Photograph by Chad Pilster

It's the Little Things: Parks and Recs commissioner Linda Andrianos sits with some of her young charges on a bench they painted at John D. Morgan Park.




Public Citizen

A Mom for All Seasons

Parks commissioner teaches kids to have pride in themselves and the community

By Genevieve Roja

Linda Andrianos is all business as she pulls into a parking space at John D. Morgan Park. Her blue '70s-era van is no Magic School Bus, but it serves its purpose, transporting wee ones and middle-schoolers from her daycare to the park for that day.

"Can somebody please grab the snacks?" she says to one of her charges.

A little girl diligently totes a white plastic bag of oranges as her peers head for the play apparatus in the sand lot. The kids are all well-behaved and thoughtful, even when Andrianos puts them to work.

"OK, pick up 10 pieces of trash," she says.

They return, proud of their findings. Other children might detest fetching Popsicle wrappers and fruit peels, but not these kids. These are Linda's kids.

"Make sure you wash your hands," she says as two girls present their litter. In an aside she says, "This is so important because kids have to grow up with community spirit and morals."

The kids have a profound sense of responsibility, too, thanks to Andrianos, who is a Campbell Parks and Recreation commissioner and once served as chair. Many of the children and other members of the community also have Andrianos to thank for salvaging the park.

A few years ago, the park was a local drug-dealing spot and home to a few alcohol-swigging vagrants. Andrianos was concerned for her neighborhood, located behind the park; some children witnessed the deals. Enough was enough.

Andrianos organized community meetings, communicated with the Campbell police and posted fliers. It was a grand success. John D. Morgan now allows alcohol by permit only. People began to notice her take-charge attitude. She joined the Parks Improvement Implementation Plan, a city organization made up of citizens wanting to improve parks. Next came an application for the commission, which was quite a change for former corporate gal Andrianos. She says she left her job as a service coordinator at a technological firm to be with her own children.

"Sure they could cook their own hot dogs, but they were growing up without any values," says the Michigan native. "Now, I'm making a difference."

Under her care, Andrianos' charges have pride in themselves, and are pro-active in their community. They have painted many of the benches and picnic tables in the park. They tag along with Andrianos when she's compiling her status report on the parks, too, catching the little things adults often cannot. Andrianos says this is all good training.

She has proof.

"In 13 years, kids with me then, now they're not running around spray-painting," she says. "Take the time to get kids involved in things like this. It's such a necessary thing."

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