December 2024 – Parks & Recreation - 46

This year, the conference offered a variety of
education session formats with more than 40
topics to choose from.
all spoke to their ample experiences
implementing racquet sports in their
communities while highlighting the
different needs of the tennis and
pickleball communities. The group
also spoke strongly in support of the
USTA Park Agency Tennis Assessment
Tool, which aims to produce
personalized recommendations and
actionable deliverables for park agencies
to improve the delivery of tennis
in their community.
along with NRPA stickers, t-shirts
and friendship bracelets to remember
their time at the conference.
Education
This year, the conference offered a
variety of education session formats
- including one-hour education sessions,
20-minute speed sessions and
various research talks - with more
than 40 topics to choose from, including
accessibility, arts and culture, data
and evaluation, funding, leadership,
partnerships, programming, technology
and much more. Many sessions
fell within NRPA's Three Pillars:
Health and Well-Being
The session, " Where to Begin? Introducing
Programmatic Changes
to Include Participants With Disabilities, "
invited participants to
consider how they could increase
the accessibility of their programs.
Senior Education Manager Cayla
Hammaker, Competition Manager
Jessica Cloy and Programs Director
Julia Ray from Move United, alongside
April Wolfe, therapeutic recreation
specialist from City of Reno,
Nevada, shared strategies park and
recreation professionals can use to
make parks and recreation more
accessible, from program modifications
to adaptive equipment, providing
educational resources as guidance.
The speakers emphasized the
importance of getting started using
available resources to include more
community members.
Jo Burns presented the session,
" Loneliness Is an Epidemic? How
Parks and Recreation Can Bring
Social Connectedness to Communities, "
during which she discussed
the spread and impacts of loneliness
and shared how park and recreation
professionals can create connections
within their communities. She offered
" six pillars for action " to create social
connection, including: strengthen
social infrastructure, enact proconnection
public policies, mobilize
the health sector, reform digital environments,
deepen our knowledge
and cultivate a culture of connection.
Equity
Tuesday's session, " Proven Best
Practices: Implementing Racquet
and Paddle Sports Throughout Diverse
Community Settings, " featured
a lively Jodie Adams, former NRPA
president, introducing several directors
of park and recreation departments
across the country of varying
sizes. Chris Bass, AP Diaz, Adrienne
Harris-Moore and Shonnda Smith
46 Parks & Recreation | DECEMBER 2 0 2 4 | PARK S ANDRECRE AT ION . OR G
Environmental Resilience
During the session, " Building Environmental
Sustainability Through
Your Entire Park Staff: Beyond the
Usual Characters, " speakers Brett
Johnson, conservation manager for
Dallas Park and Recreation, and
Frances McGee, senior environmental
coordinator for Dallas Park
and Recreation, explored the question,
" Who makes a park department
sustainable? " The resounding
answer from attendees: " Everyone. "
The speakers affirmed the audience's
answer and discussed how
creating a culture of sustainability
requires breaking down silos and
garnering input from many positions
and perspectives. The session
also highlighted the department's
Eco Warriors
program (tinyurl.
com/4v84c4cs), which brings together
a team of professionals from
across department divisions to advance
environmental sustainability
within all facets of the department.
Best of the Best
On Wednesday, October 9, guests
gathered and emcee Aguirre - along
with NRPA Awards and Scholarship
Committee Chair Jeanette Aiello,
CPRE; National Certification
Board Chair Eric López, CPRE;
and Commission for Accreditation
of Park and Recreation Agencies
PHOTO COURTESY OF CAUGHT IN THE MOMENT PHOTOGRAPHY
http://tinyurl.com/4v84c4cs
December 2024 – Parks & Recreation

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of December 2024 – Parks & Recreation
