History

The mission of North Andover Youth and Recreation Services is to provide the community, youth, and their families with staff, resources, and programs with the goal of empowerment and building self-esteem. The positive experience of this involvement enriches and strengthens the fabric of our community for today and a lifetime.

In 1988, North Andover Youth and Recreation Services was established through a state grant of $15,000 that was matched by funds from North Andover residents and businesses. NAYRS began as a one-year pilot program whose purpose was to provide activities and information/referral services for high-risk teens in town. Now, decades later, North Andover Youth and Recreation Services is a vital part of the town. Our programs and services serve over 3,500 youth per year, with a focus on middle school and high school students during the school year, and K-12 during the summer.

We are a true multi-service agency, coordinating a variety of services to reach all youth in the community. These services range from recreation, sports, and outdoor adventure to support, tracking and crisis intervention with young people and their families, to leadership, mentoring, and part-time employment. We work closely with the North Andover school systems, the police, and other town departments and area partners to ensure that to the extent possible, youth in need of services receive them.

During the summer of 2000, we were able to extend services and programs offered even further. NAYRS held the ribbon-cutting ceremony of the Joseph N. Hermann Youth Center; an architecturally grand building now home-base to Youth and Recreation Services staff and the services provided. The Joseph N. Hermann Youth Center provides a multipurpose center for the youth of our community. 

Plans are underway to expand the present facility to expand the present facility by 5000 square feet to further our ability to offer programs and services. 

North Andover Youth & Recreation Services has been recognized locally, regionally and nationally for its vision, programs and services. NAYRS continues to be a leader in youth development.

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Rick Gorman

Youth & Recreation Services

Founder and Former Executive Director


unnamedRick was Executive Director of Youth and Recreation Services from its inception in 1988 until February 2026. Rick received his Masters Degree in Community Social Psychology from the University of Massachusetts Lowell and his Bachelors Degree in Government and Pre-Law from Suffolk University. Over his illustrious career he was the recipient of numerous local, state and national awards. In 1989 he was named USA Today’s Massachusetts Drug Buster of the Year. In 1993 he received the prestigious Lord Baden Powell Award for Distinguished Citizenship. In 1997 he received the Rotary Club Community Cares Award. In 2005 Rick was inducted into the ABA (Academic Basketball Awareness Camp) Hall of Fame. In 2021 Rick received the Leo Miller Award from MBCA, as well as Citation from the Massachusetts House of Representatives and State Senate for operating programs through a global pandemic. In  2025 he received the Frank Cann Lifetime Achievement Award from the Valley Patriot . 

Rick’s biggest accomplishments include starting the department from scratch, growing NAYRS from a one man operation to where it now serves more than 3,800 youth each year. In 1993 Rick and others began the arduous process of raising money to build a state of the art Youth Center to finally put programs under one roof. The work paid off when in July 2000 the Joseph N. Hermann Youth Center opened its doors. Rick’s greatest accomplishment may well have been his commitment to design and operate much needed programming during the Covid-19 pandemic of 2000 and 2001.

As the town's field administrator Rick was behind many recreation field additions and enhancements such as McEvoy Field, Carter Field, Dale Street Field, the High School Athletic fields and the highly anticipated RecPlex project which is slated to begin phase one in 2026.

Over 38 years Rick built a culture at the Youth Center which is unlike any other in youth development. The 150-175 kids hired every year at the Youth Center understand and live the five YC Pillars: CULTURE, PASSION, KINDNESS, EMPOWERMENT and GROWTH.

In 2026 Rick passed the torch on to our new Director Joe Agosto who will take the department to new heights during his tenure.