Stop, look and LISTEN! That's what a good video should make you do. Video is just one more way to record your agency's activities, and additional promotion is something we all could use. Video incorporates a new dimension and makes use of an additional sense — SOUND — that printed material can't.

The 1989 IPR State Conference had, for the first time, a VIDEO Category as part of its 1989 Agency Showcase. The idea to include a VIDEO category stemmed from a suggestion made the previous year. Mary Pat (McNicholas) Sykora, Orland Park, and Tracy Alden, Western Springs, incorporated the suggestion into this past Agency Showcase with encouraging results. The Agency Showcase had more entries than ever before, in 1989, with a total of 143 entries from 61 agencies. Of that number, 13 were video tape entries — pretty good for a first-year effort. Hopefully there will be many more submitted for the 1990 Agency Showcase.

For those unfamiliar with the function of the Annual Agency Showcase, it is an opportunity for all park and recreation agencies to submit their printed and audio/visual materials for display at the IPR Conference. All materials are judged and "Best Of Show" recipients are selected by a panel of experts.

The Agency Showcase has 9 categories: seven are for printed material such as brochure cover, brochure content, special facility brochure, logos and others. Then there are two categories for video entries, added in 1989.

Video entries for the 1989 Agency Showcase came from communities of all sizes and demonstrated the creative, individualized and professional look that park and recreation agencies are broadcasting on local cable channels. There were two categories of entries: Public Service Announcements (PSA) and Informational Videos. PSA videos had to be 90 seconds or under and related to one particular activity or a series of related activities.

Informational Videos had to run between 2-5 minutes and be related to one particular activity or a series of related activities.

Originally, we had planned to have two divisions, separating the large agencies from the small ones. Due to the fact that only 13 entries were received, all entries were judged together; 5 fell into the PSA category, and the 8 others came under the Informational category.

Entries varied in style, theme and content which made judging very difficult. However, the judges based their decisions on certain technical and aesthetic qualities. Four "Best Of Show" Winners were selected — two from the PSA category and two from the Informational category. If you attended the IPR State Conference Educational Session titled "Community Cable TV — A New Art Form", then you saw some of the "Best Of Show" Winners. They were used as examples to demonstrate how community cable TV can be used as a creative marketing tool.

Peoria Park District and Westmont Park District were chosen as the "Best Of Show" Winners of the PSA category. Peoria's PSA highlighted a whole range of activities offered throughout the city. The video was fast paced and viewers got ". . . a lot out of 30 seconds." Westmont had a different, more humorous approach in their PSA. Special visual effects captured the eyes of viewers as this 90 second piece paged through Westmont's summer brochure.

Elk Grove Park District and Hoffman Estates Park District were judged to have the best Informational videos. The Elk Grove video took a comical, yet educational, look at surfing . . . yes, surfing. Don't plan on hearing "Surfs Up" too often at Elk Grove Village. Hoffman Estates submitted a strong, strightforward and well groomed informational on their new Blackhawk Fitness Center — it would put Cher to shame!

In Western Springs, we didn't win a "Best Of Show" but it did feel good to see that our PSA had the qualities, content and style that the "Best Of Show" Winners had in their pieces. This brings us full circle to exploring how videos can be an important part of the marketing and promotion of an agency. The Western Springs PSA is aired on the local cable channel, which broadcasts 24 hours a day. The 60 second PSA highlights some of the department's programs and is shown throughout the day's broadcast sequence.

(Continued on page 34)

IPR Agency Showcase (Continued) ———————————————————

We have received positive comments on our PSA from residents. Also, on our program evaluation cards, there is a line where respondents mark how they heard about the program; several have checked the box for cable TV.

Just as a side note, a local program called "Video Kids" has been a most popular program among junior high school youth — a challenging group to program for. The program started three years ago and is designed to introduce junior high students to video production. It allows them to write, direct, video tape and edit their own piece. There are currently 25 students in the program who are divided into 5 groups. Each group works on its own production. Some of the productions this season include a piece on skate-boarding, "Horror Corner" — a satirical look at current events, and a rock video focusing on a local 8th grade band. The key to this program's success is its instructor, the cable coordinator in Western Springs, Tom Sullivan, who has great rapport and patience with the kids.

If your agency resides in a community where cable is available and you do not have anything being aired, please work on one and remember to submit it to the 1990 Agency Showcase. If you do have pieces being aired, then we look forward to seeing them as part of the Agency Showcase for the 1990 IPR State Conference. Information on the 1990 Agency Showcase for both video and printed materials will be coming out during September and October. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact either Tracy Alden, Western Springs Recreational Department at 312/246-9070, or Matt Horbas, Park Ridge Park District at 312/692-3357.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Tracy Alden is the Director of Recreation for the Western Springs Recreation Department.