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Greetings!
Message from the Executive Director
I'm pleased to report that PRPS has remained very
active and productive since my last message in late
February.
The 61st PRPS Annual State Conference was very
successful. We had about 672 participants which is
normal for the Seven Springs location and had
positive feedback from most attendees. In particular,
attendees like the recent renovations to the hotel
lodging rooms, and we look forward to more
improvements to the meeting room area before we
return in 2010. Also, there's nothing like an Eagles vs.
Steelers Social to get the Conference off to a good
start as was done this year! Our thanks go to the 2008
Conference Committee lead by Lee Bryan and Gerrie
Delaney for a job well done.
Under the leadership of PRPS President Steve
Landes, a membership survey was conducted with
assistance from Kim Woodward, our training
coordinator,
and Andy Mowen of Penn State University.
Participants were able to participate via both a paper
survey and via the Web. The results were used by the
PRPS Board of Directors at the annual Board Retreat
as part of the development of the next Plan of Work for
the Society. The final version of the Plan of Work is
scheduled for adoption at the next Board Meeting on
September 10, 2008.
One of the places that we would like to improve is the
PRPS website, and I hope you have noticed the
changes that we have made. We cleaned out a lot of
the outdated information, added a search capability
and a Pay Pal payment option, and we are working on
the program for a Members Only Section. When
implemented this summer, you'll receive a password
to access the Section that will contain the Membership
Directory and other useful information.
Recently, we completed a very successful 40th Annual
Therapeutic Recreation Institute with approximately
260 attendees. Congratulations go to Co-Chairs
Carrie
Chiusano and Kirk Rakos, Wendy Jo Hartsock, our TR
staff coordinator, and the entire 2008 TRI
Committee.
Next up in September will be the 2008 PRPS Fall Mini-
Conference and the 2008 Greenways and Trails
Summit. I encourage you to checkout both of these
events.
Have a great summer!
Best regards,
Bob Griffith
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62nd Annual State Conference |
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62nd ANNUAL PRPS CONFERENCE
Recreation: How Sweet It Is!
March 7-11, 2009
Hershey Lodge & Convention Center
Hershey, PA
Hiking, Biking, Camping, Boating, Swimming, Picnics,
Concerts in the Park and the list goes on and on.
As we enjoy these summertime Recreation activities,
mark your calendars now for the 2009 PRPS
Conference in Hershey: March 7-11 at the Hershey
Lodge.
Our Keynote Speaker will be Rich DiGirolamo, who is
sure to get us motivated with "Permission to Speed".
Rich "The Big Kid" DiGirolamo promotes "Recess At
Work Day", Thursday, June 19th, for more details and
ideas, visit www.recessatworkday.com. Mark the date,
and get out and enjoy the day with some fun!
Session proposals are still being accepted for the
2009 PRPS conference; the forms may be
downloaded off the PRPS website. All session
proposal forms should be filled out, in their entirety,
and returned to Daphne Klahr, Program Committee co-
chair, no later than July 1, 2008.
Exhibitor applications are also now being accepted,
for
the "Sweetest Show on Earth". Over 140 booth
spaces
will fill the Great American Hall at the Hershey Lodge
and Convention Center. For more information, visit the
PRPS website www.prps.org.
This year we are asking members to consider
sponsoring a meal for our students who attend the
Conference. For just $25/Lunch or $50/Dinner, you
would be helping a student interact with other
Recreation Professionals during meal times.
Hershey Lodge and Convention
Center
Hotel Room Rates: $158.05pp per night, Single or
Double (9% sales tax included).
PRPS Conference Registration
Rates
Full Conference (Best Value) $385 members, $400
non-members
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2008 Fall Mini-Conference Preview |
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September 15-16, 2008
Harrisburg-Hershey Holiday Inn
Grantville, PA
The details are being finalized but here is a teaser at
some of the workshops we are planning for this year's
Fall Mini-Conference:
Swimming Pool Management Workshop
Dept. of Ag Pesticide Exam
Playground Maintenance Workshop
Dealing with Difficult People
Training Matters: Implementing an Effective Training
Program
Youth Sports T.O.O.L. Kit Training (Tips for Organizing
Outstanding Leagues)
Your Web Reflects You!
The brochure will be out by the end of June on the
PRPS website and mailed by early July.
Exhibit opportunities are also available - go to www.prps.org and
click on vendor opportunities for more information.
