I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving with your families last week. At IPRA, we have so much to be thankful for. IPRA thrives because so many of our members actively volunteer their time and give back to their professional community.

Interested in taking your membership experience to the next level? Volunteer! There are many committees and events that need people like YOU! Contact Debbie Trueblood for more information.

Students studying parks and recreation are essential to the future success and growth of the parks and recreation field. Their education and experiences will translate into enriching experiences for future generations as new ideas, research and technology emerge. You have the opportunity to invest in the future of a park and recreation professional by donating a gift basket to the Silent Auction at the IAPD/IPRA Annual Soaring to New Heights Conference on January 28-30, 2016.

We have so much to be grateful for. We give thanks for all that we have; our families, our health, our security, and our opportunities. We give thanks for our careers and all the friendships we have made in service to our communities. For all of us, in our careers, we can look back and see that our success comes from both formal education and informal networking. We see that professional development has been most effective for us when we could attend an event in person and learn from others in the room, making connections that stayed with us for years.

The Illinois Park & Recreation Foundation (IPRF) is seeking applicants for its board. The application deadline has been extended to December 8. Click on the link below for details.

The challenges of today are multi-faceted and can range from social ills to business models. Do we attempt to solve them all or identify what problems our agency's effectively address? What is most important is to understand how to be relevant, thus making parks and recreation a critical success factor to the success of a community. Along the way identification and development of critical advocates to ensure your success is needed. This session will address how to evaluate where you are, the identification of critical advocates, and the implementation of a plan for relevance.

IPRA welcomes Executive Directors, future leaders, commissioners and guests to join us for the Director's Leadership Academy Breakfast (LAB). This is a light breakfast, networking and an interview with a transformational leader. February interview will be with Sonya Evanosky, MBA Vice President of Finance, Chamberlain College of Nursing.

Have fun skiing and/or snowboarding with your friends and teens from other IL park districts. Wilmot Mountain has 25 runs, eight lifts, three rope tows, four terrain parks, complimentary lessons, food/concessions available, and arcade room.

Hurry, the conference early bird registration deadline is just around the corner. Register by Monday, December 7 to take advantage of big savings. Attendees can save even more with online registration!

• Early Childhood Committee Meeting - 12/11/15
• Therapeutic Recreation Section's PSC Inclusion Committee - 12/17/15
• School Age/Day Camp Committee Meeting - 12/17/15