From the desk of:

Your Association is celebrating its 50th Anniversary this year.

Governor James R. Thompson has issued a proclamation declaring the month of March as "Park District Month" in Illinois. In recognition of the many years of service to the improvement of leisure time facilities and programs.

The Illinois Association of Park Districts was organized by a meeting of Park Board officials held at Chicago in 1928. Professor J. C. Blair, Head of the Department of Horticulture, University of Illinois, Urbana was elected the first president.

In December of 1933, the headquarters was moved from Urbana to Springfield. The Association has since been in a position to render effective cooperation in respect to their relations to the various branches and departments of State government.

The Illinois Association of Park Districts is the oldest State wide organization representing Park and Recreation associations in the United States. The central idea on which the Association was founded is that Park Board officials can render better service to their communities by cooperation with one another than by a policy of isolation.

The May/June 1978 issue of the magazine has been designated as a salute to the 50th Anniversary of your organization.

We should pause and salute the many individuals that down through the years have provided the leadership and guidance which has resulted in the growth and expansion of the Association to fulfill its functions to promote legislation and service the needs of our member districts.

Time nor space does not permite individual recognition or to list the districts that played a vital role in organizing and maintaining the Illinois Association of Park Districts.

We urge each district through news articles, television and radio announcements and programs to bring the history of your own Park District to the attention of the residents of your community.

Our personal thanks and congratulations to everyone that has assisted throughout the 50 years in supporting the Association.

IAPD and IPRA believe that the democratic process functions best through frank and open discussion. Materials published in this magazine, therefore, often present divergent and controversial points of view which do not necessarily represent the views or policies of the two sponsoring organizations.

Illinois Parks and Recreation 16 May/June, 1978