Southeast region - Regional Reports

Parks & Recreation, Jan, 2003

The 6th Annual National Prevention Through Recreation Services School will be held in the best mid-size city in America: Chattanooga! Mark your calendars for an exciting and interactive learning experience. Don't miss out as we hear the vision of NR, PA, participate in hands-on math and science programming techniques, learn to partner with local workforce development agencies for free summer help and network on a cruise on the Tennessee River. Youth representatives can meet, greet and share ideas with youth from our community. Don't miss the Prevention School, Feb. 5-8. Only 150 "best of the best" slots are available. Go to www.nrpa.org and click on "Programs" and "Youth," or contact Janice Miller at miller_j@mail. chattanooga.gov.

Teams are everywhere--the people you work with, volunteers, the kids you serve. The challenge is, most people need help learning how to work together. Learn new activities that build team skills in a fun, interactive way at the "Teach Me Teamwork" post-conference institute at the 2003 NRPA/Edith Upchurch Innovative Program Forum, March 5-7. The program is ideal for direct service providers and supervisors who want to build new and innovative teambuilding activities into their programs. For more information go to www.nrpa.org, or contact the NRPA's Southeast Regional Center at 423-424-3880 or senrpa@aol.com.

Former NRPA Chair Charles E. Fraser, a developer who took Hilton Head Island--a woody, sparsely populated barrier island off the South Carolina coast--and turned it into a haven of expensive homes, golf courses and tennis courts, died in a boating accident in December in the West Indies. He was 73. Fraser and his wife, Mary, were on a chartered 29-foot boat in the Turks and Caicos Islands when the stern exploded, his daughter Wyman Fraser Davis said. Fraser was dead when his body was recovered. Mrs. Fraser suffered minor injuries. They lived in Brevard, N.C., but maintained a home on Hilton Head. Fraser served as chair of the NRPA Board of Trustees. His development of Hilton Head began when he persuaded his father, an Army general, to sell him the southern third of the island, which was named for a British sea captain who explored it. At the time the island had a population of about 600, mostly the descendants of slaves, who after the Civil War earned the rights to the rice plantations on which they had worked. In 1994, Mr. Fraser received one of only five Heritage Awards ever presented by the Urban Land Institute. The award, which recognizes the lasting importance of projects, had previously been given to Rockefeller Center

The Department of Parks, Recreation and Community Resources in Arlington County (Va.), is bringing back the after-school shuttle service for teens. The purpose is to assist uninvolved students in accessing after-school activities at community centers. By having access to transportation, students will have greater probabilities to be engaged in multilevel developmental opportunities and build assets directly contributing to their personal success. The shuttle will provide daily transportation from three middle schools upon dismissal to the Thomas Jefferson Community Center, and then to select community centers later in the afternoon. Students must be registered with Activities In Motion (AIM) and show AIM membership card to use shuttle service. In addition, students will be able to access any teen activity available at the community center.

AIM is the exciting teen incentive program developed by a network of youth service providers. The goal of the program is to provide Arlington teens with positive alternatives that will assist them in making healthy life choices. Ultimately, it's a program to help teens become aware of and access existing opportunities, and earn points for being involved in activities, community service, and growth and learning opportunities. For example, a student actively participates in drama club, basketball team and church choir therefore earning three points (one point per activity). What's more, if a student attends an ice skating trip for $5, he or she can redeem three points towards the trip and pay only $2. Students may earn up so points per session. For more information, contact Kelli Beavers at 703-228-4732..

Southeast Service Center
Larry Zehnder, CPRP
Regional Director
25 Cherokee Blvd.
Chattanooga, TN 37405
Phone: 423-424-3880
Fax: 423-424-3881

senrpa@aol.com