DMYFS youth program director on to new challenges

Pamela Morello

Crystal Kolman, right, with Mackenzie Washington, 7, a DMYFS participant.

For the last three years, Crystal Kolman has been a constant figure in what has been a transitioning time in the history of Durham/Middlefield Youth and Family Services. This week, however, Kolman said goodbye to the center, the children who attend their programs, and their parents, as she turns to focus on her education.

Kolman, 19, started her work with DMYFS as a counselor when she was in high school. After a year, she moved into her current position as program director, running all youth programming, including the after school and summer programs, middle school dances, Tot Time, slumber parties, babysitting classes and more.

"The experience has been worthwhile," Kolman said. "I have enjoyed getting to know the kids and meeting the people I share this community with."

DMYFS provided Kolman, of Durham, with a real-life learning experience that has gone hand-in-hand with her studies in elementary education at Central Connecticut State University. This month she starts her junior year at Central, a more difficult year for those in the education program.

"I'm going to need that extra time to study and focus on school," Kolman said.

Kolman said she will miss the kids at DMYFS, whom she has grown used to seeing every day, and their families, whom she has gotten to know very well over the last several years. The feeling is mutual for those who have gotten to know Kolman.

Bernadette Basiel, who is secretary on the DMYFS board and also sends her children to its programs, said Kolman has been the one constant there.

"Crystal has really been a valuable asset to DMYFS," Basiel said, "both for the parents who need the programs and the kids who needed to see the same smiling face every day."

A replacement for Kolman has not yet been selected. Basiel said interviews have been conducted and are ongoing. The position is unique in that it is part time during the school year, and full time during the summer months.

"It presents some unique challenges in trying to find someone whose schedule will fit that," Basiel said.

Anyone interested in the position should contact DMYFS director David Melchionne at (860) 349-0258 or e-mail melchionne.dmyfs@comcast.net.

In other DMYFS news, at the recent annual meeting new officers were elected including Sharon Quirk as chair; Jeff Francis, vice chair; Liesl Gargiulo, treasurer; and Basiel, secretary. Francis is the only new member of the board. Residents of both Durham and Middlefield who might be interested in serving in any way, either through board membership or volunteering, can attend a board meeting at the Youth Center in the Middlefield Community Center on the first Tuesday of any month at 7 p.m. or call the Center at (860) 349-0258.