October 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 10

PERSPECT I VES A MESSAGE FROM NRPA' S LEADERS
Looking Toward the Future
of Parks and Recreation
Serving as chair of the NRPA Board
of Directors has been one of the highest
honors of my career. During my
time in this role, NRPA and park and
recreation professionals across the
country sought to use the full power of
parks and recreation to build healthy,
strong, vibrant and resilient communities
for all. We facilitated sound, impactful
and transformative solutions and held firmly to the
underlying perspective that our profession offers tremendous
value by equitably connecting people to each other
and to recreation spaces. These connections support social
and emotional wellness by creating a sense of belonging
and significance, uniting community members with diverse
cultural, language and spiritual backgrounds.
I am extremely proud of several achievements NRPA
reached during the past two years. As the voice of the
profession, NRPA provided nearly 4,000 new certifications
to professionals and approximately 30,000 secondto-none
online and in-person education and training
opportunities. More than 200 agencies achieved agency
accreditation to demonstrate their compliance with best
management practices. Through support, advocacy and
assistance, we helped communities secure more than
$4.8 million in investments to support the work of local
park and recreation agencies (tinyurl.com/4w57eak7).
We partnered with park and recreation agencies to create
and maintain places and spaces for more than 275 million
visitors to enjoy, where they can recharge and heal from
societal and climate challenges (nrpa.org/Engagement).
Our work assisted agencies in creating more than $218
billion in economic activity and creating and sustaining
more than 1.3 million jobs (nrpa.org/EconomicImpact).
Our diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) journey
helped us understand how community change agents
work to remedy historical and present-day trauma,
from ensuring there are quality spaces and places within
a 10-minute walk from all residences to addressing
sports-related injuries and budget challenges. We helped
park and recreation professionals address issues, such
as managing the impacts of climate change, combating
childhood obesity, providing creative responses to loneliness
and isolation, and developing better, more holistic
wellness management opportunities. We responded to
10 Parks & Recreation | O CTOBER 2 0 2 3
| PARK S ANDRECRE AT ION . OR G
the most significant public health challenge, the coronavirus
(COVID-19) pandemic, by providing outdoor
spaces for disease management and overall wellness.
Parks and recreation provided solutions to virtually
every obstacle our communities faced while elevating
job readiness and workforce development during this
global health crisis. As we look toward the future, we
will be challenged to elevate programs and opportunities
that drive impactful, transformative and equitable
solutions to help communities thrive. We will work to
create an abundant life for all, including those who
have been historically disadvantaged and disinvested.
Some of the most impactful lessons learned during
my time as chair are:
* We cannot predict the future, but we must plan for
disruptions, like future pandemics, changes in national
political ideologies, climate change and more.
* We must continue to advocate for support and resources
at all levels of government and in the business
and private sectors.
* We must continue to reach out and elevate best practices
and innovations to strengthen the work in the field.
* We must begin to consider how artificial intelligence and
other technological innovations will impact our work.
* We must know that whatever is impacting marginalized
communities impacts us all, and we have a very
essential and significant piece of the solution.
* We must actively engage our state affiliates, business partners,
thought leaders and partners to advocate for and
advance the work in every community, large and small.
* We must continue to grow our understanding of
DEI by keeping an open mind and making a genuine
commitment to align our words with affirmative and
positive steps and initiatives.
* We must take mental health seriously and lead with
fairness and respect while centering equity.
* We must know when to take a recess and play, so we
can bring our highest and best selves to help others.
Thank you for your support and for all you do to make
our communities equitable, fun, resilient and whole.
CAROLYN F. MCKNIGHT FREDD
Chair, NRPA Board of Directors
http://tinyurl.com/4w57eak7 http://www.nrpa.org/Engagement http://www.nrpa.org/EconomicImpact
October 2023 - Parks & Recreation

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