August 2010 VRPS Presidents Newsletter

Fall 2010 Edition

V I R G I N I A R E C R E AT I O N & P A R K S O C I E T Y

PRESIDENT’S NEWSLETTER Virginia Recreation & Park Society, 6372 Mechanicsville Turnpike, Suite 109, Mechanicsville, VA 23111 www.vrps.com vrps@vrps.com 804.730.9447 (o) 804.730.9455 (f)

From the President Lakita Frazier, CPRP Director Suffolk Parks & Recreation

Desire is the starting point of all achievement, not a hope, not a wish, but a keen pulsating desire which transcends everything.

It’s hard to believe that October is here and the Annual Conference has come and gone!

Mark your Calendar…

November 5, 2010

Speaking of the Conference, if you attended, you know that the City of Hampton and the entire planning team, led by Jim Wilson, did a fantastic job of hosting this annual event.

If you didn’t attend, please speak with someone who did. I believe they will agree with me, that it was an exceptional training and networking opportunity. Many thanks to all who played a role in producing the Conference.

The Virginia Recreation & Park Society Senior Resource Group’s 5th Annual 2010 Fall Conference on Senior Programming, Therapeutic Recreation & Aging. Conference to be held at Deep Run Recreation Center, Henrico, Virginia; 8:15 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. For more information contact VRPS at (804) 7309447 or vrps@vrps.com.

We still have one quarter of the year left and there is much to do! Please keep VRPS in mind as you continue to do your good work. After all, we are like an extended family, and must continue to stay together.

You know we are stronger as a result.

Click here for the conference brochure and registration form.

Click here for on-line registration.

Ride The Tide to Success!

Enjoy!

Save the Date 2011 Annual Conference September 17—20, 2011 Marriott Norfolk Waterside INSIDE THIS ISSUE From the President SRG 5th Annual Conference Foundation of VRPS Re-Opening of Forest Hill Park Southwest Service Area News 2011 Management Conference Certification Community Gardens Cultural Diversity Summary

How the Foundation serves you...

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The Foundation of the Virginia Recreation and Park Society, a 501(c)(3) organization, operates exclusively for the benefit of, and to carry out the purposes for, the leisure movement in Virginia, by: promoting and improving leisure opportunities and amenities in Virginia; furthering the course of research and development in all areas of leisure in Virginia; providing scholarships on a non-discriminatory basis to worthy students and professionals in the parks, recreation and leisure services profession or related field; promoting leisure awareness among the general public of Virginia.

Click here for additional information and to join!!!

Visit www.vrps.com or call the VRPS Office at (804) 730-9447 or email vrps@vrps.com for volunteer opportunities.

To love what you do and feel that it matters - how could anything be more fun? Katherine Graham

City of Richmond Celebrates the Re-Opening of Forest Hill Richmond, VA - The city of Richmond and the Forest Hill Neighborhood Association held a ribbon-cutting and a regatta on Saturday, May 22, to celebrate the reopening of the restored lake in Forest Hill Park. The event kicked off at the lake’s gazebo at 2:30 p.m. with remarks from Mayor Dwight C. Jones, City Council President Kathy Graziano, and J. R. Pope, director of the Department of Parks, Recreation and Community Facilities.

The lake restoration, which began in May 2009, was completed ahead of schedule and came in under budget at $1.4 million.

Once a site that attracted visitors, the lake had become overgrown with vegetation and clogged with silt washed downstream

by Reedy Creek. Now dredged and restored to its original beauty, it is once again attracting many to fish, stroll and jog along its shore line.

“I am very proud of the fact that we were able to restore one of Richmond’s forgotten treasures,” said Mayor Jones.

“Bringing the lake back to its original beauty gives the city of Richmond a park setting that any tier one city would be proud of.”

“This was a project the department really wanted to undertake,” said Pope, “Great parks make great neighborhoods. They bring people together, they give us a place to exercise, a place to have fun, and a place where we can interact with and enjoy nature.”

Following the ceremony, the newly-formed Forest Hill Yacht Club, the only neighborhood yacht club in the city, held its first annual regatta. The event included a solo kayak/canoe race, a dual kayak/canoe race and a youth boat race.

Also included in the day’s fun was a dog swim, a best decorated boat contest, a remote-control model boat competition, and a no paddles neighborhood vs. neighborhood six-person canoe race.

For more information, visit www.foresthillneighborhood.com.

