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Doubtless you've been through a number of emotions as the nation commemorated the first anniversary of September 11. Anger. Sadness. Pride. Resolve. As CNN correspondent Jeff Greenfield commented after the tragedy, "We've been lucky up to now." I'm sure you agree. We've never had occasion to deal with so horrific an event on our soil and its everyone's hope and prayer that it will never happen again. What was your reaction when the planes struck? No doubt, your family and friends were at the forefront of your thoughts, but if you're like me, you also worried about the long-term effects of so sweeping a disaster. The world, as we know it, has forever changed and whether or not you had friends or loved ones in New York or Washington, D.C., it's likely you began a period of soul-searching, asking questions about your world. "Could it happen here in Illinois?" you might have asked, and "Could my agency be targeted in the future?" Sadly, the answer is yes. As pundits have said over and over again, if Israel can't stop terrorists from igniting attack after attack with all of its security measures, how can we hope to counter them? To help gather our members together in a common effort to explore avenues for dealing with potential threats to our agencies, IPRA hosted a two-hour forum on terrorism on June 26, 2002. Members came from near and far to hear representatives from the FBI, the Red Cross and Chicago's Office of Emergency Preparedness address the subject of how their agencies respond to terrorism crises. Did attendees learn plenty of secrets to help our facilities become safer places for patrons? Yes and no. Unfortunately, there is no magic bullet to help insulate our buildings, personnel or users of our services from harm. But, our goal was awareness. We wanted IPRA members to understand that big or small, our facilities—indeed all places where people gather in numbers—could be targets.
Toward that end, we waited for the end of the busiest summer we've had in years to begin to organize our members into an extended family, ready and willing to be of help in the event of a potential terrorist attack. By the time you read this, IPRA will have met with the American Red Cross to establish our own "Ready When the Time Comes" task force. As part of the program we'll be making members, facilities and resources available to the Red Cross and will act, if called upon, to help our neighbors in the event of all types of threats—terrorism, included. Our affiliation with the Red Cross is a perfect partnership because our members have been uniquely trained to deal with large numbers of people, potential emergencies and, in some cases, basic first aid methods. We hope all of our members will sign on for this important effort, but in the interim, I'd like to remind you of some of the ways you've already helped heal our communities simply by doing what you do best: serving, listening, helping. • Our members have continually promoted their facilities as epicenters of community support. Whether the occasion is enrichment, education or just plain fun, people know they can rely upon park and recreation professionals to do all they can to maintain a safe haven for all age groups under roof. • Park and recreation programs are known for exposing consumers to all aspects of diversity. Your cultural 8 Illinois Parks and Recreation
programs pave the way for understanding—one event at a time—using simple, time-tested techniques to encourage understanding. Whether it's food-sharing festivals, intercultural dance instruction or just getting kids of diverse ethnicities together to learn the art of friendship, you've helped enormously to pave the way to peace and harmony. • Our members have always been vigilant and obsessed with safety at special events, but now you are doing even more while still being sensitive to the need for collective freedom so everyone can enjoy such events without feeling like prisoners. This balance is not easy to accomplish, but you've done it, providing the gift of continuity to everyone you serve. • Just because the risk of danger has increased doesn't mean our members have not remained resolute and stayed true to their mission. We're not about to let threats stop our best programming efforts and we're not going to declare a moratorium on the scope of our classes, events, and open facilities. You're making sure of that. • Finally, though every park and recreation professional should be knowledgeable about their agency's emergency preparedness plans, I believe that collective understanding has been heightened by September 11. In the past, our highly qualified and trained members were prepared to deal with many types of crises to keep patrons safe, but many of you have doubled your efforts and look forward to serving even more effectively in the future. Have IPRA members been of critical importance to communities since the day tragedy struck the World Trade Center? You bet they have. And as we prepare to immerse ourselves more heavily into a "Ready When the Time Comes" family, you'll be proud to be part of our efforts. If you haven't received information about this important program, I urge you to contact IPRA so we can add you to our statewide team.
In sum, the world may have changed, but our commitment to nurture our neighbors has not. If anything, we've made a collective decision to strengthen our resolve, increase our efforts and band together as a community. It's been stated before and I'll repeat it here: America is never stronger than when her people stand together. The same could surely be said about the IPRA membership.
September/October 2002 9 |
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