1 INROADS Winter 2012 New Mexico Recreation and Parks Association E-Volume 4 E-Version 4 PRESIDENTS MESSAGE By Dianne M. Marquez, CPRE, President -New Mexico Recreation & Park Association Happy New Year to all of our NMRPA members and associates! I am looking forward to a very challenging and busy 2012 as the President of our association. The Board is working on several new projects to help promote and grow the NMRPA and provide additional training and educational opportunities to promote professional growth in the field of Parks and Recreation. A couple big projects in the pipeline include: The redesign and upgrade of the website to allow for calendars, members-only sites, online registration, and a more user- friendly approach. Moving the date of the Annual Conference from September to early Spring. Many have mentioned how difficult it is to attend the September conference as they wrap up summer responsibilities and are moving from one season to the next. Adding more training and educational opportunities in-state to promote professional development, assist our members in career advancement opportunities, and develop those professional connections that are so important in our careers. I am proud and honored to have been chosen as the president of the New Mexico Parks and Recreation Association and welcome this opportunity to continue the forward momentum Past-President Ed Chismar started. I have had the privilege to interact with many of you at the annual conference or in emails, and I look forward to hearing from you about ideas, opportunities, or suggestions you have for the continued development and growth of the NMRPA. WEB LETTER
Transcript
1
INROADSWinter 2012
New Mexico Recreation and
Parks Association
E-Volume 4 E-Version 4
PRESIDENTS MESSAGEBy Dianne M. Marquez, CPRE, President -New Mexico Recreation & Park Association
Happy New Year to all of our
NMRPA members and associates! I am looking forward to a very
challenging and busy 2012 as the
President of our association. The
Board is working on several new
projects to help promote and grow
the NMRPA and provide additional
training and educational
opportunities to promote
professional growth in the field of
Parks and Recreation.A couple big projects in the
pipeline include:
The redesign and upgrade of
the website to allow for calendars,
members-only sites, online
registration, and a more user-
friendly approach. Moving the date of the Annual
Conference from September to
early Spring. Many have
mentioned how difficult it is to
attend the September conference
as they wrap up summer
responsibilities and are moving
from one season to the next.
Adding more training and
educational opportunities in-state to promote professional
development, assist our members
in career advancement
opportunities, and develop those
professional connections that are
so important in our careers.I am proud and honored to
have been chosen as the
president of the New Mexico
Parks and Recreation Association
and welcome this opportunity to
continue the forward momentum
Past-President Ed Chismar
started. I have had the privilege to
interact with many of you at the
annual conference or in emails, and I look forward to hearing from
you about ideas, opportunities, or
suggestions you have for the
continued development and
growth of the NMRPA.
!
WEB LETTER
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National County Government Month (NCGM) is celebrated each April by the nation’s counties to raise public awareness and understanding about the roles and responsibilities of county government. The 2012 theme is "Healthy Counties, Healthy Families."
More than 1,000 counties participate in NCGM each year by hosting a variety community outreach events and activities. These include tours of county facilities, recognition ceremonies for county employees and volunteers, distribution of information about county programs and serves, sponsoring
Student essay contests, meetings with business and community leaders, and adoption of resolutions.
Since 1991, the National Association of Counties (NACo) has encouraged counties across the country to actively promote county government programs and services. Formerly National County Government Week, the designation was expanded to a full month for 2010 to offer more counties more opportunities to plan and participate. Counties aren’t expected to hold public awareness activities daily, but can schedule activities any time during the month.
Use the hashtag #NCGM on Twitter to follow along with the counties celebrating National County Government Month.
Go to http://www.naco.org for more information.
April National Government MonthCounties are the governments of the future. They are innovative and progressive, creating a variety of programs to meet the needs of their citizens. To recognize the creativity and imagination of counties, NACo presents a number of awards each year to county officials, their employees and the counties themselves. NACo also recognizes members of Congress who champion county issues by awarding the Legislators of the Year.
