At the Town Council meeting on Sept. 18, Parks and Recreation Department Director Bo Potter was recognized with the Distinguished Service Award from the Connecticut Recreation and Parks Association (CRPA).

During the Town Council meeting on Sept. 18, Potter was on hand to inform the council of the status of various initiatives the Clinton Parks and Recreation department has been working on recently. After his update, Joe Schettino, chairman of the Clinton Park and Recreation Commission, told the council he had one more piece of information to share: CRPA had awarded Potter with its Distinguished Service Award.

Per a description of the award read by Schettino, “This is the most prestigious award that CRPA offers. To receive the Distinguished Service Award, the nominee shall be a CRPA member and an individual who has made outstanding contributions over a significant number of years to the recreation and/or parks field. Such contributions might be for outstanding leadership, committee work on a state or national level, outstanding service as a professional worker, research, promoting the profession, and/or outstanding development of equipment, layout, or design.”

After Schettino finished reading the declaration, Potter received a standing ovation and congratulatory handshakes from the entire council.

Chris Passante, who serves on the council in addition to the Clinton Parks and Recreation Commission, told the Harbor News that as someone who grew up in Clinton, he has seen Potter’s commitment to the town up close going back to when Potter was a young man helping coach the football team in the 1980s.

“The thing people don’t realize is that on top of everything else, he is in charge of the beach, and he is so committed to this town. He puts in extra hours and tries to listen to everyone,” Passante said.

“You can see it with the recent thing with the pickleball courts. He thinks of the whole town and people’s interests. It’s not just football, or basketball, or soccer, or the mainstream sports. He thinks of all the people and makes the parks accessible for everyone,” Passante continued.

Potter said he has been working in Clinton’s recreation department for 40 years and that he was shocked when informed he won the award.

“I was very surprised and very proud. It’s a big award, and they’re a big organization,” Potter said.

Potter said he was informed of the award shortly before the council meeting. “I’m thrilled. I’ve been very upbeat since I was told.”

Potter will be officially given the award at luncheon on Tuesday, Nov. 26, at Mohegan Sun.