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Professional Reflections as IPRA Turns 60 The word legacy has a supernatural sound. It reeks of inherited wealth, antiquated codicils read in musty lofts and endowment declarations. Truth is, legacy can mean anything handed down by an ancestor or predecessor. This simple definition levels the playing field and makes us realize one needn't possess riches to leave something behind at retirement. What legacy do you hope to impart when you retire? Endowing a community center or underwriting a playground are both admirable goals, but just as impressive are the small career contributions made over time by professionals deeply invested in the people they serve. These folks leave behind a modest footprint that glitters for eternity. In conjunction with Bill Wald's anniversary editorial in this magazine, we asked a random sampling of our members to conjure up their own legacy. The following represent just a few of their thoughts.
December / January 2004 ¦ 89
Keith Frankland, CPRP
Since my era began, the recreation world has become much more focused on the financial aspect of our field, and deservedly so. Money, either the abundance of or lack thereof, has become the main criterion determining how we provide the amenities our public has grown to expect. My legacy to the future leaders would be to look past the money and involve the human spirit in this adventure. Take time to dream, let a kid be a kid and invest serious time and effort in the people who make up this field. Because of the nature of the work we do, we have tremendous creativity, energy and spirit. Breathe it in, communicate it and live it. Speaking on behalf of the 60s and early 70s professionals - both retired and still working - we came...we created...we worked hard...we played hard. We enjoyed most minutes of most days, and we were never sorry to have to come to work. We created play for tens of thousands, and we made them smile. We made moms, dads, kids, grandmas and grandpas feel warm and fuzzy inside while watching loved ones participate in various events. Now it's your turn.
Kathleen Esposito, CPRP
As a professor once told me back in college in 1975, if you've chosen the parks and recreation field as your career, do it because you want to love what you do every day of your life. A job doesn't have to feel like work. Get up every day and love going to work. I feel blessed that I chose a career that I enjoy every day — and that's 24 years of workdays. I try to pass on my passion for enjoying work to the people who have worked for me over the years. I have worked with wonderful staff and board members. I believe that if you love what you do, your work will shine through to all you touch, whether it's your community, agency, friends in the field or personal life. I still have quite a few years left to pass on this love for the parks and recreation field, and I plan on having a lot of fun along the way.
Greg Ney, PPRP
What can we do as an agency and community to give children opportunities to experience the joy and benefits of athletics? The answer to that question came from a program that I was involved in during my years at college: Create a philanthropy that unites individual agencies and communities to donate their new and used athletic gear and apparel. This concept was spearheaded by the [IPRA Recreation Section's] Athletic Committee and specifically by Brian Kroening of Deerfield and Jason Myers of the Wheeling Park District. Today, we have fifteen additional agencies participating in the philanthropy. The goods are donated to a charity (we are working with United Way in 2003) for distribution. We hope to double the number of participating agencies and to include additional items for collection. This is what I hope to leave as part of my legacy. I invite you to join me.
Barbara Heller
Many people have the mistaken notion that public government organizations are not as sophisticated as private-sector companies. Government employees, the stereotype goes, are wedded to the status quo; bureaucratic, non-risk takers who are interested in lifetime employment. Two years ago, I attended a training session with the Center for Creative Leadership in Colorado Springs. One of my fellow attendees, who worked for a pharmaceutical company, commented that innovation just doesn't happen in the public sector. He considered anyone working for government to be less than a "top shelf" leader. I took that moment as an opportunity to change one person's mind about what happens in park districts like ours. He had an entirely different perspective on the subject by the time I was done. I would like my legacy to be about dispelling those stereotypical notions. My career has been framed around innovation, paying attention to the importance of developing as a leader 90 ¦ Illinois Porks and Recreation
and creating excellence from within the organization in order to create excellence outward to the community's taxpayers. I would like to believe that I will have left this park district a better place than when I got here, and that I made a difference in the lives of those I supervised, as well as a difference in the lives of the customers we serve.
Gary Balling, CPRP
I've never thought much about the need to "leave a legacy." In my 27-year career, I've worked for five very different park districts. As I've moved up the ranks into leadership positions, I've realized more and more how important it is to serve with humility. My style and philosophy are to remain in the background while quietly promoting changes that lead toward excellence. I've lead by example and let others take the credit. I like to see others, whether staff, board members or citizens, in the spotlight for advancing the organization. If I leave any legacy to those who come after me, it would be this: Self-promotion has no place in public service. As Rick Warren states in The Purpose Driven Life, "In our self-serving culture with its me-first mentality, acting like a servant is not a popular concept."
My nephews kid me by calling me "humble Uncle Gary." That's the greatest compliment they could ever pay me, and the legacy I'd like to leave behind.
Rod Aiken, CPRP
He came. Gail Cohen is the communications and marketing manager for the Illinois Park and Recreation Association.
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