IPRA Today

Coming up this weekend on Saturday, September 6 is the IAPD/IPRA Joint Legislative Picnic in Joliet at 10:00 AM. Families welcome.

Next week we have an A&F Section Meeting and educational session 'How to Prepare for a Ratings Call' on Wednesday, September 10. Also on Wednesday, is the webinar, "Aligning Services with Identified Needs".  Thursday, September 11 is the biggest TR event of the year, the Therapeutic Recreation (TR) Leadership Summit in Bartlett. And Friday, September 12 is the FM Meeting and Education, "How to Restore a Failing Facility."

We have numerous events coming up in the coming weeks, but a few highlights for you: the Innovation Renovation Workshop: Office Culture "The Road from Good to Great" is Friday, September 19. On September 23 and 24 is the Supervisor Symposium for early career professionals. Also September 23 and 24 is the Illinois Youth Sport Summit in partnership with the University of Illinois. This event is by invitation only. Our next quarterly New Member Webinar is October 10.

For executive directors, future leaders, and guests, please join us for a brand new program on October 7, before work hours at 7:00 AM for the first Leadership Academy Breakfast Club (LAB). This is a light breakfast, networking and an interview with a transformational leader. This first session will be $15 and our featured leader is Shawn Riegsecker, CEO of Centro. Under his leadership his company has been Number One on Crain's Chicago Business' Best Places to Work for four years in a row (2011-2014).  Join us for this networking and "fireside chat" interview of this inspiring leader.

On October 8, join us for a webinar on "Sponsorship Strategies from the Other Side of the Desk" in partnership with the Wisconsin Park & Recreation Association. On October 15, if you’re attending NRPA in Charlotte, NC, join us for the IPRA Social, 6:00 PM at Cosmos Café. Bring your entire team. Guests welcome.

On October 21-23, join us for Certified Playground Safety Inspector (CPSI) in St Charles. And don’t forget to attend one of our most popular events of the year, the Professional Development School (PDS) in Decatur on November 9-12.

Soon, in mid-September, you will receive the preliminary program for the 2015 Soaring to New Heights Conference. We have a new look and feel for the conference this year and a new technology that will allow you to create your personalized itinerary from your mobile device for the conference.

For information or to register for any of these events, please see the calendar on our website at www.ilipra.org . Its fall, make sure you get back to class!

Debbie Trueblood, CAE
Executive Director

 

At the same event I met Eileen Turk, Parks and Recreation Division Manager in Oceanside, California.  Aside from talking about her totally awesome job in one of the most beautiful spots on earth, she told me about the organization for which she was currently the national president, Women in Leisure Service, otherwise known as WILS,

Women in Leisure Services - Chi Kappa Rho, Inc. is a national organization for professional women whose work involves the delivery of leisure, recreation, park or community services in private, public and commercial settings. A network of chapters serves administrators, supervisors, educators, therapists, and armed forces professionals in defined geographical areas throughout the country. Local chapters provide an effective framework for members to share their ideas, broaden their interests, sharpen their skills and influence the profession in a unified manner.

Fired up to bring this concept to Illinois, I returned from Congress and had an information meeting about WILS.  Approximately 15 women attended.  A holiday luncheon, educational session and a networking event followed.  We were accepted by the National Board as an affiliate chapter.  Carrie Fullerton, Executive Director of the Bloomingdale Park District and I have done sessions at the IPR Conference for three years, specially geared for women.  The feedback was positive and people seemed to want more.  Unsure of how to proceed, I formed a task force this year to determine if there was a need for a special section or group for women in the state.   Margaret Resnick agreed to chair the task force and immediately started to gather input from our membership.  Ultimately, the group decided that an Illinois Chapter of WILS will be formed. 

WILS was created from the mind of one woman, a woman with great vision, inspiration, hopes and dreams. She believed a group of women who were engaged professionally in the various fields of recreation, could be brought together to promote unity of purpose; high standards of achievement; a better understanding and appreciation of related endeavors for the attainment of professional goals; to provide an opportunity for fostering friendship and sociability, stimulating mutual helpfulness and loyalty; and provide professional services.

This woman, the founder was Helen I. Pontius. She shared these ideas with several women in 1935 at a City of Los Angeles Playgrounds Department of Recreation Directors meeting. In 1936, Chi Kappa Rho became a reality when the first Chapter, Alpha, in Los Angeles, California was chartered. The original name of Chi Kappa Rho was derived from three Greek letters XKP symbolizing Character, Knowledge and Recreation.

The organization grew slowly and from 1935 to 1967 all of the chapters were located in the state of California. The first National Board was established in 1964, and in 1975 Chi Kappa Rho became a non-profit corporation. A vote of the members in 1991 resulted in an amendment to the Articles of Incorporation and the Bylaws to officially change the name of the organization from Chi Kappa Rho to Women in Leisure Services, Chi Kappa Rho, Inc. Today, four WILS chapters (three in California and one in Minnesota) make up the national organization.

In 2013 I attended the National Board meeting for Women in Leisure Services in Minnesota.  The representative of the Minnesota chapter welcomed the California delegates and me into her home in beautiful Eagan, Minnesota with open arms.  I spent two days and nights with a group of women I hardly knew, but our passion for parks and recreation brought us together.  We discussed issues facing our field on the national, state and local level; we talked about our agencies and jobs.  We toured the local recreation facilities, which were incredible.  I attended the national luncheon where they honored women that had made a significant contribution to the organization.  Simply put, I was inspired.

Does this sound intriguing to you?  Are you interested in being a part of this new chapter in Illinois?  Would you like to take a leadership role?  If you are interested in participating in the Illinois Chapter of Women in Leisure Services please contact IPRA or me at jphincapie@lwd.org. 

I can’t help but smile when I think about the birth of this organization in Illinois.  A special thanks to Margaret Resnick, Bobbie Nance and the rest of the task force for their efforts in completing the analysis and setting the wheels in motion.  Your efforts will have a positive impact on the women in Illinois parks and recreation for years to come.

Jan Peterson Hincapie, CPRP
Director of Parks and Recreation
Village of Lincolnwood