December 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 18

Attracting and Retaining
Residents
As part of the 2015 " Say Yes To
Dallas " talent recruitment campaign,
the Dallas Regional Chamber
survey found that convenient access
to parks, green space, and hike
and bike trails was the second most
important factor (behind the " quality
of career opportunities " ) for millennials
when deciding where to live
and work (tinyurl.com/22k69b6h).
When we look at who's doing
the most to remain competitive in
the business of retaining, attracting
and, in short, competing to be seen
as a desirable community in which
to live and work, it's striking how
rapidly things change. What was
once " enough " recreation and/or
quality-of-life opportunities is now
not even close. What in the past
was a disadvantage, such as the
small size of a community, is now
an advantage. The current younger
generations put quality of life and
recreation at the top of their list.
Therefore, any community that is
not fully engaged in modern park
and recreation development or rehabilitation
is missing its opportunity
to retain existing residents
and/or to attract new ones.
Research shows that park and
recreation departments partner with
various economic development
organizations as well. An NRPA
case study of Roanoke, Virginia's
effort to establish themselves as an
outdoor recreation destination is
an excellent case in point (tinyurl.
com/h77dyrrk). In a collaborative
partnership between economic developers,
parks and recreation, and
private-sector
leaders,
Roanoke
became a center for outdoor activities/recreation,
and these days,
many people want to live in or near
places that are a recognized center
for outdoor recreation.
Developing Partnerships
How do communities continue to be
desirable to both existing and new
residents while facing the pressures
that come with growth and competition?
The key is a history of partnership
between those involved with
the development and preservation of
parks, recreation and open space and
organizations involved in economic
development. It's a formula that successful
communities have been engaging
in for decades, and it rests on their
shared values of recreation, quality
of life, and local/regional growth
and economic stability. It is vital that
cities continue to plan and build for
the future, and their efforts will be rewarded.
Popular communities build
park and recreation opportunities in
advance of the growth and continue
to add new and different levels of service
to their offerings every year.
Mark Sheldon is Vice President of
Operations at Romtec, Inc.
NRPA Premier Membership: The Gift of
Professional Development for Staff
N
RPA Premier Membership
offers something for everyone
on your team. Whether they
want to network, learn more about
research and best practices, or explore
advocacy, their NRPA membership
is there to help. By gifting
your staff NRPA Premier Membership,
you give them the opportunity
to participate in professional
development offerings to help them
advance their career.
NRPA Premier Members can take
advantage of group certification discount
packages. This provides your
employees with the opportunity to
earn the CPRP and/or CPRE certifications
at a discounted rate.
By taking advantage of the group
certification discount packages, you
are showing your employees that
you value them and your agency's
overall
success.
Aside from the
monetary value your agency will receive,
the package discount encourages
your team to apply, study and
test together for the certification.
Study materials, such as the CPRP
Study Guide, CPRP Practice Exam
and Management of Park and Recreation
Agencies text, also are included
at a discounted rate.
NRPA Premier Members also have
access to the NRPA Virtual Learning
Subscription for members, which includes
12 prescheduled learning events
(one per month) with free access to
archived 2023 subscription events
throughout the subscription year. The
subscription includes eight Virtual
Talks and four Virtual Sandboxes.
Each Talk is worth 0.1 Continuing Education
Unit (CEU), for a total of 0.8
CEU for the full subscription.
For more information and to
take advantage of your NRPA Premier
Membership, visit nrpa.org/
Membership.
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http://tinyurl.com/22k69b6h http://tinyurl.com/h77dyrrk http://tinyurl.com/h77dyrrk https://www.nrpa.org/membership/premier/ https://www.nrpa.org/membership/premier
December 2023 - Parks & Recreation

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of December 2023 - Parks & Recreation
