IPRA Today - Have You Renewed?

Greetings!

Recently, IPRA has experienced very high numbers of new members joining us and we look forward to bringing all these new people into our community. I look forward to meeting so many of you at conference in January.

In the meantime, IPRA continues to be busy with many new activities and ongoing mission driven improvements. I am so excited about the latest change in the sections. The Ethnic Minority Section has become the Diversity Section. This change was initiated by the section and approved by the IPRA Board along with a new direction for the section. Per the proposal submitted by Section Director Keely Lewis-Childress, "The Diversity Section plans on being the leading source for all aspects of diversity in the park and recreation profession in Illinois and serve as a resource to IPRA members. We would like to tackle topics that face our profession ranging from women in park and recreation, the glass ceiling, same sex households, cultural issues that may affect programs and services, the multi generation work force, employing individuals with disabilities, celebrating holidays while honoring different religions and ethnicities, changing demographics and diversifying the workforce to name a few. It is time for a change and this section is excited to recruit new members and address the hot topics that face us all in our professional lives under the new name of the Diversity Section!"

After extensive recruitment by the section leadership, the Diversity Section is now at almost 70 members - up from just over twenty not too long ago. Congratulations to the section leaders who have created such strong positive momentum and built such strength for this section. The section has scheduled their educational events for 2013, and are working hard to continue in this new direction. As a reminder, IPRA members may belong to as many of the seven sections as they choose for no extra charge. If you would like to join this section, please sign up by adjusting your profile when you login to the website. If other sections want to share their latest news, please let me know!

Another topic I want to address is the IPRA staff team. I often meet with members who tell me they just don’t know who to call at the IPRA office, or they didn’t know that some of our staff are only with us part-time. So, allow me to run down the basic list of who does what:

Debbie Trueblood, Executive Director. I manage the board, budget, foundation, strategic planning, and other high level leadership and oversight. My schedule is Monday-Friday. My phone number is 708-588-2285 and my email address is debbie@ilipra.org.

Matt Fairbanks is the Membership and Education Director. He manages sections, committees, ambassadors, educational offerings, Leadership Academy, and CEUs. His schedule is Monday-Friday. His phone number is 708-588-2286 and his email address is matt@ilipra.org.

Dina Kartch is the Meeting and Conference Director. She manages the conference in conjunction with her counterpart at IAPD and is primarily responsible for programming, speaker and logistics. She also handles meeting planning logistics for IPRA events and schools such as PDS, Supervisor Symposium and the TR Leadership Summit. Her schedule is Monday-Friday. Her phone number is 708-588-2287. Her email address is dina@ilipra.org.

Barry Franks is the Financial Services Director. He handles IPRA’s finances, section financial reports, and the foundation financials. His schedule is Monday-Friday. His phone number is 708-588-2284 and his email address is barry@ilipra.org.

Heather Weishaar is the Communications & Development Manager. She handles commercial membership, the IPRA job board, the IPRA newsletter, silent auction, member communication, section communication, and webinars. Her schedule is Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Her phone number is 708-588-2282 and her email address is heather@ilipra.org.

Sheila Mulvey-Tatoris is the Education and Membership Services Manager. She handles the IPRA website, membership/customer service, and education registration. Sheila’s schedule is Monday-Thursday. Her phone number is 708-588-2283 and her email address is sheila@ilipra.org.

Please note, conference registration questions are handled by our registration company, CTE at ilparks2013@cteusa.com or 847-759-4279. If you’re not sure who to talk to, feel free to call our main line at 708-588-2280.

Thank you. Hopefully this list will help members to feel more comfortable with the entire staff team as we all work together to best serve our members, our mission, and parks and recreation in Illinois.

-Debbie Trueblood, CAE, Executive Director

536 East Avenue, LaGrange, IL 60525 | Phone: 708-588-2280 | Fax : 708-354-0535