Looking back to see what's ahead: this year has brought many accomplishments for NRPA

Parks & Recreation, Oct, 2004 by David Lose

It is my privilege to have served NRPA for the past three years as your chairman of the Board. In this, my last "Perspectives" column, I'd like to take a look at what NRPA has accomplished in the recent past--and discuss the challenges of the near future.

Through the dedicated efforts of staff and members alike, NRPA has put its financial house back in order. Two years ago, we were $1.5 million in the red. In the fiscal year that ended this June, we were $1.1 million in the black. Achieving this was difficult, and sometimes painful--we had to reduce staff to bring our budget in line, re-evaluate programs that might not have been as successful as others, restrict spending, and change how we look at things to create more efficiency. But we've learned from past mistakes, and have appointed a Long-Range Development Committee to ensure that NRPA's financial health remains sound in the future.

We have also worked hard on instituting the recommendations of the Governance Committee, which spent eight years developing a plan. We streamlined the process by which ideas move forward, and increased the size of the National Forum to provide more opportunities for leadership to handle programming issues. In the midst of all of these changes, NRPA also had a change in executive directors with the appointment of John Thorner.

With all of these changes, it's amazing to see that the work of NRPA has continued without missing a beat. This year alone, NRPA provided training and education to more than 12,000 professionals participating in approximately 100 workshops, institutes, schools and conferences this year. Topics included playground and water safety, certified coaching, youth in high-risk environments, technology management and benefits-based management. NRPA will continue to work closely with its membership to meet local needs in various park and recreation issues by selecting topics that are of the most importance to park and recreation professionals and citizens.

Although NRPA has weathered a financial crisis and adopted recent changes in leadership and governance, there is still work to be done. As we move forward, we should consider how the association can:

* Analyze why the park and recreation profession is so important, and increase the visibility and significance of public parks.

* Involve citizen board members and civic leaders in achieving the goals of NRPA's public policy agenda.

* Support the profession with certification programs that the public deems necessary, just like certification programs for fire and police chiefs. We need to help city leaders, as well as the public, understand why training and certification is important for park and recreation professionals.

* Educate the public about the role parks and recreation plays in improving the quality of life in communities.

* Offer our help in solving the national health crisis of obesity and other health problems related to lack of exercise.

* More effectively lobby local, state and national governments to support public parks and recreation.

It has been my privilege to serve as chair for the past three years, and on the Board of Trustees for eight years. I hope to continue to be of service to the association. NRPA's future is bright, and all of us, citizens and professionals alike, must work together to create a bright future. Together, we can achieve our goal of promoting parks and recreation as the key to our nation's quality of life.

David Lose, FASLA

Chairman of the Board