Southeast region - Regional Reports

Parks & Recreation, June, 2003

"With the world events, we would like to give folks a rest from thinking about that for a while," says Para Rudd, activities supervisor at the Hopkinsville-Christian County Recreation Department, about April's Pennyrile Senior Games. Along with the fun (golf, football and softball throws, soccer kick, table tennis to name a few), hundreds of seniors enjoyed health screenings, bingo and food. All participants also received a t-shirt bearing NRPA's logo and a goodie bag.

NPRA member Arlington County, Va., recently earned a Tree City USA Growth Award for demonstrating overall excellence in the county's community forestry programs. For the seventh consecutive year, Arlington County has been designated a Tree City USA by the National Arbor Day Foundation. "Trees in our cities and towns help clean the air, conserve soil and water, moderate temperature and bring nature into our daily lives," says John Rosenow, National Arbor Day Foundation president. To learn more about expanding the forestry in your community, go to www.arborday.org.

NRPA is proud that numerous members earned special recognition from the Kentucky Recreation and Park Society. Lois Homes, from Georgetown Parks and Recreation, was named the 2002 Professional of the Year, while Debbie Zielinski, of Davies, Ky., earned the 2002 KRPS Fellow Award. Paducah Parks and Recreation was awarded the Arts and Humanities Award (Class II). The KRPS Lifetime Service Award was presented to Dr. Alton Little, retired professor from Western Kentucky University, Bowling Green.

At the recent Southeast Regional Conference and Trade Show Opening General Session, two NRPA distinguished professional were honored by their colleagues by receiving the prestigious Harold D. Meyer Professional Excellence Award. Robert L. Harbin, CPRP, director of Broward County (Fla.) Parks and Recreation, has been actively employed in parks and recreation for more than 35 years, serving in South Carolina and Florida, and has distinguished himself as being a progressive administrator with many accomplishments. His department operates with a $35 million budget that employs 1,200. In recent years Broward County successfully passed a $400 million dollar bond issue for parks and recreation, which provided the resources for $200 million dollars in land acquisition and preservation, and another $200 million for existing regional and neighborhood parks, the expansion and creation of new parks and natural areas and the creation of new swimming facilities for the community. Bob Harbin has encouraged NRPA professional certification by rewarding employees with a $500 bonus for those who achieve professional certification. Broward County is a 1990 Gold Medal Award recipient for its achievements, as well as an accredited agency since 1996.

In early America, military musters were a time of recruitment and training for troops and a chance for citizen-soldiers and their families to socialize with neighbors. Historic Sully Plantation, a facility in the Gold Medal winning area of the Fairfax (Va.) County Park Authority, held a War of 1812 Muster to teach the community about military life on land and sea. Individuals were invited to fall in line to drill sailors of the new republic and practice knot tying with sailors from the ship Resolution. During the War of 1812, African Americans accounted for between 15 percent and 20 percent of the enlisted men in the U.S. navy. Christopher George, author of Terror on the Chesapeake: The War of 1819 on the Bay, was on hand to give insight into the service of African Americans during the war.

"Take a break to recreate" may be the motto, but you may not be able to take a break with a smoke if you're recreating at the Bicentennial Park in Oldsmar, Fla. Oldsmar officials are considering banning smoking at in the park. If the ban passes, Oldsmar will join Largo and Clearwater on the list of communities that ban smoking in part or all of their parks. Bicentennial has a Hearts N' Parks pilot program. "This is an opportunity to promote our Hearts N' Parks program and say, 'Hey, we're trying to look out for your health,'" says Lynn Rives; director of parks and recreation. "If you're going to promote healthiness, you need to make the environment so you're not allowing unhealthy behavior." Bicentennial Park is a logical choice for a smoke-free park because there are a lot of children who use the facility. Besides skateboarding and a playground, the park also has a teen recreation center.

Mary Wherry recently retired as assistant director of the Metropolitan Parks and Recreation Department of Nashville/Davidson County. For the past 42 years, Wherry has worked hard to supports parks in her community, and her hard work has paid off with recreational funding going from a mere $3 million dollars annually to more than $27 million. Under her guidance, the recreation program in Nashville has seen tremendous growth in quality, quantity and diversity through community centers, athletics, cultural arts, environmental education, and programs for senior citizens and person with disabilities. She is one of the most respected and celebrated leaders of the Tennessee Recreation and Parks Association and the NRPA Southeast Region, where she has volunteered or has been elected to most of the leadership positions. In 1999, NRPA and thousands of members saw the effects of her work when she served as chair of the National Congress Host Committee in Nashville.