If you have any questions, contact Kim Woodward,
Training Coordinator at
kwoodward@prps.org.
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2008 GWT Summit |
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September 28-29, 2008
The Inn at Pocono Manor, Pocono Manor,
PA
"Greenways and Trails: Your Path to Active
Living"
Plans are well underway for an exciting and
educational 2008 Greenways and Trails Summit. This
year's Summit should be better than ever, as we enjoy
three early fall days in Northeast PA's Pocono
Mountain Region. On Sunday you will witness the
region's bounty close-up with a variety of recreational
outings. On Monday and Tuesday, we will again
showcase out state's world-class trail developers,
managers, and advocates. Keynote speakers will
include national active-living advocate Mark Fenton,
former Pittsburgh Mayor Tom Murphy, and northeast
media personality Don Jacobs.
Please save the date and plan to join us. Look for
the registration brochure soon!
Exhibits are open for this event! Go to
www.prps.org/vendor
opportunities.
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2008 Conference Sponsors |
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Special Thanks to our 2008 Annual Conference
Sponsors!
Without their assistance we would not be able to
bring you a quality, enjoyable event! Please
remember to support them as they have supported
PRPS!
Bitting Recreation, Inc.
Boyce Associates
Bucks County Recreation Council
CMX
District 3
Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom
E*L*F Entertainment
General Recreation, Inc.
George Ely Associates
Hershey Entertainment Group
LetterCo
Lowee's Group Tours
Member Solutions
Musco Sports Lighting
Pashek Associates, Ltd.
Pennsylvania Dept. of Conservation & Natural
Resources
Pennoni Associates
Playground Concepts of Western PA
Recreation Resource, Inc.
YSM
Zeager Bros., Inc.
Thanks again for helping make the 61st Annual
Conference at Seven Springs a Success!
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Member News |
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Baby News
Jason Baker, President, State Parks Branch has a
new son Conlin Falcon Baker who was born on March
26th.
Mark Hudson and his wife, Erin, welcomed to their
family Matthew Lee Hudson on April 30. He weighed
7lbs. 5 oz.
Congratulations to Carolyn Hanel, who is now a
grandmother to a new baby boy Colin Nelson Brandy
on May 8.
Steve & Sue Landes welcomed their 4th grandson,
Collin Steven Williams on April 28th.
New Jobs
Margie Lewis, is now the Recreation Director, at
Manheim Twp. Recreation. Congratulations Margie!
Darrell Lovelette has now taken a new job for the City
of Bryan, Texas. He will begin on June 9. The
address is City of Bryan, Parks & Recreation Office,
1309 East Martin Luther King Blvd., Bryan, TX 77803.
Phone is (979) 209-5528. Congratulations Darrell!
Bill Wert has accepted a new position as Assistant
Township Manager, Director of Parks, Recreation &
Open Space for Hilltown Township, Bucks County.
Starting July 7th, this will be his new information:
Hilltown Township, 13 West Creamery Road, P.O. Box
260, Hilltown, PA 18927. Cell: (267) 218-6755, Phone:
(215) 453-6000 Fax: (215) 453-1024, Email:
bwert@hilltown.org
Congratulations Bill!
Retirements
Dave Milliren from North Versailles Twp. has officially
retired on March 3.
Michele Clarke has retired from the Municipality of
Murrysville.
Sympathies
Bertha A. Bowshier, 77 passed away in February.
Bertie was a PRPS member for many years.
Audrey Logar's mother passed away on May 26th.
Phil Brady's father, Gerald Brady passed away on May
9th.
Colleen Dominick's mother, Betty Collins passed
away on May 28th.
Barbara Mills father-in-law, and Cathy Wegener's
grandfather, Lloyd Mills passed away.
Clifford Jones, a well-known Conservationist, and
former DER Secretary passed away on May 7th.
Deborah E. Jordan, the sister of Dudley Rice, passed
away on March 25,
2008.
Our thoughts and prayers are with all of you at
this time of sorrow.
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41st Annual PA Therapeutic Recreation Institute |
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Save the Date!
June 9-12, 2009
Harrisburg/Hershey Holiday Inn,
Grantville, PA
"Building Something Great Together"
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Tips of the Trade |
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From Kim Woodward, Training Coordinator
PICNIC - The latest phrase being bandied about IT
offices:
Problem In Chair, Not In Computer
LERN Magazine/ 2007 Special Report: Teaching
and Learning
Program Ideas:
Summer X Games - X-treme Diving, Human Foosball,
X-treme Water Skiing and GT Bike Races. Compete in
teams and in individual events. City of Lakewood
Recreation, California Marketing Recreation, Vol.