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Southwest Service Area Announces New Board Members We would like to welcome three new members to the Board: Kevin Dye, Bristol Parks and Recreation, Joshua Neel, Wytheville Parks and Recreation & Johnnie Walker, Danville Parks, Recreation & Tourism We are preparing for our annual Fall Bull Session to be held in Danville on November 13. The topic will be "How to Plan the Best Special Event." Heather Vipperman, Assistant Director of Tourism for Danville Parks, Recreation & Tourism, will lead a discussion on the creation and implementation of the Bright Leaf Brew Fest. After the Bull Session, participants will have the opportunity to purchase tickets to attend this year's Brewfest.

We are also preparing for our next workshop on January 25, 2011 on Customer Service in Lynchburg, VA. The Service Board has scheduled a few visits to students at Radford University and Ferrum College.

Building Partnerships & Maximizing Resources Make Plans to Attend!

VRPS Management Conference 2011 February 28—March 1, 2011 Hilton Garden Inn, Suffolk, VA Contact Lakita Frazier at lfrazier@city.suffolk.va.us for more information

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Are you Certified?

Certification is one way to achieve individual recognition, enhance self-esteem and gain respect of parks and recreation peers and the public. Certification enhances the credibility of the individual and the profession, as well as provide a reward system for those individuals who achieve a high level of professionalism. For information and applications for CPRP certification, visit www.vrps.com. Attainment of certification assures employers that certified personnel: meet prescribed education, experience and continuing education requirements have shown a dedication to their chosen profession through voluntary certification. Increasingly, employers are listing certification as a desirable element of employment.

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City of Alexandria Department of Recreation, Parks and Cultural Activities Community Gardening Program The City of Alexandria’s Department of Recreation, Parks and Cultural Activities is a city department that continues to work hand and hand with its citizens in order to continue to make programming relevant and exciting. Community Gardening is a program that is still very much alive in our department.

Even before community gardens were en vogue, this department had established community gardens as a norm due to the talented environmentalists, horticulturists and naturalists on staff. I have to admit that I do not hold any of those titles, but received a great deal of help and support from such knowledgeable persons like John Walsh within the department. All I had to do is tell him what I was trying to do on the grounds of Nannie J. Lee and he was all for it. He still serves as the mentor and guiding force for the project.

Our community vegetable garden is the latest on-going project at Nannie J. Lee Memorial Recreation Center. The youth from our Power On after school program planted Tuscan melon, eggplant, peppers, basil, dill, squash, tomatoes, onions, okra and red leaf lettuce seeds and small plants in late May under the guidance and direction of recreation staff. In a few short months, the garden has grown into a place where the youth and staff see firsthand the fruits of their nurturing and labor. Weeding is not the number one task that anyone volunteers to do, but it gets done.

Just as the youth planted the literal seeds in late May, staff at all neighborhood recreation centers, classes and camps, sports division and all other services provided to youth under the auspices of this department strive to plant seeds of good habits and behaviors that follow them throughout life.

The garden has become a metaphor for the way we program and maintain standards within each center and throughout the department. All of the planting, nurturing and necessary weeding and cutting has to happen in order for sustained growth to occur. I ‘d say that’s why I got into recreation!

McKenya Dilworth-Abdalla City of Alexandria Department of Recreation, Parks and Cultural Activities Acting Center Director

VRPS Cultural Diversity Survey Summary By: Dr. Allan Mills, Virginia Commonwealth University Results of a recent survey of the Cultural Diversity Resource Group membership indicate that "cultural diversity" tends to be defined much more broadly than in the past. In addition to including racial and ethnic differences, survey respondents' perceptions of cultural diversity tended to include other ways that people differ from one another - including differences due to disabilities. A large number of survey respondents also defined cultural diversity from the perspective of the work place, the profession, and recreational programming.

The workplace and professional perspectives were reinforced by answers to a survey question asking why respondents had joined the Cultural Diversity Resource Group. Two thirds of the respondents indicated they had joined because cultural diversity relates to their job. A similar proportion of respondents indicated they had joined because cultural diversity is important to them personally.

Two thirds of survey respondents also indicated that VRPS should "celebrate" cultural diversity by hosting diversity educational workshops. An even larger proportion of respondents (73.7%) felt that VRPS should celebrate cultural diversity by including diversity sessions at the annual VRPS conference.

Some important cultural diversity issues were identified by the survey, including: 1) workplace diversity, 2) programming for diversity, 3) education for diversity needs, 4) comprehensive "inclusion," and 5) diversity reflected in annual conference sessions. More detail and additional survey findings will be described in an article scheduled for publication in the fall issue of the VRPS magazine.

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