NAS Patuxent River’s Morale, Welfare, and Recreation (MWR) Glow Party Skate Night was recognized by Commander, Navy Installations Command as the Program of the Year 2023.
The all-ages event was held in August 2023 after a review of programs that saw a rise in popularity over the previous years.
“During COVID, roller skating had a resurgence to the recreational world, during the same time we relocated our Roller Hockey Rink to one of our tennis courts,” said Jen Beavers, NAS Patuxent River MWR Director. “Community Rec wanted to highlight the roller hockey rink to our population in a way that showed it could be utilized by anyone to skate on, not just for intramural sports.”
Beavers noted that since there are few roller rinks in the area, the Glow Party Skate Night had the unique ability to fill a recreational need in the area.
“We do not have a skating rink in our area, so this allowed for something new and fun for our customers to do that they would otherwise have to drive to over an hour to participate in We had two skating areas set up, one was our Roller Hockey Rink that was recently re-furbished so it allowed us to highlight the location and for those customers who have skates to know they could come out and skate on it. We also rented a roller skating surface and rental skates for those customers who do not own their own skating equipment to be able to participate.”
Pax River MWR was also able to leverage the location for concession sales from the Center Stage Theater for added revenue, and gave it a glow theme to ensure an extended event.
NAS Pax River MWR will receive a monetary award that Beavers is looking forward to reinvesting into future Community Rec programs for Pax service members and their families.
“We are always trying to bring new, fun, innovated programs and ideas to Pax River and we are grateful that our peers across the enterprise recognized us for it,” said Beavers. “It helps us stay motivated to continue to think outside the box when planning for special events. We are putting together our list now to find equipment that will help us continue to think outside the box that we normally would not have the opportunity to purchase.”
