Jan. D. Mersmann

Jan D. Mersmann has been appointed as Director of Recreation for the Northbrook Park District for approximately four years where her major emphasis was in the area of cultural area programming including the initiation of the District's first professional entertainment series as well as a total District Safety Program.

A very active member in the Suburban Park & Recreation Association, she is currently President-Elect and has served as Treasurer and Membership Chairperson in the past. She was Secretary to the I.P.R.A. Recreation Programming Section in 1977 and served as the R.P.S. Conference Chairperson in 1978. Jan received her B.S. in Recreation from Eastern Illinois University.

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Gary Balling

Gary Balling has recently been appointed to the position of Program Supervisor of the Northbrook Park District. He will be responsible for programming athletics, general activities and special events. Before joining the Northbrook Park

District, he was employed as a Cultural Arts and Special Event Supervisor with the Naperville Park District for over two years. Gary received his Bachelor of Science degree in Parks and Recreation Administration in 1976 from Eastern Illinois University.

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ERROL E. WILSON has been named a leader at Foster Community Center, an Evanston Recreation Department facility. Wilson attended Northern Michigan University (Marquette) and Triton College where he majored in physical education and recreation. As a student at Evanston Township High School he lettered four years in wrestling and won the state wrestling championship in 1967. While at Triton where he received an Associate Degree, he was the 1968-69 National Junior College Wrestling Titleholder. For over three years prior to accepting his new post, Wilson was employed by the Forestry Department of the City of Evanston.

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PAUL MAGGI has been named ice rink technician for the Robert Crown Ice Center, an Evanston Recreation Department facility. He succeeds Steve Pittman, technical supervisor for the center who transferred to the City of Evanston Water Department.

Maggi who studied heating, air-conditioning and refrigeration, comes to his new post from six years experience in industry where he was employed by Glenmarc Manufacturing Co. (of Northbrook) and Waterman Hydraulics (of Chicago).

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RALPH A. BAKER has recently been appointed Athletic Supervisor for the Northbrook Park District. Ralph is a graduate of Northeast Missouri State, where he had extensive recreation experience at the Civic Soccer Program Director as well as Director of the 1000 Hills Summer Youth Camp (Tween Club Program) School in Kirksville, Missouri. Ralph is certified as a Water Safety Instructor, First Aid Instructor, Baseball Umpire, Basketball Referee and has played semi-pro baseball. His responsibilities will include the Soccer Program, softball, basketball, wrestling, gymnastics and Winter Facilities.

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Shirley R. Spencer

Shirley R. Spencer of Rochester, New York, is the new superinten dent of recreation for the Peoria Park District. She succeeds David L. Snider whose resignation became effective February 15.

The selection team for the new superintendent screened a field of 54 applicants from 18 states, spanning the continent from Alaska to Massachusetts. Ms. Spencer was chosen from a final group of six candidates who were evaluated by the State of Illinois Management Assessment Center.

Ms. Spencer received the bachelor of science degree, magna cum laude, from the State University of New York, College at Brockport, in 1974 with majors in recreation and parks and sociology. In 1975 she earned a master of science in education degree with emphasis on community college/higher education administration and management from the same institution. She has also completed the two-year program of the New York School of Labor and Industrial Relations at Cornell University, receiving a Certificate of Management Studies in 1978 with emphasis on employee relations, personnel administration, human resources development, and legal aspects of employment and arbitration.

She began her professional career in the recreation field as a recreation leader with the City of Rochester in 1965. From 1972 until 1976 she was on the staff of the Recreation and Parks Department of Perinton, New York, where her duties involved planning, implementing and administering leisure programs. In 1976 she became assistant to the director for assisting in planning and administering a comprehensive leisure services program for the city of 295,000 population.

Illinois Parks and Recreation 26 May/June, 1979

Richard A. Dlugas

Richard A. Dlugas has been appointed recently to the position of Recreation Superintendent for the Town of Normal Parks and Recreation Department. Previously, Rich was Athletic Supervisor with the Northbrook Park District for two years. Rich received his Bachelor of Science degree. Park and Recreation Administration, from Illinois State University. He also worked for the Lockport Park District and interned at the Elmhurst Park District.

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DR. PAUL BEAVER has recently been appointed to the position of manager/curator of Willowbrook Wildlife Haven of the Forest Preserve District of Du Page County. Willowbrook Wildlife Haven annually cares for nearly 4,000 injured and helpless native wildlife and attracts over 50,000 public visitors. Paul received his doctorate at the University of Chicago and previously held positions as visiting assistant professor at Purdue University and the University of Washington.

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Jan Carlson

Jan Carlson has recently been hired as a Recreation Supervisor for the Dundee Township Park District. She is a graduate of the Dundee High School and the University of Northern Colorado with a BS degree in Recreation Administration.

Jan has been active in the National Recreation and Park Association and also a Student Section Officer for 3 years with the Colorado Parks and Recreation Society.

Working experience includes her internship and then working as a Community Center Attendant with the City of Northglenn, Colorado, as a Recreation Leader and Instructor for the City of Englewood, Colorado, and as a Leader/Supervisor for the City of Elgin, Illinois for the past year.

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Scott Hayn

Mr. Scott Hayn has recently joined the staff if the Dundee Township Park District as a Recreation Supervisor. Scott received his BS in recreation and Park Administration from Illinois State University in 1978 before coming to Dundee

His previous experience includes an extensive 18 week internship with the Homewood Floosmoor Park District in which he participated in all the District's operations.

His primary responsibilities at the Dundee Township Park District will include athletic program planning and supervising all the athletic leagues of the Park District.

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JANICE DOMANICO has recently been appointed to the position of Supervisor of Recreation for the Plainfield Township Park District. She will be responsible for the planning, implementation and administration of recreation programs and leisure services for the District. Jan began her career in Parks and Recreation as Administrative Assistant. With this new position, Jan will assume full responsibility as the Recreation Department Head. Jan attended Western Illinois University majoring in Business Administration. Since her tenure with Plainfield, Jan has attended various recreation seminars and technical courses to advance her education in the Parks and Recreation field.

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THOMPSON A. DYKE, Regional Office Manager of Harland Bartholomew and Associates, was recently elected president of the prestigious Ely Chapter (Chicago) of the International Fraternity of Lambda Alpha, an honorary organization founded at Northwestern University in 1930, and devoted to the fostering of land economics.

Mr. Dyke has over 22 years of experience in the field of planning, engineering and landscape architecture. He received his B.S. in City Planning from the University of Illinois in 1956. He is a member of the American Planning Association; Urban Land Institute; Open Lands Project, of which he has been a director since 1976; and many other organizations.

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Joseph Cogley

Des Plaines Park District's Parks Department is not being headed up by Parks Superintendent, Joseph Cogley. Previous to his coming to Illinois, Cogley, who is native of East Brady, Pennsylvania, had been serving as Director of the Parks and Recreation

Commission in the County of Indiana, Pennsylvania, for over ten years.

Having graduated in 1965 from Slippery Rock College in Pennsylvania with a B.S. degree in Health, Physical Education and Recreation, Cogley began his graduate work at Pennsylvania State University in Parks and Recreation Administration and Landscape Architecture. He was employed as the Program Supervisor for the county of Indiana. In 1968, he became the first professional Director for the county of Indiana, Pennsylvania. As Director, Mr. Cogley was responsible for all planning and design work of facilities on over 3000 acres of land and water areas.

Illinois Parks and Recreation 27 May/June, 1979