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IPRA's Five-Year Strategic Plan
One of the areas in the new plan that we have been busy implementing is our new governance model. In the past few years, the IPRA board met six times a year, always in the Chicago suburban area. This year, we wanted to venture out together, so the IPRA board and I are meeting four times, each time in a different region of the state. When we meet, we are taking the opportunity to have a meal with our local VIPs and affiliate groups and then staying in town to engage in a park and recreation event in the community together. We have already had two of our four meetings for the year in Lincolnwood and Fairview Heights respectively. These regional events allow the board to really engage in IPRA locally across the state. In Lincolnwood, we had the pleasure of sharing dinner with the boards of Midwest Institute for Park Executives (MIPE), South Suburban Park and Recreation Professional Association (SSPRPA), and Suburban Park and Recreation Association (SPRA). This was an exciting opportunity for our groups to network together and learn from each other. My thanks to IPRA Board Chair and Director of the Lincolnwood Parks & Recreation Department, Jan Hincapie, for helping us set up the event and to Barbara Cremin, Supt. of Administrative Operations at the Glenview Park District for her presentation on the IPRA Salary Survey Task Force. In Fairview Heights, we shared dinner with past IPRA Chairs Mark Badasch and George Whitehead, as well as board members from South Illinois Parks and Recreation Professional Association (SIPRA) and key southern Illinois volunteers. In southern Illinois the IPRA board and I also attended a SIPRA board meeting and many SIPRA/IPRA members attending the IPRA board meeting as well. This was an excellent opportunity to spend some face time together making connections. The IPRA board and I are always on the look-out to identify ways we can better serve IPRA members in all parts of the state. As an additional piece of our new governance model, we focused our first meeting on Board training on governance issues and our annual board orientation, but we added a secondary training at our second board meeting. This was a focus on the governance subtopic of ethics, to ensure our board is always up to date on the latest issues in ethics. Further, we spent the bulk of our time together that day on the topic of parks and recreation in southern Illinois - the history, the needs, the economic and political pressures, etc. My thanks to Mary Jeanne Hutchison, IPRA Board Member/Director of O'Fallon Parks and Recreation Department and Angela Beaston, Parks and Recreation Director, City of Fairview Heights for helping us to set up this event. My thanks to George Whitehead, Mark Badasch, and Southern Illinois University student Torri Withrow for presenting. Our final two board meetings will be in the fall in Rockford and Springfield. We will be hosting similar events in these communities for local leaders and affiliate groups. If you have any questions about our new strategic direction or have suggestions for ways we can serve you better, do not hesitate to contact me. Debbie Trueblood, CAE Executive Director |
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