m very pleased with his early performance and have great expectations of this pool season. He comes with a good history and good experience in the field,” Ehrbar said.
The events scheduled for this year’s village pool season are the same as last season’s, according to Blake, including with a karaoke night on July 9, a splash party DJ on Aug. 5 for youngsters aged 11 to 14 years old, a family fun night on Aug. 12 and a family bingo night on Aug. 19. Another family fun night is slated for Sept. 2 just before the pool closes for the season on Sept. 5.
“We’re concentrating on three things here: on safe, clean and fun,” Blake said.
Events on July 4th, included a watermelon race in the pool and a whipped cream pie eating contest.
Blake said he’s also encouraging his staff members to focus on courtesy with all pool members, who don’t have to live in Williston Park to join.
“Everybody who comes in here gets a hello and a goodbye,” Blake said.
He said he’s particularly appreciative of his support staff, including Carmella Pinto, Nancy Randall and his assistant, Anne Buttafoco, who has been working at the pool for the past six years.
Buttafoco said she’s enjoyed working with Blake as well.
“It’s a good experience. It’s a learning experience,” she said.
Blake said he takes satisfaction from interacting with the village pool members.
“This is what I do. I love being around people. I am very blessed to have landed here,” he said.
Of course, there are days when things don’t go quite as smoothly as the staff would want them to go.
One day last week, the lawn sprinklers went on without warning, dousing more than 100 patrons as they were sitting or laying around the pool.
Every day is a challenge. Every day is a little different,” Blake said.
In his free time, Blake said he spends a lot of time with his sons, Billy and Tommy, going to car shows.
“We’re all into cars,” Blake said.
