What a busy time we've already had in 2016!

What a busy time we’ve already had in 2016! I’ve been all over spreading the good word of IPRA and building connections and relationships with our various constituency groups. Let me share with you what’s been happening.

In January, of course, we were all together at our conference. Before that we had all the seven section boards and committee chairs join us for the annual section leader orientation

In February, I had such a great time joining many of our parks professionals at the Great Lakes Park Training Institute in Angola, Indiana. I had the great honor of presenting the opening general session. I spoke on job hunting in our field and how to get the job you want to progress in your career. At this regional conference of about 200 attendees, nearly half are from Illinois. (As a shout out to those in attendance, remember the "red M&M.") 

I also met with our THREE new IPRA board members for an orientation in Champaign with IPRA Board Chair Mary Jeanne Hutchison. Our new board members are from Waukegan, Champaign, and Godfrey, so Champaign was a central meeting point.

We had the fourth ProConnect event of this cycle in Oak Brook.

And in late February, the IPRA staff held their (delayed) holiday party as a service project with NWSRA. We were thrilled to serve as guest judges in the NWSRA adult day program "Chopped" cooking challenge.

In March, we celebrated with the first joint ProConnect and ProConnect South Culmination luncheon, completing this year’s ProConnect program. Applications will be available for the next cycle in late summer.

Later in March, I attended the California Park and Recreation Society annual conference in Long Beach, California. In my three and a half years with IPRA, I have attended Wisconsin, Michigan, and now the California park and rec state conferences. I'm always interested in learning from other states and identifying things we could do differently, as well as building that relationship between Illinois and our sister states. One of the standout moments of their conference was at their opening session, their new board chair took the stage, delivered his annual address and words of thanks, then explained that early in his career he was a camp counselor and would lead kids in sing alongs. He got out his guitar and a harmonica and led all 1,500 people in a singalong of "California Dreamin." Can you imagine? Further, the California state association board is sworn in by the NRPA board chair every year. The opening social was outside around a huge fountain with six food trucks of varying kinds of foods, some drink stations, some outdoor heaters, and an oldies' band. I was envious of the options they have for outdoor events! Still, in many ways, it was just like home. It was a joy to get to visit our sister state and build that relationship. I came back with many ideas to try new things.

We also headed south to O’Fallon, Illinois near St Louis for the 2016 Board Orientation and Retreat. The board was led through a Strength Finders exercise by an outside consultant, then proceeded through a "deep dive" of IPRA’s current position, financial health, relationships, statistics/demographics of members, and vision for our five-year strategic plan with details for 2016 planning. This is done annually to help start the year on the same page with the same understanding across the "board".

This week, I attended the "CEO Symposium" presented by the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE). This symposium is for associations’ Chief Elected Officer (CEO) and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) to come together and spend two days on the partnership between the two individuals, the board/staff relationship, and the overall health of the association in terms of planning for the future, taking into account association best practices and association methods. I attend every year- this year I attended with our current Chair Elect, Rita Fletcher.

Following that, I will meet in Washington DC for a national Ethics Committee in which I serve on behalf of IPRA.

I look forward to a trip to Carbondale, IL to present at the John Allen Symposium there with students and local professionals on the value of professional development, networking, and mentoring. That night they are having an event in honor of IPRA’s Past President, and my friend, George Whitehead, who recently passed away. I wouldn’t miss that for the world.

All of these assorted meetings and events are part of IPRA’s vision of spreading the word about our value, positioning ourselves to be the best park and rec association in the country, building relationships that matter with constituency groups who support our mission. It’s a lot of miles, but it’s all about building our brand, serving our members, creating authentic partnerships, and ensuring students know us and feel connected to us. I look forward to continued time meeting as many of our members and friends as possible. See you on the road.

Debbie Trueblood, CAE

Executive Director