As you may already know, at a Special Emergency meeting on June 8, 1979, the Illinois Association of Park Districts Board of Directors appointed me as Acting Executive Director on a part-time basis. I have resigned my position on the Board and have been placed on a committee with President Gerald Wernick and President-Elect Barbara Straus to head up the search for a full-time permanent Executive Director.

We have spent the last few months identifying the priorities which Bob Artz' had established and have made every effort to keep his momentum going. He sure did a lot of work in the short period he was with us. His efforts will make this job a lot easier for our next permanent Executive Director.

Some of the new programs which we have anticipated for this year may be difficult to achieve as we have spent considerable time and effort combating legislation which appears to have negative and serious implications for all park, forest preserve and conservation districts. It looks like we have had a good year protecting the fine system that we have here in Illinois. Hopefully we will have the energy and resources to accomplish some positive improvements in the future.

After careful analysis of our budget, it looks like we will maintain a surplus this year. We are depending on the success of the Conference and the availability of several publications along with the continued success of our membership drive. We are working diligently with Robert Nichols, Commissioner from Bensenville, on the long awaited completion of the Commissioner's Manual. We expect this to be a valuable tool to all commissioners and board members. It should be available by early fall.

One of the casualties of this fall will be our traditional Police Seminar. We are just unable to conduct the seminar successfully this year; however, we have included this subject matter in the Annual Conference and will present it as an independent session. Mark your calendars for our Annual Conference November 8-11, 1979 at the Hyatt Regency O'Hare in Rosemont. There are more programs specifically designed for commissioners than ever before. I am sure you will all remember what a good conference we had the last time we visited the Hyatt Regency.

For the second year in a row, IPRA Day (night) at White Sox Park was very successful. Over 1/5 of the attendance at Comiskey Park on June 20th was made up of IPRA sponsored attendees.

Fred Hall, past-president of IPRA sang the national anthem prior to the game and Ronald Dodd, current president, was interviewed on television during the game.

T-Ball teams from Homewood/Flossmoor, Mt. Prospect, Medinah, Buffalo Grove, Highland Park, and Elk Grove Park District played games in Comiskey Park outfield prior to the game. Several of the White Sox players umpired the games.

IPRA Day with the Chicago Sting was also very successful bringing more than 2,000 park district participants to watch professional soccer. Both of these days are sponsored by IPRA to increase the public awareness of parks and recreation.

For the past two years IPRA has relied heavily on fund raising activities for income, especially Great America and Six Flags tickets. Dues income reflects less than 20% of IPRA's operating budget. A special committee has been appointed to study the financial solvency of IPRA in light of inflation, increased costs and services.

At the time of this writing the committee has recommended that the IPRA Board investigate the possibility of a dues increase. More information will be circulated on this in the future.

Jerry Oakes, IPRA's president-elect, is looking for members interested in serving on IPRA Committees. Please send a note to the IPRA office listing your interests by October 1, 1979. We need the involvement and support of all the members.

Don't forget the conference, November 8-11, 1979. The committee has planned an excellent program for all members. Hope to see you there.

Illinois Parks and Recreation 32 September/October, 1979