When the late, Dr. “Sweede” Scholer spoke to us a few years back, he began with the Industrial Revolution when society moved from farms and ranches to the cities. Over the past 100 years, we have come to realize the importance of Open Space, Natural Areas, Parks, Trails, and the value of Recreation! Sometimes it’s hard to verbalize the value. How does one adequately verbalize the value of Parks and Recreation? Let your
eyes, your senses, and your mind provide answers for you. We in Parks and Recreation have come to
realize the value of those places as habitats, buffers to noise and pollution, and
areas where city dwellers can enjoy recreational pursuits. Can any of the other
Department in your community create parks,
trails and provide meaningful recreation?During this pivotal time, the need for recreation programs and services become apparent. As people move to towns and cities for higher paying jobs, children come with them. Results from history show us that Boston Sandgardens made it evident that well-spent leisure time is critical to the healthy development and socialization of children.
Why do we work in Parks and Recreation?
Why THIS as a career?
By Ed Chismar, Director, Bernalillo County Parks and Recreation and Past President, NMRPA
What is the value of recreation?
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Today’s social changes mirror those of the era which gave birth to our Profession. People have less and less time to recreate. High levels of stress are beginning to take it’s toll. We see evidence that our physical and mental health are declining. Setting aside spaces for recreation of the mind, body and spirit and providing programs and services that facilitate recreation are vital principals in the development of a healthy society. The Parks and Recreation Profession was founded on these two principals. We Professional practitioners and citizens have learned those lessons well. We will not underestimate the value of either parks and open space or recreational programs and services; we see their value every day.
However, OUR GREATEST CHALLENGE IS TO COMMUNICATE THAT MESSAGE TO THE PUBLIC.
The message is simply that Parks and Recreation improves the quality of people’s lives. The challenge is to put that message into concrete terms. We know what we do is effective, now we have to find ways to illustrate that to others. That Parks and Recreation is an essential service!Remember the slogan; “Parks and Recreation, the Benefits are Endless”? It is a philosophy that we must incorporate into everything we do and say. We
must remind ourselves that what we do enhances the lives of our citizens and communities. We must then keep this mindset as we plan and publicize our activities; train our employees and interact with our participants, community members, and public. In an era of complex problems summed up in sound bites, America appears to have only a short-term memory; the effects of parks and recreation are measured over the long term. In order for the message to sink in, we must say it often and with conviction.
Our message and our results are not new, but our resolve to tell the public should be. What we do improves people’s lives our benefits are endless.The Urban Institute recently published an article on the values of Parks and Recreation for Communities. The article states that Parks have long been recognized as major contributors to the physical and aesthetic quality of neighborhoods. But a new, broader view of parks has recently emerged; a view that goes beyond traditional value of parks as places of recreation and visual assets. The “new view” calls attention to the broader contributions made by parks and recreation that contribute to the vitality of communities and the residents.
The “new view” includes: Youth Development, Social Capital, Health, and Work Experience.
Youth Development: Helping youth choose paths to adulthood by providing programs and opportunities to build physical, intellectual, emotional and social strength.Social Capital: Parks and Recreation help build and strengthen ties among community residents by bringing people together; including those who might otherwise be divided.Health: Park use is certainly a good way to engage in healthy exercise. A place to enjoy fresh Air, scenery, and to exercise.Work Experience: Youth have long found summer employment in Parks and Recreation. Camp councilors, lifeguards, instructors, coaches, or grounds keepers.This brings us back to the initial question. Why do we work in Parks and Recreation? I’ve tried to provide reasons for being in the Profession. At a very basic level, being a Parks and Recreation Professional is about making our society better. How do you make it better? In closing, I leave you with this thought: “Success is peace of mind which is a direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you made the effort to become the best of which you are capable”
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Going Paperless: 5 Questions to Ask Yourself Before Making the LeapPosted on November 15, 2011 by Spencer Robertson
In many discussions with recreation agencies over the last couple of years, one of the hottest topics is the trend towards going paperless. With tightened budgets, it seems logical that this topic would come up more often, as organizations search for new ways to reduce expenditures. The obvious benefits are reduced printing and mailing costs, and a lower environmental impact. However, many people have questions about the impact on registration numbers and wonder if it will work in their community. There’s one simple answer to these questions – it depends.Success among communities that have made the leap has been mixed. Don’t jump the gun in a saving frenzy and cut all your paper-based marketing without asking yourself these questions:Does your target audience have a high rate of Internet use? Do you already use multiple online channels to promote your programs? Do your online channels reach a large audience (website visitors, email subscribers)? Does your community have goals aside from cost savings, such as ‘going green’? If your registration numbers go down temporarily, is this something your budget can handle? If you answered yes to all of these questions, then you’re more likely to be successful in your transition.Most communities are well-connected these days, but consider your audience. This step may be common sense, but demographics can play a large part in online acceptance. Younger, well-educated groups may be more likely to see the benefits of the switch, but this is not always the case. Many recreation professionals know their communities pretty well, so you likely have a feel for your audience.
