IPRA Today
Illinois Park and Recreation
NEWS YOU CAN USE
The Council will be comprisedof a representative from each section and will elect one individual to serve as the Member Council Board Representative. Additionally, an At-Large position has been created to serve as a member of the Board. These changes will reduce the size of the Board from 14 to 9 effective January 2012. The IPRA Board of Directors is extremely excited about this change and believes it will allow more efficiency and collaboration among the sections, which will allow IPRA professionals to grow more broadly and diversely through their involvement. The existing section Board Representatives will serve out the remainder of their terms as a member ofthe Council. These individuals will be working over the next 18 months to establish the role of the Membership Council and to determine the best ways to collaborate amongst the sections. The new board structure will be effective January of 2012 and consists of:
As the Membership Council works on its chart of work and develops goals and objective, we will continue to keep you posted! Again, this is an exciting time for IPRA and we are happy that we have been able to implement a portion of the strategic plan and look forward to many additional elements of the plan unfolding over the next several months. If you would like to learn more about this process or have questions, please contact LoriKay Paden at lkpaden@illinois.edu. If you are interested in running for the At-Large Representative position for the IPRA Board of Directors, please let John Curran know. He can be reached at john.curran@tinleyparkdistrict.org. Thanks again for all that you do to make our profession rewarding. The deadline for application submission is Monday, October 3rd. For a copy of the application and election guidelines, please contact John Curran at john.curran@tinleyparkdistrict.org or Jan Arnold at jan@ilipra.org. Thanks in advance for your interest and involvement. This summer, Coca-Cola is kicking off the second annual America Is Your Park campaign toencouragefamilies to get active outdoors in parks across the country. Encourage your citizens to vote on www.LivePositively.com for a park in your area to win the title of "America's Favorite Park" and a $100,000 recreation grant! America Is Your Park was developed by Coca-Cola in collaboration with NRPA. The Coca-Cola Live Positively initiative will award a $100,000 recreation grant to the park with the most votes, a $50,000 grant to the second-place park, and a $25,000 grant to the third-place park. These grants can help buy new equipment, restore activity areas, build trails, or simply make your park an overall better place for your citizens. Get active and vote on www.LivePositively.com by September6, 2011, so one of your parks can be crowned America's favorite this summer! Last year's winner, Bear Head Lake State Park in Ely, Minn., beat out hundreds of others to be named "America's Favorite Park." This small park received more than 1.6 million votes. So get your park supporters active outdoors spreading the word, conducted voting drives, and energizing online social networks! Soccer for Success is the U.S. Soccer Foundation’s innovative youth development program that uses soccer as a tool to combat childhood obesity and promote healthy lifestyles for children in low-income urban communities. The U.S. Soccer Foundation and NRPA have partnered to help ensure that all children facing social and economic barriers have easy and affordable access to quality soccer programs that support both their physical and personal development. Grant funding will defray costs associated with staffing, equipment and uniforms, and administration of the program. This program seeks to benefit at least 1,000 children and youth living within an economically disadvantaged community. Apply by Aug.16, 2011, and bring Soccer for Success to your community. PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Date: August 11, 2011, 10:00 AM Click here to register! Why this is important:Good leaders understand the importance of employee engagement through the use of teams. In addition, leaders need to manage the internal support processes. Learning Outcomes: Participants will review types of teams, how to make them effective and will review backstage support practices in order to develop good internal customer service.
Date:August 11, 2011, 10:00 AM This course will review the requirements for professionals wishing to take the exam as well as fundamentals of administration, programming and operations for those preparing to take the CPRP exam. This session will include a box lunch for participants. Date:September 8, 2011, 10:00 AM Speaker:Dennis Snow, Snow & Associates, Inc. Beyond developing the strategy, however, there is the challenge of executing the plan. It’s in the execution that service excellence strategies become a reality or simply another "flavor-of-the-month" program. Employees watch to see how Based on the leadership principles Dennis learned, lived, and taught during his 20years with Walt Disney World, this presentation highlights specific leadership behaviors that bring a service strategy to life and describes how to "hardwire" service excellence into an organization’s culture. Participants will learn:
CALENDAR/UPCOMING EVENTS
Date:August 20, 2011 Contact Bobbie Jo Hill if you are interested in volunteering or have a group that would like to provide entertainment on one of the State Fair stages. This is also the location for the State Finals of the IPRA Teen Committee's Battle of the Bands.