18, No. 7
Best Ideas for Kid's Programs
From the Programming for Kids roundtable at the
2006 LERN Annual Conference
(Excerpt from LERN Magazine-March/April 2007)
Girls Rule Camp - hair, beauty, shopping, etiquette,
crafts
Summer Vet's Office - working rotation, 4th -6th
graders
Pet First Aid
Fashion Design Camp - color, sewing, stitching,
pattern work, museum
Lego's Camp -parent/child
CSI - local sheriff
Camp Kinetic - wellness camp/classes
Shakespeare Camp - props, beard, costumes,
performances
Try Stair Stepping
Increase your customer share with "stair stepping,"
says Paul Franklin. Create a series of higher priced
programs for your best customers. Each higher
priced program is a "step" that gives your customers
more new programs, and give you more income.
LERN Magazine, June/July 2007
Recruit Teacher Last
After you select a new topic you want to offer, go out
and find someone to teach it. Do not start the process
by accepting teacher ideas for new courses from
teachers who do not have a proven track record in
choosing successful topics. Instead, you will have a
higher success rate if you choose the topics first, and
then recruit the instructors.
LERN Magazine,
June/July 2007
"Flip-a-post-card" email a hit
Create a "post card" as an HTML email, says Susan
Barcichowski of the American Society for Qaulity in
Milwaukee, WI. Then invite people to click on the post
card and "flip it" for more information. When they do,
they go to your website with more information on the
event. Another great eMarketing tip.
LERN
Magazine, June/July 2007
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Harper Accepts 2008 Governmental Award from PRPS |
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Harper Accepts 2008 Governmental Award
from PA Recreation and Park Society
Celebrates with Montco Senior Games
participants
BLUE BELL - State Rep. Kate Harper (R-Montgomery)
today formally accepted her 2008 Governmental Award
from the Pennsylvania Recreation and Park Society
(PRPS) in honor of her strong support of parks,
recreation, conservation and open space
preservation.
She was presented with the award by PRPS Executive
Director Bob Griffith during the awards portion of the
annual Montgomery County Senior Games luncheon
at Montgomery County Community College.
"I am honored to accept this award in the presence of
so many people who, like me, value the recreational
opportunities available to all of us here in Montgomery
County," Harper said. "The Montgomery County Senior
Games is a great event, and I want to congratulate
each and every one of you who participated this year.
Regardless of where you finished in the competition,
you all win because you got some good exercise and
you had fun.
"Being an advocate for parks and recreation is made
much easier by the many, many people who use our
parks and participate in events like these," she
added.
Harper was named recipient of the PRPS
Governmental Award at the organization's annual
awards banquet in March. In addition to her overall
support of parks and recreation, the society also cited
her efforts to deal with the effects of urban sprawl,
managing traffic congestion and protecting open
space in selecting her as this year's winner.
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Building Fund Contributions - Thank You! |
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(April 2008)
Richard Sprenkle
R.B. Winter State Park
Susan DiPiero Wallover
Middlesex Township
Lynne M. Pomietlarz
Linda Dreisbach Ferrol
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Special Thank You! |
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Special Thank You to George Ely & Associates for
sponsoring the refreshment break at the Spring
Playground Maintenance Workshop in Carlisle.
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Aquatic Design Ad |
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George Ely & Associates Ad |
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PRPS Training Opportunities |
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Fall Mini-Conference
September 15-16, Harrisburg/Hershey Holiday Inn,
Grantville
Body and Soul
Parks & the Health of Great Cities-An International
Urban Parks Conference
September 21-23, 2008
Pittsburgh, PA
www.urbanparks08.org
PA Greenways & Trails Summit
September 28-29, Inn at Pocono Manor, Pocono
Manor
Fall Membership Meeting
November 19, 2008
Harrisburg East Holiday Inn
National Playground Safety Inspection Certification
Course & Exam
December 3-5, Harrisburg East Holiday Inn
In the planning stages for this fall:
Swimming Pool Management Workshops
Playground Maintenance
Special Events
Grants
For further information on the trainings, please visit
our website at www.prps.org.
"PRPS is an Affiliate of the National Recreation and
Park Association"
NRPA Congress, October 14-18, 2008
Baltimore, MD
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