Bresse Honored for Youth Council Service

By Andrea Halpern

When David Bresse recalls his first year with the Farmingdale Youth Council, he remembers collecting donations of scrap materials from factories on Route 110 for the youngsters` arts and crafts projects.

That was over 20 years ago, and things have changed for the council since then. Today, the non-profit organization has a larger budget to work with. Its staff members now buy supplies for their arts and crafts projects.

However, through those years of change, which Bresse has seen, some things have remained constant. One of those things, according to the community leaders who recently honored Bresse, has been his dedication to Farmingdale youth.

Bresse, who retired after devoting 27 years to the Farmingdale Youth Council, was recently presented with a proclamation by Farmingdale Village Mayor Joseph M. Trudden in recognition of his service to youth.

During 1970, his first year with the youth council, Bresse served as the director of arts and crafts. The scraps he got from the Route 110 factories included such materials as Styrofoam and wood. He said he used to test these media on his own children. "I would go home, throw them on the kitchen table, and see what the kids made out of them," he said. "Whatever the kids made out of them, that would be the next day`s project."

Bresse also solicited materials from local merchants. "No store was safe from us," he said. In return for the contributions, he said the organization gave each of the merchants a free advertisement in the youth council`s newsletter.

The year 1970 was also that in which Bresse, then also a young teacher in Farmingdale Schools, grew his beard, which is another one of those things that has stuck throughout the years. "I grew it and it stayed," he said. "Well, it separated me from the kids."

After being arts and crafts director for a year, Bresse was recreation director for the youth council for three years.

Around the time that Bresse became employed with the youth council, the organization had started a winter recreational program on Saturday mornings at what was then known as Mill Lane School. The name of the school was later changed to East Memorial at Mill Lane School. "Back in those days we used to get a huge crowd," Bresse said, recalling a basketball program in which fathers and sons participated together. The program later was ended because of insurance concerns.

After serving as recreation director for about 13 years, Bresse became program coordinator in 1986. In this position, he worked closely with Tim McBride, director of the youth council.

The Farmingdale Youth Council was formed as a non-profit organization in 1950. Local taxpayers vote for or against its budget when they vote on the school budget. The council is sponsored by Farmingdale Public Schools, which gives it use of school facilities for its programs. The Village of Farmingdale, because of its corporate status, administers the funds for the program. In addition to operating recreation programs at Farmingdale schools, the council is an umbrella organization that allocates funds to such Farmingdale activities as PAL, Wolverines Midget Football and cheerleading. Bresse and other community leaders have noted that council is unique in its expansive role in the community. "It`s the only one I know of in New York State," he said.

As the budget grew during Bresse`s years with the youth council, the programs and level of community participation expanded. "It`s grown every year since I`ve been program coordinator," said Bresse, noting that the council now has 3,000 registrants.

Bresse said a high level of enthusiasm for the organization can be attributed to its success in getting youngsters to work together, and the structured recreation that it provides. The organization also diversifies the activities according to the interests of the youth , he said.

During the summer, he noted, the council employs about 100 students from the community as recreation counselors. All recreation, however, is supervised by certified teachers, Bresse added. "We always wanted to make sure there were certified teachers for all the programs," he said.

In addition to the growth of overall participation, individual programs have flourished. For example, Bresse noted the growth of the theater arts program that occurred while he was program coordinator and McBride was beginning his service as director, "When Tim and I took it over, there were 14 kids. There are now 85 in two groups," he said.

Other youth council programs include sewing, swimming, basketball, wrestling, cultural arts, and computer clinics. "We try to hit all their interests," Bresse said.

McBride also started a teen evening program for adolescents, which has been successful, Bresse said. "It`s aimed specifically at that age group," he said. "It gives the kids a place to go at least one Friday evening a month."

In addition to providing fun activities, Bresse recalled, the Farmingdale Youth Council summer program has for years marked the official start of the hot season for young Farmingdale residents. "We start youth council three days after school ends," he said.

Swimming lessons at the Howitt Pool, which are supervised by the council, also have significance to Farmingdale youngsters, Bresse noted. "Anybody you talk to in Farmingdale, if they`re a native of Farmingdale, probably they learned to swim there," he said.

Bresse himself is not a Farmingdale native, and he did not learn to swim in the Howitt Pool. A Wantagh resident, he has never lived in Farmingdale. However, in addition to retiring from years of employment with the youth council, he recently retired from teaching in Farmingdale Schools for close to 40 years. He was also an officer in the Farmingdale Federation of Teachers and member of the Youth Council Board for several years. "I spent more time in Farmingdale than I did in my hometown," he said. "In fact, I know the streets of Farmingdale better than I do the streets of Wantagh."

A veteran of the streets of Farmingdale Bresse said, the communities` youth, like him and the youth council, have stayed the same in some ways, while they have changed in others. The youngsters, over the years, have changed their minds about the types of recreation activities they want, and he said, "They're more demanding." However, he added, like always, the youth want fun competition, and they want to be respected. "Kids are still kids," he said.

Bresse noted that his involvement with the youth council was personally fulfilling. "I just found youth council to be such a great program. That`s why I stayed with it," he said. "It does everything a kid would want it to do -- for Farmingdale."

Although Bresse has retired, the youth of Farmingdale should not expect to see the end of him. "Will I probably go in another summer and just hang around and volunteer?" he said. "Probably."