February 2024 - Parks and Recreation - 14

WE ARE PARKS AND RECREATION
The Art of Leadership in
Parks and Recreation
Insights from a seasoned professional
By Colton Patak
E
xperienced park and recreation professionals can offer valuable
expertise to those who are new to the field. City of Mason (Ohio)
Parks and Recreation Department Program Supervisor Colton
Patak recently discussed the varied facets of leadership with City
of Mason Parks and Recreation Director Chrissy Avery.
Patak: Can you please introduce
yourself and share your
background and experience in
the field of parks and recreation?
Avery: I currently serve as the parks
and recreation director for the City
of Mason. After high school, I explored
the field of parks and recreation
in college at Michigan State
University. While completing my
undergraduate and graduate studies,
I explored a variety of positions
in areas like historical interpretation,
grant writing and park
maintenance. After
graduation,
utilizing the NRPA Career Center,
I began the process of applying for
positions. My professional career
began with the City of Mason as
a program supervisor. Over time,
I was promoted to the program
manager position and then to my
current position.
Patak: How has your leadership
style evolved over the course
of your career in parks and
recreation, and what is a key
lesson that you have learned?
Avery: At the beginning of my career,
as I was gaining experience
and confidence in the field, I felt
a need to strive for every detail to
be perfect and controlled. Understanding
the importance of building
relationships and trust within a
team was a valuable lesson for me.
Over time, I learned that to grow
and mature in the field, I needed to
develop strong leadership skills to
help create new leaders within the
department.
Patak: How do you approach
building and maintaining
effective relationships with
various groups and individuals?
City of Mason (Ohio) Parks and Recreation
Director Chrissy Avery shares her
insights and expertise on leadership.
14 Parks & Recreation | FEBR U AR Y 2 0 2 4 | PARK S ANDRECRE AT ION . OR G
Avery: There are many unique
needs and interests communicated
to recreation professionals. Meeting
the needs of local communities
with available resources and within
an organization's value system can
be challenging at times. Service
providers rely on users, volunteer
groups, staff and businesses to
offer facilities and services to the
public. Taking time to listen and
clearly understand what is important
to your local community is key.
Being
genuine
and
informative
when responding is very important,
too. Providing clear communication
and reducing ambiguity is
helpful and shows you understand
the need and you care.
Patak: In your experience, what
is a critical challenge that leaders
in parks and recreation face
today, and how do you suggest
they address it?
Avery: A critical challenge is understanding
what is important to your
local community and how your
organization supports those needs.
Understand that the facilities and
services we provide should align
with the defined community needs
instead of benchmarking with another
trend that is of personal interest.
Financial sustainability for
park and recreation departments
is critical, too. Collaborating with
your organization's economic development
department is key to
assuring programs and services offered
are sustainable and promote
local economic growth.
Patak: Can you discuss your
strategies for ensuring park
and recreation programs are
accessible to all members of the
community?
February 2024 - Parks and Recreation

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of February 2024 - Parks and Recreation
