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PEOPLE AND PLACES Thrice is Nice for Schaumburg
Presented at the National Recreation and Park Association's (NRPA) national conference in Reno, Nevada in October, the award was accepted on behalf of the district by Executive Director Jean Schlinkmann. "This award is a tribute to five years of community support, strong leadership from the board of commissioners, the dedication and hard work of staff and a progressive administration," Schlinkmann said. The award is sponsored by the American Academy for Park and Recreation Administration and the NRPA. Schaumburg was chosen from four national finalists in its population category based on a written application and video. Schaumburg also won the award in 1988 and 1995. Selection of the winners is based on service, diversity, development and future planning, degree of participant involvement and citizen support. The National Gold Medals are presented annually in five population classes. Entries are solicited from 4,800 communities and 7,000 park and recreation administrators from across the nation. __________________________________________ Naperville Park District Welcomes New Executive Director The Naperville Park District is going into 2005 with new leadership. Barbara Heller assumed her duties as the executive director of the Naperville Park District in November. She came to Naperville after serving as the executive director of the Elk Grove Park District for nine years. "The Board of Commissioners couldn't be more thrilled to have found Barbara," said Pam Swafford, Park Board President. "Her skills, experience and accomplishments speak for themselves, and we are pleased to be bringing this highly-qualified, well-respected professional into the Naperville Park District. This is a new day for our organization and we're so excited." Heller's career in parks and recreation spans 28 years. She has worked her way up through the ranks of the industry, working first as a tennis coordinator and district programmer, a recreation director and assistant director, up through her present role. During her tenure as executive director at Elk Grove Park District, Heller successfully led two referendum campaigns, developed an organization service model focused on customer satisfaction, implemented cost saving measures resulting in the significant savings of tax dollars, successfully procured several grants and accepted the Lincoln Award Commitment to Excellence. Although her new role has her taking on a larger community and park district in comparison to her former situation, large communities and organizations are not new to Heller. Over her career, she has served communities as large as 275,000 people and counties as large as 800,000. "I am very excited about the challenge that I have in front of me," Heller said. "It will be a great opportunity to work in a community as dynamic as Naperville with its exceptional resources and the demographics of the community, and to lead Naperville Park District, which already is a remarkable organization." __________________________________________ Lake Co. Forest Preserve Educator Takes President's Award The Lake County Forest Preserves' environmental education manager, Nan Buckardt, was awarded the prestigious President's Award from the North American Association for Environmental Education (NAAEE). NAAEE is a worldwide network of professionals, students and volunteers that promotes a healthy, sustainable environment through education. The President's Award is given annually and recognizes outstanding achievement in environmental education. Buckardt was chosen for her work in advancing environmental education with a hands-on workshop that helps environmental educators with no formal education background or training to connect with classroom teachers. The workshop was so successful in Illinois that it was expanded and implemented nationwide. Buckardt joined the Lake County' Forest Preserves in 1984 as a naturalist. She was later promoted to her current position of environmental education manager. She has been instrumental in producing award-winning programs for school-age children. She earned a bachelor's degree in zoology from the University' of Wisconsin-Platteville and a master's degree in outdoor teacher education from Northern Illinois University. She is a member of the Education Association of Illinois. Buckardt and her husband, Al, reside in Deerfield with their three children. 38 Illinois Parks and Recreation www.il-ipra.org IAPD Newsletter to Go Online
"This move allows us to be more efficient," says IAPD President and CEO Ted Flickinger. "We will save time and money at the printing and mailing stages, and we'll be able to get this publication to our members on a timely basis. The critical component now will be to make sure we have accurate e-mail addresses. We don't want any member to miss out." If you regularly receive e-mail from IAPD, then your copies of the newsletter should come to your in-box without any problems. But, if you want to be sure that IAPD has your correct e-mail, then please send a note to IAPD Marketing Specialist Cindy Deiters at cdeiters@ILparks.org. Write "IAPD e-News address" in the subject line of your e-mail and be sure to include your job title in the body of the e-mail so you will be placed on the correct mailing list. If you don't have an e-mail account, you won't be left out. The newsletter will also be sent to agency directors so that they can be printed and distributed at