IPRA is ready to serve you this summer! As you prepare for your busiest time of year, we want to remind you of some upcoming important opportunities.

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Did you know IPRA has a separate website geared for the public where we talk about the value of parks and recreation in the community? We even have a community calendar there listing events at park and rec agencies all over the state, so that families trying a little "staycation" in Illinois can participate in events in surrounding communities. If you haven’t listed your upcoming events, be sure to post them at the community calendar page of the IPRA website (www.ilipra.org) or visit our new public website at www.unplugillinois.org

Speaking of which, IPRA’s public education campaign three years in the making is finally ready to go live! We are taking order for our new Unplug Illinois toolkit designed by members to help you in your community. The toolkit is $175 for members and can be purchased on our website. The Unplug Illinois Transformation Kit includes a robust spiral bound planner with tabbed indexes, which let you quickly find what you’re looking for, a flash drive with pre-loaded data, pre-designed brochure ads and posters on which you can "plug" in your agency name along with customizable fact sheets. Those who ordered early have already received the digital copy, and members have been complimentary about the design and usefulness of this new tool. This public awareness campaign is brought to you by IPRA and the University of Illinois. My endless gratitude to the Unplug Illinois Task Force and the countless hours of volunteer service which these members gave back to our professional community.

Before summer gets underway and you get too busy for education and networking events, we hope that you will come out for one last pre-season joint session networking event, "An Afternoon at the Races" on May 20 at Arlington Race Track, sponsored by the IPRA Professional Services Committee. Tickets are $18 and can be purchased on our website. This is sure to be a lot of fun and a great opportunity to network with your peers.

Just next week, May 13, is the final deadline for the Leadership Academy 2016-2017 applications, available on our website. This program is for professionals at all levels of their careers to focus on one of three tracks: individual leadership, team leadership, agency leadership. Those who are accepted into this competitive program will attend classes on six dates between October and March. The curriculum is filled with high level dynamic speakers who aren’t the same ones you can see at other local events. Graduates receive a certificate of completion from our partner, the University of Illinois. This program has received a national award and graduates report high satisfaction with the program. By applying for, being accepted into, and graduating from this program, you are showing your employer that you are dedicated to your career, to your profession, and that you want to bring back high level leadership skills to better serve your agency. The deadline again is May 13.

Finally, as you venture out to the hectic summer busy season, we hope you will remember the value that our online communities, IPRAConnect, can bring to you when you’re at your most stressed. These communities, under a wide variety of topic areas, allow you to send an email out to your colleagues statewide with your questions benefiting from their experience as they too have faced many of the same challenges. Use this tool to ask your questions and get an immediate response from someone like you. And be sure to give back whenever you can by helping your colleagues out when they have a question or concern to share.

Many wishes for a summer that feels like a breeze, which allows you opportunities to serve your community, to utilize your hard earned professional development skills, and to reinvigorate you for an ongoing career in the parks and rec community.

-Debbie Trueblood, CAE

Executive Director

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