If your community doesn’t already have a large online presence, it can be a difficult transition to switch directly to a digital brochure. It works best in organizations that are able to promote it heavily with a variety of online channels, such as a website, email newsletter and social media. If you’ve made a decision to go digital, make sure the brochure is easy to find on your website and is promoted heavily throughout all of your online channels. It won’t be very successful if your constituents aren’t aware of it and can’t find it.Aside from cost and environmental impacts, there are some less obvious benefits of online guides, such as direct online registration with links, sharing features (share via email, Facebook, Twitter), analytics and the ability to embed media. These features may be more important for some communities and provide the extra push to go digital.Make sure you’re prepared for a drop in registrations. Even if your efforts are ultimately successful, there can be an initial drop before your participants adapt. For this reason, it’s a good idea to test the waters for a better gauge of success. Try running both digital and print, while putting a large emphasis on your digital brochure. Promote and share the link to your digital brochure in your print guide. You can also try printing less before making a complete transition.Finally, in order to help your decision, do a survey or poll. Free surveys and polls can be created using SurveyMonkey, Polldaddy or a similar online survey system. This will help to understand your audience’s preferences and ultimately make the decision that fits in your community.
In todays down economic times, small town parks and recreation programs have to supplement their funding in new and different ways. This could mean anything from getting sponsorships for teams and leagues, or finding funds from altruistic or benevolent groups. Some instances the resource you are needing comes to you.
Many organizations have by-laws requiring a certain amount of funds raised to go to local charities or youth association. For instance the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks in our area must expend a certain amount of revenues back to youth activities. Over the past 10 or so years that I have been in recreation the B.P.O.E. has donated money on an annual basis to help support our Youth football program. Having done so for so many years has allowed us to keep equipment and uniforms from becoming old and in some instances unsafe. They have also been very generous with their donations to the extent of helping erect a new backstop and scoreboards for one of our baseball fields. The only conditions are that it goes to the youth of the
community. And in-kind we have noted their donations on uniforms, on game programs and with signs at the various venues we use.
The local altrusistic organization has approached my department on several occasions asking if there was a project they could donate money towards. This has led to new bleachers at the youth softball field and the replacement of a broken diving board at the municipal pool. Once again another organization that is not only required but really wants to assist the youth of the community.
Many times it is not the money that helps out so much but the manpower. Every year Comcast has a “Comcast Cares” day in communities around the country. It is one day a year Comcast and its employees, and local businesses get together to do a one-day project that will better the community. Over the past 8 or so years we have targeted our local baseball/softball complex to have these events. These projects started out with the planting of a few trees and have grown to building fences, backstops and even installing sprinkler systems
on these fields. This is done in a large part because Comcast encourages volunteers to come out on this day, and work a few hours. One small crew can get a little done in a day, but 100 hands on deck can accomplish a lot. The planning and forethought on these projects must be done beforehand to better utilize the manpower you have available for the day. Identify equipment and supplies that will be needed for the project and have them on-hand when the project arrives. Knowing what you want each team to do and having things ready to go for them gives them a running start and helps your department and budget immensely.
State and Federal grants have all but dried up for parks and recreation improvements; these are examples of ways struggling programs can continue to grow even when budgets are tight. Thinking outside the box can accomplish things that seem to be out of reach. Sometimes you may have to go out and find someone or some group willing to help out and sometimes it’s as easy as saying yes.
Scott C. Simpson Supt, City of Tucumcari
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Unusual Partnerships That Make A Difference“Changing lives from the inside out.”
