Ginger Dagnall, new appointee to the CSA 36 Advisory Council, has solid history with the Hill and its community recreation programs. At Idyllwild School, she just finished coaching Middle School girls volleyball. Now she is coaching the boys.
Four years ago she volunteered to help run the volleyball programs at Town Hall. She noted it was a constant struggle with the county to get approval for a full menu of sports offerings. “I had to fight to have these programs happen,” she said.
As prior recreation director for Thousand Trails in Pine Cove, Dagnall established programs to exercise the mind and body through outdoor recreation, organized as part of a monthly calendar.
With the rebirth of the advisory council, Dagnall said her mission is to expand recreational offerings for all age groups and to see that recreation facilities and venues are well and safely maintained. Several of the new council appointees mentioned the front door to Town Hall has not been useable for an extended period. Dagnall and her colleagues intend to have that remedied.
Dagnall would like to see programs developed as part of Town Hall community recreation that serve all age groups – programs that could include nature walks, bike clubs, yoga and pilates for older residents as well as an expanded menu of sports offerings for youth and adults. “I have the history with the community and the resources to pull from,” she noted. “I know how this community comes together in activities.”
She especially aims to bring her expertise in and enthusiasm for sports to service on the council. She was Hemet High School and Hemet Middle School volleyball head coach. “I encouraged good communication at all times between parents, players and coaches and developed a program based on team unity and individual goal setting,” she said.
As part of personal skill sets she will bring to council service, Dagnall cites her strong organizational skills and a track record of working with youth and building cohesive teams.
“I want to see a year-round activities calendar that introduces all the recreational opportunities available to the community – activities that are continued and expected,” she noted. “I can’t stay away from being involved with the community and its recreation programs. I like to be around kids having fun. It does take a community to raise children.”
Dagnall was born in Escondido, grew up in San Marcos, Valley Center and then Anza, where she graduated from Hamilton High School. As a parent with two young children, she has a vested interest in ensuring the value, validity and safety of community recreation. And given that community recreation is funded by property owner tax dollars, Dagnall believes the county must be responsive to the community’s interests and account for how those tax dollars are being spent.
In addition to volunteering to coach sports for young people, Dagnall is a smARTS committee member at Idyllwild School, has volunteered for the Idyllwild Ghost Town to raise money for sports scholarships for local youth, and is a member of the board of Conor O’Farrell’s Leg Up Theater Company. And, with just a bit of nervousness but a lot of enthusiasm, Dagnall will make her acting debut in O’Farrell’s “Lovers and Other Strangers” over Memorial Day weekend. The comedy is a fundraiser for the Idyllwild Help Center.
