by Rachel Hunter
Parkstead Gouverneur Assistant Property Manager Sean Peck of Gouverneur eagerly anticipates decorating for the Halloween Trunk N Treat to be held on October 31, 6 to 8 p.m., hosted by Parkstead Gouverneur. Pictured with Mr. Peck are “his boys” Billy Joe, Axle the Rebel, Junior, and Billy Bob which will be part of the Halloween décor at the Halloween Trunk N Treat on Halloween Night. (Rachel Hunter photo)
A Halloween Trunk N Treat, sponsored and hosted by Parkstead Gouverneur, will be held on Halloween Night, Saturday, October 31, 6 to 8 p.m., at 500 Sleepy Hollow Rd., off Pooler St., Gouverneur.
“The Trunk N Treat we are going to open up to the public because we wanted to make sure that with everything going on with COVID that we wanted to make sure the kids had something,” Parkstead Gouverneur Assistant Property Manager Sean Peck of Gouverneur said. “With Parkstead, I am deep into community. I want to get our complex into the community. Some of our residents came to me, and said: “What are we going to do for the kids?” I said, “Well, I am thinking about a Trunk N Treat. And they said, “Well, that’s what we were thinking.” So at that point we decided to go ahead and open it to the public.”
The Halloween Trunk N Treat will start at the Parkstead Gouverneur Leasing Office. “All the people giving out candy will be on one side of the road, so that way kids are not running all over the complex. So, they are going to go down the one side of the road, turn the corner and go back around. All the residents will be lined up on the side of the road here and they will be required to wear a mask and gloves to hand out candy, because they are handing out. On the back side, where we don’t have apartments, where the tennis courts and basketball courts are… I have actually had some people call and say, “Can we come and help?” So they are going to come and we are going to set them up over in that area. If the kids are wearing costumes that don’t require a mask, we ask that they do put a mask on. We just want to make it fun, but safe for everybody and just do our part to help Gouverneur. All of us have been through enough with this, but the kids don’t deserve to lose Halloween. Halloween is my favorite holiday, and I wanted to make sure that this was going to be a special one for them. It is the least we can do. We have a big enough complex… We have 100 shares on Facebook already. With phone calls and responses, I am expecting we will probably have well over 100 kids come. It’s really good, not just for us but the community.”
Regarding social distancing requirements, Assistant Manager Peck said the Parkstead staff will be located throughout the property. We’ll let them know that the families can walk together, because they are a family. But the next one must be six feet apart, and we’ll just make sure that we stagger them. We are doing it from 6 to 8 p.m., so over a two-hour period, I don’t think everyone is going to come at one time. So we’ll be able to spread it out… Tell them to get to one car and then get to the next, so someone else can start. We just want to keep it moving along… We just don’t want the kids to be running all over, because that might cause some issues with the social distancing requirements.
“We looked into it. The governor is not canceling Halloween. He did say that in his press conference. And we just are making sure that whoever is handing out candy wears a mask and gloves. We are going to make sure that if they don’t wear a mask and gloves, that they are provided. We’ve already ordered masks and gloves to make sure that everyone has masks and gloves. So we will provide that, and we are just following everything that is in the guidelines right now. It is going to be a fun event, and it is for the kids. It is 100 percent for the kids…. The last group that gets here at 8 p.m., we will let them push on through. All of our residents have been given the flyers, and I am going to see if businesses around town will put them in their windows.”
Parkstead Gouverneur will also host a Best Costume Contest. “We are going to ask local business to donate prizes for the costume contest,” Assistant Property Manager Peck said. “And we are also going to be taking pictures of everybody and we are going to post them on our webpage… so that people can go in and print off their kids in their costumes.”
Parkstead Gouverneur Assistant Property Manager Sean Peck, the son of Carlton Peck (of Peck Band Awards fame), said he’s looking forward to becoming more active in the community in the future. “Everybody knows what my dad did,” he said. “Dad was always the one who made sure things were bigger than what they were supposed to be… I am following in his footsteps. I want to make sure that is really big for the kids. I am excited… my bosses are excited, and the community’s excited. We just want everyone to know that Parkstead is here. We are in this community, and we want to be a part of the community. We are going to do a lot more community activities once a lot of this passes, and we are going to do more things. We are here. We love this community, and we want to be part of the community. I just got the Gouverneur Area Chamber of Commerce stuff in the mail. We are going to join the Chamber… I am already an assistant director with the Gouverneur and St. Lawrence County Fair Association. That fair has been a part of my life since the day I was born. I am 51, and dad has been active at the fair for 56 years, so it has been a part of my life since the day I was born. Gouverneur has always held a special place in my heart… I am here now, and I am here to stay. And now it is time for me to do what dad always wanted to do – and dad always wanted to be back here and part of the community. So now it is time for me to follow in his footsteps. So we’ll start with (Trunk N Treat) and use the Parkstead Gouverneur complex for everything.”
Parkstead Gouverneur Assistant Property Manager Sean Peck said the company has been getting more involved in the community lately with the giveaways at the Gouverneur Pumpkin Festival, social media postings, and more. The company is looking forward to inviting the public to Parkstead Gouverneur for the Halloween Trunk N Treat on October 31, 6 to 6 p.m. All CDC guidelines amid the COVID-19 crisis will be enforced.