Gordon Bernell Charter School is a different kind of school. Gordon Bernell isn’t traditional in any way in fact we pride ourselves on being the “alternative,” of alternatives. In many ways the things happening at Gordon Bernell, and the people receiving an education at Gordon Bernell, without each other, would have nowhere else to go. Gordon Bernell is truly a school that focuses on those that have been lost, put aside, and or ignored – Gordon Bernell’s mission statement is in fact: “Changing
lives from the inside out.” Through two very progressive programs/businesses, GBCS is attempting to change the lives of its student populations, who are primarily incarcerated adults, and ex-offenders. Gordon Bernell by way of a partnership with local landscaping giant, Heads Up, and with its own venture in the realm of recycling, is attempting to re-build our community, by helping those in our even smaller community re-build themselves. Gordon Bernell Charter School has developed a recycling program as part of its
career and technology course. Approximately 50 students have enrolled in the course to learn the basics of business development and have the opportunity to apply their knowledge to a recycling business. The recycling business focuses on recycling cardboard, office paper and aluminum. Through the class, students have established partnerships with the Albuquerque Downtown Action Team, an organization which includes more than 200 businesses, the Albuquerque
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Convention Center, the Metropolitan Detention Center and the GAP organization. The One Skin Suit organization contributed a moving van, and Thomas and Betts donated a full sized van for pick-up of recyclables. Graphics have been purchased for both vehicles and Bio Papel International is the program recycling organization that accepts our recyclables. To date, the recycling program has recycled over 33,000 pounds of cardboard distributed more than $1500.00 in profits to students
participating as recyclers, marketers, coordinators and accountants in the career and technology course. With the addition of 20 downtown businesses, the project is projected to triple in the next year. More importantly, students participating in the course and recycling project have gained experience and expertise that they have been able to transfer to other work situations or which has encouraged them to pursue business training and coursework at a post high school level.
During 2010 Cindy Redman, the Science teacher for GBCS Roma Campus, in conjunction with the Downtown
Action Team created a “pocket park” at 2nd and Gold in Downtown Albuquerque. The students and staff of GBCS in conjunction with the DAT reclaimed a piece of urban blight littered with trash, broken bottles, and other debris and turned it into a pocket park. The
students worked with planners and other
professionals to develop the space. A critical component of the space was the landscape layout and materials. When the time came (Fall of 2011) to install the plants and other landscape materials our students and staff helped the Heads Up crew. Because of the spirit and quality of the work displayed by our students, Andrew Keyes (President) of Heads Up Landscaping offered our students the opportunity to become Heads Up employees, while continuing with their studies. Our staff put together a list of the students who best demonstrated success (regular
attendance, respectful interactions with staff
and other students, regular production of school work, and overall good behavior). From this list we took our top students. These students
attended a job site visit at the Mesa Del Sol Business/Community development with Andrew Key and Leslie Francis (Human Relations Heads Up). For all of these students this was the first time that a “job” was presented as a career stepping stone, let alone being shown the work by a company president and HR director. After this meeting all of the students were interviewed by Leslie for part-time positions with Heads Up. After the interviews Heads Up offered all of the students full time positions. ! As you can see, the staff and students at GBCS are constantly attempting to create opportunities for ourselves. We have banded together as a family of sorts – we regularly have award ceremonies, graduations, and pot-lucks with
our students and their families. Our fostering of a
community feel and approach at GBCS seems to be working its magic. As we move into the 2011-2012 school year, we hope that folks in our greater New Mexico surroundings will reach out, see how they can be involved, and otherwise help us to make Albuquerque, and New Mexico a better place for all of us.
“NMRPA: CLovis, New Mexico Birth Place
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NMRPA Annual Conference in Clovis, NM
Photos Courtesy of Laurie Jerge, Roswell NM. Collage courtesy of Intel Computer Club House, Bernalillo County
OF ROCK AND ROLL!”
Were You There?
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In the next five to ten years, the parks and recreation industry is going to see a tremendous change in staffing levels and availability of qualified personnel. Estimates and demographics indicate that roughly 30 to 50% of our seasoned professionals are nearing traditional retirement age. This mass exodus of experience and institutional knowledge will present unforeseen challenges for our field. There needs to be a strong focus on planning for professional leadership and organizational strength for agencies, and that type of planning is called “succession planning”.
