Toward a bright future - NRPA Perspectives

Parks & Recreation, June, 2003 by David Lose

As I write this in late May, the spring meeting of NRPA's Board of Trustees has just concluded, and I'm excited to report that it was a tremendous success. My thanks to all who helped make it possible, especially NRPA staff, the 46 trustees who took time from their busy schedules to attend and our gracious hosts in Coral Gables, who went out of their way to make sure our meeting was enjoyable and productive.

As you're all aware, NRPA is coming through a time of transition--we've had three executive directors in 18 months, and like most nonprofits, we've experienced some challenging financial times lately. But I can honestly say that the future of NRPA looks bright. John Thorner, our new executive director, has been on the job just two months now, but he's already exhibited such energy and vision that it seems like he's been with us much longer. Our transition committee has exhibited grace and style as it has helped John step into his new role. On the fiscal front, we're addressing those challenges by finding ways to cut costs without cutting programs wherever possible, and making sure that any cuts we're forced to make are thoughtful. This year's budget is the lowest in years, showing that we're taking a proactive approach to keeping NRPA fiscally healthy.

Some great ideas were generated at the spring meeting through the use of roundtable discussion formats. When small groups of enthusiastic people start talking face to face, it's amazing how lively and idea-filled the discussion becomes. Ideas included new fundraising techniques, ways to get more people involved in public policy, methods of maintaining and increasing membership, and more. We appreciate the enthusiasm and creative thinking of all who participated.

One important idea that we're all considering is how to maintain support for parks and recreation on the federal level. Funding for local Land and Water Conservation Funds will be significantly reduced under the current budget--how much is still pending. The TEA-21 enhancement program for greenways may also be affected, as the Bush administration is proposing less than has been approved by Congress. The American people must be made aware that parks and recreation contributes to good health for all citizens by promoting healthy exercise, which fights obesity, type-2 diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure and countless additional conditions and illnesses. Health issues have widespread public support, and growing governmental support. To help maintain our funding levels, all of us--at NRPA and in all parks and recreation organizations across the nation--need to promote this message to our lawmakers and constituents.

Another topic of discussion at the spring meeting was how NRPA can maintain and increase its membership. Currently, membership is fiat; we'll be continuing our brainstorming on how we can improve it in the next few months. As always, NRPA's leadership values your ideas, and if you have any thoughts on how we can increase our membership levels or what would make membership more valuable, we'd love to hear from you.

All that NRPA has been through in the recent past has caused a lot of soul searching. There have been more than a few bumps in the road, but the resulting self-examination has been overwhelmingly positive. New leaders have emerged on all fronts as more and more members have engaged themselves in helping us address the challenges we face. Yes, we've been through a lot, but we're stronger for it. Look for this trend to continue as the year goes on.

David Lose, FASLA

NRPA Chair