The way to San Jose - California, convention - includes related article on philanthropist Claude Ahrens

Parks & Recreation, Jan, 1994 by Jeannie Barrell

NRPA found its way to San Jose... and in great force. The City of San Jose and its Department of Neighborhood Services hosted over 3,700 delegates to NRPA's 28th annual Congress for Recreation and Parks. Sunshine and palm trees were the perfect backdrop for a bright three days of recreating and learning.

NRPA members showed that they can practice what they preach when 350 delegates joined forces for the Second Annual Healthy Strides Walk on Saturday. The walk covered 3.5 miles and wove through the streets of one of California's most diverse cities. San Jose truly taught us how to "Celebrate Community and Embrace Change."

In the heart of the Silicon Valley, San Jose is the appropriate place for information exchange and processing. Usually trading ground for new and innovative computer technology, San Jose acted as the recreation, parks and leisure trading ground October 21-23, when NRPA delegates came from across the country to meet their counterparts, attend educational sessions, and see the latest products and services the industry has to offer.

Education Sessions

The many fiscally related challenges facing NRPA delegates were emphasized by our presence in California, a state that has suffered major budgetary turmoil. The economic situation for California's park and recreation agencies is a microcosm of the budgetary problems facing recreation professionals and citizen advocates alike. There is much to be learned from the methods used by our colleagues in California during this time of adversity.

Averaging six hours a day, specially designed educational sessions focused on administration, budget and revenue, computers, natural resources, programming, research, and social issues addressed the myriad of issues on the minds of many within parks and recreation.

On the monetary front, "The Nuts and Bolts of Budgeting for Beginners" gave a review of the basics of budgeting, including a look at the common formats, timing, presentations, justification, and use of available resources. In "Successful Park Bonds Acts" experts in the fields of polling, cost benefit apportionment, campaign consulting, direct mail, and campaign directing discussed their experience in creating successful park bond measures.

A variety of sessions shared proven methods and new ideas for approaching the many complicated social and human resource quagmires surfacing in parks and recreation. One reoccurring issue, AIDS, was addressed in "Challenge 93: HIV/AIDS Education for Recreation Programs," coveting the history and impact of HIV/AIDS in the 1990's. Topics included: risk-behavior knowledge, legal issues, statistics, and other information for specialized HIV/ AIDS programming. "United As One: Redirecting and Empowering Inner City Youth" focused on the creative utilization of community resources such as local government officials, professional athletes, actors, entertainers, social organizations and community leaders from the surrounding areas to enrich the lives of youth at-risk and implement alternative ways of becoming successful young adults.

Today's park and recreation professionals and advocates must constantly strike a balance between conserving natural lands and providing a place for recreation to happen. The standard environmental and natural resource debates, along with some new solutions, made up many of this year's sessions. A panel discussed new and innovative ways to acquire and finance park and recreation lands in "Successful Parks Partnerships." In "Economic Significance of Trails" delegates learned how a well planned and constructed trail system can be a tremendous catalyst for four-season, multi-use activities generating significant economic impacts.

A major component of all park and recreation agency programming is the fitness and wellness of its users. New methods of programming and integrating well-being strategies into programming were discussed in "De-Stressing Your Stress... Implications for Personal and Organizational Wellness." Recreation programmers are scrambling to meet the fitness needs of the fastest growing population group, older Americans. Current issues, theories, practices and resources in fitness programming for older adults was discussed in "Fitness Programming for Older Adults with and without Disabilities."

General Sessions

NRPA delegates were welcomed by the Alum Rock Jazz Band as they entered the stucco styled Civic Auditorium for the first All Congress General Session. Two special resolutions were presented. One was presented to the European Recreation Society for their work in military recreation around the world and the other was to the National Recreation Foundation for their unwavering support over the years.

The highlight of the Session, and perhaps the entire Congress, came when long-time recreation entrepreneur and advocate, Mr. Claude Ahrens, generously pledged to donate $1 million to NRPA for use in a matching funds grant. The funds will be used in the development and construction of an institute dedicated to the history, study, and advancement of parks and recreation. See page 36 for more information on Mr. Ahrens and his joint plans with NRPA.