Part of the challenge is, of course, related to the economic recession in the United States. Many older professionals that may have retired in the last few years have held off retiring, as they saw the economy affect the levels of their retirement savings. As either the economy starts to improve, or these still working but eligible workers just get older, there will be a large increase in the annual number of retirees. In addition, for many agencies, budget woes are impacting the ability to fill positions, with mandated hiring freezes, or reorganizations to help reduce staffing costs. In addition, most universities are seeing a reduced number of undergraduates in their parks and recreation majors, which is in turn producing fewer qualified professionals at the entry-level. The good news for younger parks and
recreation professionals is that soon there will probably be a wide variety of positions opening up, but are they ready to assume those positions? Senior management of agencies have a choice – do they want to be reactive to these challenges, or pro-active in their planning to have a well-trained and ready work force?
Three basic questions to ask when contemplating succession planning are:
• How do you develop leaders in your agency?
• How do you prepare for succession planning for key leadership positions in your agency?
• How do you handle poor performers?
The big question many agency leaders ask is, “So, how do we create a Succession Plan and what should it include?” The broad overview of what to address involves:
• Leadership identification• Employee development• Leadership training• Knowledge transfer and
legacy creation• Possible reorganization • Creation and communication
of THE PLAN
Recognizing the Diversity of EmployeesThe first thing to recognize is that every organization has a unique
population of employees. There is not a “one size fits all” succession plan that works for every agency. Often retiring employees are in leadership positions or possess institutional knowledge critical to organizational sustainability, but this is not always the case. To create a plan, you need to be aware of the age demographics of the employee workforce, their qualifications, and their plan for their inevitable departure. Agency demographics change depending on agency lifecycle, community profile, and maturity.
Change Can Be ScaryEmployees are humans (yes, it’s true…), and as such, they are made up of a mix of folks who may be “risk adverse” (they don’t like change and will try to avoid it) or “risk
Succession Planning – Leading to Change or Changing to Lead?By Teresa Penbrooke, CPRP, MAOM
Not all parks and recreation agencies choose to become accredited, but it is interesting to note that in 2009, the Commission for Accreditation of Parks and Recreation Agencies (CAPRA) revised their standards for accreditation to include a standard for Succession Planning (Standard 4.6.3) stating:
“Agencies should formulate a succession plan to ensure the continued effective performance of the organization by making provisions for the development and replacement of key people over time.”
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will try to avoid it) or “risk takers” (they don’t mind change and look forward to it). It is important to recognize which employees have which characteristics, and that will help both in the planning and communication stages. It is necessary to develop a culture to support innovation…through recruitment, appraisal, and recognition. One way to help avoid negative impacts of the changes is to involve employees in the process to create alignment with the plan. It helps to remember that really good employees like working for a forward thinking agency.
Developing LeadersFortunately, although gaining experience often takes time in a variety of situations, leadership is a craft for which you can continuously learn and adapt to become better. Some ways to develop better leaders include:
• Having personal and agency support for continuing education - Unfortunately many parks and recreation professionals feel that if their agency won’t pay for their continuing education (conferences, webinars, online learning, etc.), they won’t pursue it. In many other professions there is a personal responsibility for continuing education – as an investment in long-term personal growth. While it is important for agencies to support their employees in their career growth for both personal and agency benefit, it is also important for individuals to invest in their own growth throughout their career – especially if they want to move ahead and be successful.
• Mentoring or Executive Coaching – This can be
provided at minimal cost by agencies through mentoring programs or joining groups such as civic organizations or Toastmasters®. Some state professional associations offer free mentor programs for their members. Executive coaching can help too, especially if an individual recognizes that they have specific limitations on some of the necessary strengths that they need to develop.
• Job Rotations – Having employees periodically gain experience in other areas helps ready them for more responsibility, and also helps if there are sudden gaps in personnel. Senior leaders need to include periodic delegation of their own responsibilities and duties to those who are ready, so that when the time comes for them to move up, they have some of that experience.
• Feedback on the job – This can be handled through well-handled performance appraisals, 360 degree appraisals, and “Just in time feedback” in between scheduled appraisals.
• There should be an ongoing focus on building on strengths not weaknesses, developing a culture of personal accountability, and supporting continuous habits of reading everything that you can.
