Educational highlights

Parks & Recreation, Feb, 2005

2005 Revenue Development and Management School

March 13-18, 2005 Oglebay Resort and Conference Center Wheeling, W.Va.

ABOUT THE CONFERENCE

The 2005 Revenue Development and Management School is a two-year program with a third-year executive forum. This school offers the finest learning experience available with instructors who are leaders in the field of park and recreation management, and place an emphasis on the best practices of revenue development and management.

Students will:

* Discover the link between quality service for revenue production and customer service.

* Prepare, plan and facilitate a true business plan from the ground up.

* Discover how to use taxes, fees, grants, partnerships, foundations, sponsorships and more to increase revenue.

Check-in begins at 3 p.m. on Sunday, March 13. Classes run daily from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. with evening social activities. School concludes on Thursday, March 17, with a graduation banquet for year-two students, where they receive completion certificates.

For detailed information on the 2005 Revenue Development and Management School, contact Beth Whitehouse, Oglebay director of conference services at (800) 624-6988.

2005 Southeast Regional Conference and Trade Show

April 10-14, 2005 Sheraton Greensboro Hotel at Four Seasons Greensboro, N.C.

ABOUT THE CONFERENCE

NRPA's regional conferences offer some of the best national and local education speakers and resources. Each year, the regional conference delivers an intimate professional development experience where participants can network with park and recreation leaders, while the exhibit hall provides an exhilarating atmosphere to experience exciting new products and solutions.

This year, the Southeast Regional Conference will feature keynote speaker Warren Macdonald, an inspirational adventurer. Macdonald's life's boundaries were redefined in April 1997, when at the age of 31, he spent two days alone pinned under a one-ton boulder after a freak rock fall on Hinchinbrook Island in Northern Queensland, Australia. He survived, only to undergo the amputation of both legs at mid thigh. His doctor told him he'd never walk again. Macdonald's comment was that "I don't recall him saying anything about cycling, kayaking, or climbing mountains ..." Just 10 months later he successfully climbed Cradle Mountain then Federation Peak, Australia's toughest mountain summit. Warren's expeditions have taken him around the globe.

In February 2003, he became the first double above-knee amputee to reach the summit of Africa's tallest peak, Mt Kilimanjaro; and more recently, in a spectacular effort requiring more than 2,800 pull-ups, created history once again in an ascent of America's tallest cliff face, El Capitan in Yosemite National Park. Macdonald inspires audiences to believe in themselves, demonstrating through action that "Nothing is impossible if we dare to face our fears and believe in ourselves." That achieving success requires taking positive steps forward; and that each step we take, no matter how small, moves us closer to our goals.

The conference will also include a new program, NRPA's inaugural "Quality Sports and Health Movement Activation Summit." This day-long event is held on Monday, April 11, and targets middle to upper management professionals. The summit aims to raise public awareness and professional capacity to advance quality sports, youth development and promote healthy and active lifestyles.

For more information about the 2005 Southeast Regional Conference, please visit www.nrpa.org.