CONFERENCE
HYATT REGENCY CHICAGO
SWISSOTEL
JOB OPPORTUNITIES
Job Title: Director of Marketing and Communications, Elmhurst Park District Job Title: Facilities Maintenance Manager, Carol Stream Park District Job Title: Athletic Supervisor, Oak Lawn Park District Job Title: Special Events/Public Relations Supervisor, Rolling Meadows Park District Job Title: System and Network Infrastructure Support Specialist, Skokie Park District Job Title: Aquatic Maintenance Supervisor, Mundelein Park & Recreation Dist. Job Title: Health and Fitness Manager, Streamwood Park District NEWS ABOUT MEMBERS
NRPA Spotlight Recently, the National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA) featured the St. Charles Park District as its "Spotlight" agency in the July 2011 edition of its countrywide publicationParks & Recreationmagazine. NRPA's monthly member magazine informs, motivates and inspires professionals, civic leaders and citizens to elevate the value of parks and recreation as a public service. The Board and staff of the St. Charles Park District are honored to receive this recognition. The District targets excellence, and continually works to provide the highest quality of park and recreation services to its constituents. Click here to read the article! St. Charles Parks Part of Reason City Ranked #1 by National Magazine When the editors ofFamily Circlemagazine established the criteria for their annual "Best Cities and Towns for Families" ranking, they evaluated such factors as housing, education, business, and green space. From 2,500 cities with a population between 15,000 and 150,000, St. Charles was selected as the best of the best by the magazine’s editors. For its part in this outstanding achievement, the St. Charles Park District is justifiably proud, and predictably humble. "We all work together," says Ray Ochromowicz, director of the St. Charles Park District, who acknowledges the complementary roles played by a wide range of St. Charles civic and private entities. Along with other governmental agencies such as the City of St. Charles, Township, and Kane County administration, Ochromowicz cites collaborative partnerships with the Kane County Forest Preserve, the St. Charles Community Unit School District 303, St. Charles Public Library, and numerous not-for-profit volunteer organizations that help the park district be responsive to the needs of its patrons. "It is refreshing to work with people who see possibilities as opposed to obstructions," says Ochromowicz, who credits regular monthly meetings with his counterparts from other agencies and liaison by the park district’s board of commissioners with community organizations as helping identify areas where the park district can play a role. With more than 1,400 acres of park land and facilities as diverse as Primrose Farm, a re-creation of a 1930s-era working homestead; Otter Cove Aquatic Park, a state-of-the-art water amusement center; and Hickory Knolls Discovery Center, a LEED-certified nature center built to the highest standards of environmental construction, the park district maintains a vast and visible presence in the St. Charles community. Along with activities geared toward everyone from pre-schoolers to retirees, the programs and facilities in St. Charles are "second to none," says Ochromowicz. Parks and recreation is about self-discovery and self-improvement," adds Ochromowicz. "We help build our community because of the activities we provide that bring people together." In addition to its responsive programming, Ochromowicz points to the abundance of natural resources available through the St. Charles Park District. The standard set by the National Parks and Recreation Association is for a community to have 10 acres of open space per every 1,000 people. "In St. Charles, we have 30 acres of open space per 1,000 people," says Ochromowicz, adding that when you add local property owned by the Kane County Forest Preserve and St. Charles school district, among others, the ratio is much higher. "I applaud the park district staff and its board for their visionary ability in acquiring this open space," says Ochromowicz. Such open space was one of the things that appealed to the Corbett family, who recently moved to St. Charles from the city of Chicago. Indeed, whenFamily Circlemagazine contacted them for input about their newlyadopted hometown, the Corbetts made special mention of enjoying their time with their four children in Pottawatomie Park. Nestled along the banks of the Fox River, this crown jewel of the park district boasts many of the amenities that appeal to area residents—hiking and biking trails, miniature golf, paddle boat and canoe rentals, playgrounds and athletic fields, as well as Pottawatomie Golf Course, which has been ranked the fifteenth-best nine-hole golf course in the country and "We are just very blessed to have these kinds of things," says Ochromowicz, who says he is always pleased when people outside the St. Charles area acknowledge the resources that contribute to our city’s reputation. The recognition byFamily Circlemagazine comes at an auspicious time in the park district’s history, as it celebrates its 100th anniversary this year. Having served St. Charles area residents since 1911, this is not the first time the park district has been in the national spotlight, however. In 1998, the park district was awarded the prestigious National Gold Medical Award for Excellence in Park and Recreation Management. And whileFamily Circle’s #1 ranking is a tremendous honor, there is a goal that is even more important, according to Ochromowicz. "The most important thing is, how do your constituents see you? Are you number one in their eyes? We strive to be the best we can be for them," says Ochromowicz. |
