Viewpoint - new recreation and park institute - Column

Parks & Recreation, June, 1997 by Robert F. Toalson

As the construction on the Ahrens NRPA Institute nears completion and NRPA prepares to move into the new state-of-the-art Institute or parks and recreation, I would like to share some personal thoughts gained from my experience as a co-chair of the fundraising effort.

Fundraising is not a job I relish, but the experience with the Ahrens campaign was outstanding! We developed a great team of professionals, and the professionals came through pledging nearly $500,000, or one-fourth the total required to build the new building. In making contacts to get colleagues to help with the campaign or to make a donation, I experienced only two rejections from hundreds of contacts.

Throughout the campaign, I sensed a new professional enthusiasm and commitment for NRPA and the parks and recreation movement. Professionals were proud to be part of the campaign to build the Ahrens NRPA Institute. The commitment of all 50 state organizations was also very exciting. The feeling was best expressed by a young undergraduate student who came to the Ahrens booth at the Minneapolis Congress to make a donation of $5.00. It was all she had left at the end of the Congress, but she wanted to know that she had a part in getting the Ahrens NRPA Institute built.

Equally important in the campaign was the tremendous response of committed citizens and corporations. Three-fourths of all funds raised came from citizens and corporations in the park and recreation industry. Many professionals may not know that NRPA is a unique organization based on the concept of a citizen/professional partnership devoted to providing America's cities with meaningful and wholesome recreation and park opportunities. It is only through this unique partnership that public recreation and park agencies can survive and prosper in the years ahead.

I believe that strong citizen involvement is a must for the future of NRPA. Without the strong recruitment and involvement of citizens, NRPA will become a trade association or union looking out only for the welfare of its professional members. If the effort is made to maintain strong citizen involvement, benefits to the professionals will naturally occur. The citizen/professional partnership is a concept that ensures the National Recreation and Park Association will operate for the public good and increase our relevance in a rapidly changing society.

Committed Citizen Leaders

Not only do we need to keep citizens involved, we need to continue to recruit citizens of national stature such as Joseph and Susan Lee, Laurance S. Rockefeller and James Evans to name a few. I know the success of the Ahrens campaign would not have happened without the strong committed leadership of such citizen leaders as Anne Close, Earl Groves, Kathryn Porter, and Eric O'Brien. And, of course, none of this would have been possible without the generosity and vision of Claude Ahrens, who offered the Association a million-dollar challenge.

NRPA must retain and strengthen its position as the leader of the park and recreation movement in the United States. With the new Ahrens NRPA Institute to lead the movement, a commitment by professionals and the continued strong leadership and involvement of citizens, the future of parks and recreation will be assured.

Robert F. Toalson served as vice chair of Professionals during the Fulfilling the Challenge campaign and currently serves on the NRPA Fundraising Committee. His efforts in these capacities, coupled with his long-term leadership involvement with the Association (1991 NRPA President), make him well-qualified to share his unique perspective.