board meetings. IAPD e-News is the association's reminder of coming events and other items of interest to commissioners and trustees. Another IAPD newsletter, Beyond the Board Room, will be coming out of a short hiatus and will be published quarterly. That publication takes an in-depth look at issues that concern commissioners. Past topics have included board member orientation and training, benchmarking, agenda setting and executive evaluations. Current plans are for the publication to be printed and mailed as usual, although the association will determine whether Beyond the Board Room should go to an all-electronic format in the near future. If you have suggestions for future topics for Beyond the Board Room, please contact Rodd Whelpley at rwhelpley@ILparks.org or 217-523-4554. __________________________________________ Skokie Park District Hires New Senior/Teen Supervisor
Elliott previously worked as the project manager at Priority Systems in Chicago, and as the assistant manager of the Glacier Ice Arena in Vernon Hills. She received her bachelor's degree in parks and recreation administration from Western Illinois University in Macomb and did an internship in the City of Bettendorf's Parks and Recreation Department. __________________________________________ Rockford's Snow Sculpting Event Gains National Recognition
The district picked up the plaque during a formal ceremony at the NRPA National Congress on October 13, 2004. Thomas M. Kalousek accepted the honor on behalf of the Rockford Park District. Mr. Kalousek was the first director of the Illinois Snow Sculpting Competition during his tenure at the park district, and now serves as executive director of the Winnebago County Forest Preserve District. The ceremony took place in front of an audience of over 3,000 professionals, researchers, students and volunteers in the parks and recreation community. Dorothy G. (Dotti) Mullen was a pioneer in the field of recreation and parks and its many diversified applications. With vigor and enthusiasm, she pursued the establishment of a program to recognize excellence in arts and humanities programs through recreation and leisure. Entries are judged on the basis of content, innovation, contribution to community and expansion of interest in the arts and humanities. There are five categories for community' events, based on population, and Rockford's event was evaluated in Class II (population 200,000 to 499,999). The 2004 Illinois Snow Sculpting Competition attracted 55,626 visitors to Sinnissippi Park. This year's event will be held January 19-22, 2005, weather permitting. For more information on the event visit: www.snowsculpting.org. __________________________________________ Fox Valley Special Recreation Association Hires Events Coordinator
www.ilparks.org January/February 2005 39 Geneva Hires Aquatics Director and PR Supervisor
__________________________________________ IPRA Announces Newly Certified Professionals
Beth D. Baiardo, CPRP, ORS, NWSRA
__________________________________________ Apprentice Shares Insights with IPRA Members
Sun-tanned from a trip to Florida for a Trump golf outing, Rancic spoke fondly of his love of recreation. He grew up in Orland Park, Ill., where he was active in the flag football program and baseball league. At Carl Sandburg High School, he was on the first boys' volleyball team. Today, Rancic frequents North Avenue Beach and plays volleyball when he's in town. He also scuba dives, water skis, snowboards and ski dives. And he has run in two Chicago Marathons. His entrepreneurial roots date back to childhood, when he earned money cooking breakfast for his grandmother and her friends (they left him $5 tips under their plates!). In college, Rancic saw his friends toiling away at low-paying jobs, so he headed to New Buffalo, Michigan and began a boat washing and waxing business. Soon, he was earning over $400 a day, which allowed him to pay for his college education. After graduation, he started a business importing and selling cigars, with his promotional campaign targeted on the major radio markets in Chicago, Los Angeles and New York City. Cigars Around the World was soon booking more than $150,000 in sales each month. Today, the company he launched in a 400-square-foot studio apartment is a thriving, multi-million dollar operation. Rancic spoke about the many lessons he's learned in business and through his experience as a contestant on The Apprentice. First, seek practical solutions to problems that arise. Don't over-think; sometimes the simplest solution is the best. Second, be flexible in the workplace. Things change constantly and one must be able to adapt. Third, manage risk-taking and convert it into success. Don't be afraid to make a bold move; just be sure you can back it up. Rancic went on to explain that mistakes should never be considered failures but learning opportunities, and he added that being accountable for your actions is essential to being successful. Rancic also shared the strategy he used as a contestant on The Apprentice. His main goal was to find out what made each of the other contestants tick. With that knowledge, he took his strongest skills — his risk taking and people skills — to position himself as the strongest contestant. This allowed him to be a good team player, yet also prepared him to know when to break from the team and stand out on his own. Rancic said he kept the goal of winning at the forefront at all times, and he admitted he was always confident that he would not lose.
