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One of the constant battles we have in the National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA) is to obtain successful communication. This was again made apparent at the mid-year meeting when several people expressed concerns about not being aware of certain NRPA Branch Section projects and/or activities of the organization. I said I would try to add a little something to the already massive communication efforts of NRPA. With the blessings of Katie Porter, Chair of the NRPA Board of Trustees, and R. Dean Tice, NRPA Executive Director, here is a short summary of information that came to my attention during a recent visit to Washington, D.C.

Legislative reception and visits

The legislative reception and visits to legislative members was very good. Questions were asked about the date and time of the reception. Staff continues to look at this, but the date of the mid-year meeting is set three years in advance to ensure hotel space. Final arrangements can't be completed until the Congressional calendar is completed each year.

Briefing

The NRPA staff put together an excellent briefing. Much of that information will come out in Dateline and the national magazine.

Friends

The second edition of the Friends magazine was distributed. The publication is great. There are now over 500 members, but we should have 5,000. The Citizen Board Member Branch (CBM) has taken on a special challenge to work on obtaining members. We all need to work on this. I would ask each of you to see if you could give or obtain five new members. The NRPA contact is Suzanne Knauf.

Make the right choice

Several regional councils requested that NRPA make contact with Bob Martinez, the new drug czar, to present and obtain help on NRPA's "Make The Right Choice." Contacts are being made through NRPA staff.

Leisure and aging

A resolution from the Mid-Atlantic Region with support from other regions and branches relating to the establishment of a section for leisure and aging was forwarded to the Trustee Task Force, which is chaired by Ralph Cianchetti. That task force will be meeting in April to formulate a recommendation to present to the Trustees.

Needs assessment

The NRPA Needs Assessment Task Force has prepared the needs assessment document to be sent out to NRPA members. Chris Jarvi and previous chair Russ Porter have done a good job on this. The questionnaire will be mailed out to 2,500 randomly selected members in the next few weeks. The first summary of returns will be available for the Spring Trustee Meeting. Sample copies were given to National Forum members for completion and review in Washington, D.C. The information received will be shared with Branches, Sections, Regional Councils, etc. It would help if you told people to send the questionnaires back promptly.

Park and recreation standards

NRPA will work with the American Academy for Park and Recreation Administration in reviewing and updating the Park and Recreation Standards. The NRPA Chair and President will appoint a committee to work with the Academy Committee. Completion date has been set at one to two years.

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Illinois Parks and Recreation March/April 1991

Publication — Desert Storm on the Home Front

In response to the Persian Gulf Crisis, NRPA will publish and distribute nationally to all member recreation and park administrators a special booklet of information, ideas and guidance on how municipal recreation and park agencies can support Desert Storm on the home front. The goal of this project is to demonstrate that NRPA and the Armed Forces Recreation Society (AFRS) support Desert Storm and hope to create and build a coalition between civilian and military recreation professionals to last beyond the current crisis. The working title of the project coordinated by Harriet Rice, program manager for Army Recreation Centers, and Dr. Charles Hartsoe, Department of Recreation, Parks and Tourism, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Va. We hope to have this publication available by April.

Park and recreation agency accreditation

NRPA has agreed to work with the American Academy for Park and Recreation Administration in the development of a possible accreditation program for Park and Recreation agencies. This project is underway under the direction of Lou Twardzik of Michigan State University. The first draft of a document of standards is projected to be completed by the NRPA Congress in Baltimore. Final development will take a few years and additional funding. For more information, contact Don Henkel at NRPA or Twardzik, Department of Park and Recreation Resources, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Mich. 48824.

Specialized certification

The National Certification Board developed guidelines and criteria to follow for the possible development of specialized certification programs during their mid-year meeting. For more information, Contact Henkel.

Trustees manual on protocol

Tony Mobley, Ann Close and Don Jolley are working on a Manual of Protocol for the Board of Trustees. The manual will include the duties and responsibilities of the Officers and Trustees and will present guidelines for the operation of the Board of Trustees.

Arts and humanities

Anita Gorman, chair of the Arts and Humanities Committee, informed us that a new category for cities under 10,000 population has been established for the Arts and Humanities award program. It will go into effect in 1992. More information will be sent out on this. The NRPA contact is Mike Corwin.

Park and Recreation National Pro-Am Golf Championship

Information on this national golf scramble that the Trustee Revenue Committee has been working on was presented to various branches, the Council of Association Presidents (CAP), the Council of Executive Directors (CED) and the Trustee Executive Committee in Washington, D.C. Trustees Perry Segura, Kevin Kendrigan and Jerry Handlon and their committee have been working on this for quite some time. NRPA has signed an agreement with MDM Group, Ltd., of Chicago, to develop and promote the concept. The committee is also looking at a possible co-sponsorship with Ronald McDonald House or others. When completed and put into operations, this championship tournament will require a major cooperative effort among national, regional, state, and local levels. The committee will be sending out more information about the program. The projected operational date is the summer of 1992.

50 State Society

A lot of work still needs to be done on this project. The legal requirements to obtain the land are considerable. To date, an acre of land has been received or committed from South Carolina, Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Alabama, and Louisiana. Help is urgently needed to get commitments from various states. If you can help, contact Tice or Handlon.

The 50 State Society provides an opportunity for concerned municipalities, corporations and community groups from each state to donate an acre of land from their state to the Society. Once one acre is acquired from each of the 50 states, citizens will be able to purchase "ownership" of one square inch of each of the 50 acres across the country. All 50 acres represent the dedication that we, as a country must have for the preservation of park and recreational land.

The land can be in many forms: a bike path, a playing field, or part of a larger park. The only stipulation is that the acre be set aside for park and recreational use. The acre will then be leased back in perpetuity to the community or the park and recreational department as a park and recreational resource.

Funds generated from this program will support several programs to enhance the public information systems for the protection of park lands, and improvement of health through recreation and conservation of the environment. NRPA will also use the revenue generated from this program to support research and endorse campaigns on local and national issues and policies concerning parks and recreation. A percentage of the proceeds will also be shared with each participating state affiliate.

If we do not succeed with this project, "Ducks Unlimited" is waiting in the wings to take over. We have only six months remaining to identify the land.

International relations

An excellent meeting was held in Phoenix, Ariz., with representatives from National Recreation and Park agencies from Japan, Korea, Australia, United Kingdom, and Canada. Also, representatives from World Recreation and Park Association and the International Federation of Park Administrators attended.

A protocol document on International, Professional, Technical and Citizen Exchange in Parks and Recreation has been completed by NRPA and is expected to be signed by national agencies from several countries this year. Funds for a lot of this work have been provided by the National Recreation Foundations. The NRPA contact is Barry Tindall.

APRS Summit

The American Park and Recreation Society (APRS) Branch, taking a lead in establishing better communication, hosted a summit meeting in Washington, D.C. Representatives from most every branch, section, Regional Council CAP, CED, and the Trustees attended. Some excellent ideas surfaced. APRS will send a summary to all who attended. The contact is Terry Trueblood.

Student Branch

The Student Branch had excellent representation in Washington. They are undertaking a major membership drive. The NRPA contact is David Wood.

This information may not be completely accurate as it is my personal concept of what happened or was reported in Washington, D.C., but I felt that getting the information out to you as soon as possible was important. I know that much more was done in all of the groups. As always, we appreciate hearing from you.

Illinois Parks and Recreation 7 March/April 1991