EYE ON THE  P R O F E S S I O N
A CLOSER LOOK AT TRENDS AND ISSUES IN THE PARK AND RECREATION PROFESSION

William J. M. Wald IPRA Chief Executive Officer

Creating a Community of Park and Recreation Professionals

Community. What is it? How does one create a community?

A community may be defined as a collection of individuals who share common characteristics based on their location or type of interaction. Basically, a community is a group.

You might be part of a church group, neighborhood group, a cultural, ethical or political group, or just a group of friends and colleagues.

If so, you belong to a community. You share a common interest.

What about your professional life? What community do you belong to? Where do you go to interact, discuss and learn about ideas and topics relevant to your career?

Along with the many other benefits and services that your membership in the Illinois Park & Recreation Association brings you is the chance to participate in a community of like-minded people working in a common industry with common goals.

As part of your IPRA membership, you have the opportunity to involve yourself in special interest sections, committees and task forces with others. Together you work on projects. You share resources. You network. You learn from one another.

You are part of a larger professional community, right?

Challenges Facing the Creation of Our Community

Our community, almost 3,000 strong, spreads across the entire state of Illinois and beyond. We are always looking to expand and grow the membership of IPRA behind innovative and relevant product offerings that provide more value for your membership dollar.

But, with our growth and distance factors, we face challenges.

A membership of individuals, geographically spread out over 58,000 square miles, raises concerns about meeting every member's needs. How does an association like IPRA create community if its membership cannot meet and interact easily? With the rising cost of fuel and other raw materials, we do not have the luxury we once had of simply hopping in the car and driving to meetings (sometimes hours away). Budgets are tight, and expenses are being watched closely by public officials, staff and the community.

Given that economic climate, we are faced with finding a solution to provide superior membership value to every individual in our community. IPRA is not a community of just board members, section and committee leaders or members located in the Chicago-metro area. Every member of the IPRA is, and deserves to be treated as, part of the IPRA community.

Solutions to the Challenges of Creating a Community

So how do we create a community that involves every member from every part of the state?

After a long, arduous process of surveying the marketplace and our membership, we believe we have created a special common place to serve as community headquarters. You can't drive there. You won't find it on a map. You'll find your new professional association community wherever you have an Internet connection. IPRAonline.com

We have created a special common place to serve as community headquarters. You'll find it wherever you have an Internet connection. IPRAonline.com is the new online home for park and recreation professionals, advocates and students here in Illinois and beyond.

About 75 percent of Americans now have internet access, and that number is even higher for those working office jobs. When faced with the challenge of how to reach and engage individuals in the most effective and efficient way, the internet was the IPRA's most logical choice.

So how exactly did we create a community over the internet?

Let me tell you, it was not an easy process, but I am convinced you will find our new Web site a powerful, engaging and extremely useful tool in advancing your professional career.

First of all, we examined what you wanted most out of your IPRA

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membership. The ability to connect with other professionals and share ideas topped the list.

We hear time and again how worthwhile section meetings are, both for their educational content and their networking aspects. You cannot underestimate the professional benefits of meeting with a group of like-minded people. This is where ideas are gathered and taken back to the workplace and implemented. This is where people meet people and build their professional rolodexes (and sometimes get the inside scoop on job openings).

But meetings end after a couple hours. And meetings only occur a couple times a month at most.

The New Online Community at IPRAonline.com

I am pleased to announce that IPRA has a brand new Web site that addresses the challenges of creating a community of park and recreation professionals.

IPRAonline.com is the new community home for IPRA members and anyone interested in parks and recreation.

The new site boasts a fresh new look, combined with easier navigation and more useful and relevant tools. We have also developed the new site with the mindset of being able to create a robust community for our members.

Three major advancements we've made to your online experience include: community groups you can join, an enhanced resource library that allows you to upload and share documents and the ability to build your professional network by searching for individual members.

The new IPRAonline.com will revolutionize the way IPRA functions as a community. We are a community of park and recreation professionals, and the new Web site will improve your membership experience.

Community Groups

The new IPRAonline.com automatically places you into an online community based on your chosen special interest section. The members-only home, known now as I-Link, puts you in control of your membership experience.

When logging into I-Link, you'll find yourself connected to every other section member that shares similar interests and job responsibilities. You can use your section's online community to ask questions, share ideas and communicate as never before.

Since you are now in control of your membership experience, feel free to create your own groups and invite others to join your group. Within each group, you can now easily post discussion items, view calendar events associated with the particular group and view the profiles of every member that has joined the group.

Since new park and recreation professionals join IPRA every week, using the I-Link community groups allows you to communicate directly with members without having to know or remember people's e-mail addresses. Your group communication will be distributed to all subscribing members within a group.

The I-Link community groups feature is an amazing way to engage members, get help and connect with like-minded people.

Search and Share Resources

I-Link also allows you to search and view resource documents relevant to you and your needs. Currently there are hundreds of documents and Web site resources accessible to you on the site.

But what if you can't find what you're looking for? Remember, I-Link is about you. Simply post a discussion item asking others in a group if they have what you're looking for. Your request will be e-mailed to all group members and posted on the group page for archived viewing.

Do you have a great resource you'd like to share with people? Simply upload your document for others to view. Isn't sharing resources at meetings one of the great benefits I mentioned earlier?

The control of content is in your hands, and now you have the ability to access and share resources 24/7/365. Of course, attending meetings is vitally important to the structure and success of sections and committees, but think of all the money you'll now save by continuing your sharing and learning by using I-Link.

Build Your Professional Network

Following the concept of Web sites like Facebook and Linkedln, you now have the ability to search and view members of the IPRA right from your computer. Once you've found people you know, add them to your network.

Creating an online network of colleagues and friends through I-Link gives you the ability to communicate and network with other members. Again, there is no need to collect e-mail addresses or contact information. I-Link accesses the IPRA membership database to provide you with the most up-to-date and accurate contact information for the members of the IPRA.

Your online membership profile is also completely customizable and editable by you. Add a picture of yourself so people can put your face to your name. Change your title, phone number, e-mail address, etc. Post your resume online. Add a fun bio about yourself or list out your interests and work specialties.

Take Control of Your Membership

You've heard the saying, "You can bring a horse to water, but you can't make him drink." This new Web site and all the enhancements designed to create an online community of park and recreation professionals relies on individual members engaging themselves and using the tools provided.

Take control of your membership in IPRA. Visit the new IPRAonline.com and start playing around with I-Link. Detailed video tutorials will be available to help guide you through some of the new features.

Join our community and take full advantage of everything you now have at your fingertips. If you have suggestions for future enhancements, please let us know. IPRA membership is about you. It's about advancing your professional career. We are committed to making that happen.

We hope you enjoy the new IPRAonline.com and I-Link.

Every member of the IPRA is, and deserves to be treated as, part of a community. The new IPRAonline.com will revolutionize the way IPRA functions as a community. We are a community of park and recreation professionals, and the new Web site will improve your membership experience. It truly is all about you.

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