40 Illinois Parks and Recreation www.il-ipra.org It Pays to Play Healthy
The hours between 3:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m., when school is out and parents are working, are a crucial rime for kids. An increasing number of children go home to unsupervised, and often dangerous, environments. The PowerPlay! grant program is designed to increase the number of youth participating in after-school programming that is specifically focused on encouraging them to develop healthy habits by eating well, recognizing the benefits of physical fitness and saying no to drugs and alcohol. The PowerPlay! grant program was established by IAPD in 2002 with funding from the Illinois Attorney General's Office as part of an anti-trust settlement with vitamin manufacturers. A total of $134,400 has been awarded to Illinois park and recreation agencies since its inception. Congratulations to the most recent grant recipients:
Bolingbrook Park District, Power Dance Project
IAPD intends to continue this grant program with funds from the Attorney General's office and money derived from the sales of the Park District Youth License Plate. Applications will go out in the first quarter of 2005. __________________________________________ Bartlett Welcomes New Aquatics and Information Systems Managers
www.ilparks.org January/February 2005 41 Frankfort Park District and Youth Football Program Build New Facilities
On Saturday, August 7, 2004, the district cut the ribbon on the new Frankfort Park District concession and washroom facility at Main Park. The Frankfort Falcons Football built the two-story brick building and deeded it over to the park district in exchange for a football field at the park. Frankfort Mayor Ray Rossi, Representative Renee Kosel and Senator Christine Radogno attended and spoke highly of the community partnership that got the new youth football program up and running in a matter of months. Kosel commended the park district and the village for working so well together. Radogno talked directly to the children. "What's really positive about this experience," she said, "is the way everyone has come together for the kids in this community. All the adults around you are so committed to your happiness and well-being. You are so lucky." The Falcons' field has been named Kevin Aleck Memorial Field in honor of the young Frankfort football player who died tragically in April 2004. The Falcons-Park District partnership formed early in 2004 when the Falcons leadership approached the park board about converting the Main Park soccer fields to a football field with amenities. By February, the details had been worked out, and construction began as soon as weather would permit. By August, the organization was ready to begin their competitive season, playing teams from the far southwest suburban Chicago area. By September, the Falcons' field was widely acknowledged as the best in their league. While this new development required that the Main Park soccer fields be moved to another location in the park district, this was a win-win situation for everyone. Frankfort School District 157C provided a long-term lease of their property for multiple soccer fields, and the Falcons helped financially with their creation. Furthermore, the newly-constructed washroom facility will be open seven days a week from April through October for all park patrons, with maintenance and upkeep being handled by the park district.
__________________________________________ NRPA 'Revenue School' To Celebrate 40th Anniversary With Special Graduate Executive Forum The original 'Revenue School' (now known as the Revenue Development and Management School) will celebrate 40 years of continuous service to the recreation and park profession when it convenes at Oglebay Park in Wheeling, West Virginia, March 13 through 18, 2005. In addition to the popular two-year program, a graduate executive forum will also be offered for those professionals who want to take their departments to the next level in making parks and recreation an essential service. Though the school has undergone several name changes in its history, its mission to train professionals to raise and manage money wisely remains unchanged. The origin of the Revenue School was the Revenue-Producing Facilities Conference offered by the American Institute of Park Executives (AIPE) in 1962. The AIPE selected Oglebay Park for its national headquarters because of its reputation as one of the finest public parks in the United States. The American Institute of Park Executives was one of the five professional organizations that merged to form the National Recreation and Park Association in 1965, which coincided with the first year that the program was known as the Revenue Sources Management School. The Revenue Sources Management School was unique in that it had a board of regents that developed the curriculum, wrote monographs on topics for which no textbooks were available and taught the classes. The regents were senior-level park and recreation administrators that had model systems for generating and managing revenue from special facilities and programs. The program was a joint effort between North Carolina State University, NRPA and Oglebay Park — a partnership that exists to this day. The original Revenue School not only set new standards for the professional development of park and recreation professionals, but also proved to be a new training model that has been duplicated by NRPA and other professional organizations on numerous other topics. Currently, NRPA offers at least six "schools" on topics ranging from maintenance management and community leadership to executive training and resource management. Since its inception in 1965, over 6,300 park and recreation professionals from 48 states and four foreign countries have attended the program at Oglebay. The 2005 Revenue Development and Management School's board of regents includes Chairman Michael McCarty, Director of the Longmeadow, Massachusetts Parks and Recreation Department; Michael Kane, Director, Fairfax County Park Authority; Gary Fenton, NRPA Director of Professional Services; Carrie Haupert, Superintendent of Special Facilities, Wheaton, Illinois Park District; Bill Scalzo, Chief Officer of the Maricopa County, Arizona Parks and Recreation Department; Tom Lovell, Jr., Administrator of Parks and Recreation in Fee's Summit, Missouri; and Steve Person, Superintendent of Recreation in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. Dr. Phil Rea, Professor of Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management, serves as North Carolina State University's liaison to the school, while NRPA will be represented by Rebecca Bouck. The special Graduate Executive Forum will be led by three former regents who are recognized experts in revenue development and management: Becky Benna, Director of Parks and Recreation in Miamisburg, Ohio; Jerry Handlon, former Director of the Schaumburg, Illinois Park District; and Dave Nobel, Director of the Lake Metro Parks system for Lake County, Ohio. For detailed information on the curriculum or registration procedures contact the Oglebay National Training Center for Public Facility Managers at 304-243-4019 or online at www.oglebay-resort.com. 42 Illinois Parks and Recreation www.il-ipra.org |
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