Recognizing the Need for Development of Core Competencies for Agency LeadersMost parks and recreation staff start their careers as programmers in a certain type of activity, or technicians or front line personnel in maintenance or customer service. As they move up
the ranks, it is important in any field that staff gain experience in not only supervision, but also the five major areas of executive competencies. Many university undergraduate parks and recreation programs do not spend significant time on preparation for all of these areas. They generally include:
• Communication – Leaders must be able to foster good internal and external relationships, create and implement marketing and communication strategies, communicate the agency’s vision and mission, and foster and formalize collaborations and partnership planning.
• Financial Analysis – Leaders must be able to prepare and manage budgets for areas of responsibility, conduct cost recovery analysis relative to their agency’s specific mission, and procure and manage traditional and alternative funding mechanisms. There are many newer and effective methodologies and tools such as the “Pyramid Methodology” and the “Services Assessment Matrix” related to funding and identification of core service provision that are not yet taught in undergraduate programs, so can only be learned through continuing education settings or on the job.
• Human Resources – Beyond basic recruitment, hiring, supervision, and documentation for staff, leaders need to understand and have skills in dealing with personnel issues (those darn humans again…), performance measurement,
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evaluation, and specialties such as dealing with unions and independent contractors. One key bit of experience needed is understanding and using the concept of “managing up” – that the higher you go in leadership, the more time you spend managing those folks above you (council, legislators, the public, etc.), rather than supervising those who work for you. Good leaders have to do this very well.
• Operations - Good leaders have at least a basic overview of all aspects of running an organization and the divisions that report to them, including administration, programming, conservation, and maintenance. This includes an awareness of new trends and best practices used by other agencies and other related disciplines.
• Planning – In reality, planning should be part of the job descriptions of all employees at all levels, but as leaders emerge, they need to gain the bigger picture and the overall context of the interactions of each and all divisions and areas of the organization. This includes community needs assessment, capital planning, assets and programs management, plans for various aspects of the agency, performance measurement, and evaluation. New tools for planning have emerged with growing technologies in recent years – most specifically the inclusion of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) for agency inventories, along with the management of needs for resources through the use of the Composite-Values Methodology (CVM) for Level of Service Analysis.
Recognizing That Not Everyone Will “Retire”Another shift that is happening is that many long-time professionals, once they qualify for retirement or leave their full-time positions at their organization for other reasons, are choosing to continue to work, at least part-time, as consultants or independent adjunct contracted staff. This is causing some challenges related to continued professional development through parks and recreation associations, as they don’t often have ways to classify these retirees or consultants as “professionals” (since they are no longer employed full-time by agencies), but they still offer years of experience and commitment to the field. It should be recognized that many agencies are shifting to utilizing these contracted experienced staff, as they offer a lower cost (no full-time benefits package) and strong experience in the field, but require different handling than “traditional” full-time or part-time employees. How will your agency handle this shift?
Writing the Succession PlanSo, how does an agency take all of this information and formulate it into “a plan”? Many agencies have pieces of this work addressed in various different ways, but not pulled together into a cohesive written plan. To pull the plan together, each section requires some work, but the basic outline for a five to ten year Succession Plan can be as follows:
• Introduction• History of the Agency• Agency Demographics• Upcoming Anticipated
Retirements and Changes• Leadership Development
Support Opportunities• Recruitment and Training
Strategies
• Plans for Organizational Change and Adaptation
• Strategic Implementation Steps
It typically works best if someone (can be an individual, team, or a consultant, depending on staff workloads and capabilities) is assigned the role as the lead person charged with working with staff and Human Resources (if a separate department for your agency) to gather the information for each of the sections, and then writing it up into a formal document. The process should be announced to all staff to promote involvement at all levels of the organization, broad information gathering, and to encourage a culture of openness. There are some areas that require finesse, sensitivity to personnel issues, and maybe an “objective third party” to garner consensus on the best strategies for future development. Once the plan is outlined, it should be shared with all staff. Adoption of the plan by your governing bodies and communication should be part of the process, not only to foster awareness, but to create adherence and buy-in to the plan so it is successful over time.
Teresa Penbrooke is the CEO and Founder of GreenPlay, LLC, a national management consulting and planning firm for parks, recreation, open space, and related agencies. She is also faculty and co-founder for GP RED, a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization that provides research, education, and development for health, recreation, and land management agencies. She can be reached at [email protected].
GP RED is conducting a national survey on practices related to Succession Planning. To participate in this survey and receive the results, go to http://survey.rrcresearch.com/s3/Succession
