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We Must Be Doing Something Right
I would respond with a question, and ask the person if he would ask the same question of a CEO of a small company that has a $3,000,000 a year operational budget. The usual response would be no. I would then explain the number of parks we maintain, programs we offer, buildings we manage and the number of employees we have. At that point, I usually start in with the importance of a quality park district to the community, and explain that dollar for dollar we offer the best use of their real estate taxes. Right about then, the person really wants to get away from me and warn the other guests not to ask me what I do for a living. One thing about people in the field of parks and recreation is that we are passionate about our profession, and feel slighted when people don’t understand what we do. In the past, people thought all we did was throw out the basketballs and blow a whistle and call it a day. Some of that perception still may exist today, but to a much lesser degree. Over the years as a profession, we have expanded programming, built acres and acres of parks, developed golf courses, ice rinks, tennis complexes, indoor soccer arenas and many other multi-use facilities. Over the years, we have grown the profession into multimillion dollar operations, and rarely does a person ask me if that is a full-time job. We have gained a greater respect from the community. People may not always understand what we do, but they appreciate what we provide for the community and they know we work hard to address the needs of our residents. A few years ago I was asked to serve on the board of directors for our downtown Tinley Park business district. I was told the reason I was asked to serve on this board was because the park district is always cutting edge and they needed creative thinkers – much better than being asked "Is that a full time job?" In the 1960s park districts' major responsibility was maintaining parks. In the 1970s we increased recreational programming services, and in the 1980s we started the facility building boom which we have continued to expand into the 21st century. We can credit our success to education and sharing our wealth of knowledge with each other. Throughout the decades of expansion, IPRA has been there providing education and networking opportunities for professionals. It is important that you take advantage of what IPRA has to offer and continue to learn and make progress in our field. Who knows what the next few decades will bring? One thing I know for sure, is there will be a greater demand for recreational services, parks and facilities to enhance the quality of life in our communities. – John Curran, IPRA Chairman of the Board of Directors |
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