PA Recreation & Park Society E-Newsletter
APRIL 2012 |
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| Greetings! |
Dear PRPS Members & Friends,
I'd like to start off this month's letter with a huge THANK YOU to the Park Resource and Therapeutic Recreation Branches for their assistance at the Spring Work Day at our office on April 20th. It was a beautiful day and we accomplished a great deal - from pruning to planting to weeding and mulching. All that would not have been possible without their help. Also, with the help of Neal McNutt, Past-President of the Resource Branch, PRPS was able to secure a new landscaper, Moon Bros. Landscaping. They have already been working on maintaining the property and will be assisting with general maintenance throughout the year - which will help reduce the amount of weeding and upkeep we will need to do during the work days. Thanks to everyone for continuing to beautify the PRPS landscape!
The TR branch is continuing their work in preparing for the Therapeutic Recreation Institute being held June 6-8, 2012 at the Holiday Inn Grantville. I'm really impressed with the committee and the variety of sessions, continuing to integrate members of other PRPS branches including Rob Lewis and Tim Herd as speakers. In addition, they have a vendor day - one day only this year - with many new vendors and sponsors participating. It will be an excellent event and I encourage everyone to review the registration guide and consider attending!
The battle continues for the Keystone Fund. We are working diligently with other conservation and park leaders to educate legislators on the fund - providing background, current funding loss projections, amount of grants awarded in their region and how it leverages additional funds. We are HEARING from the legislators as well that they are hearing from you, which is still the most critical aspect of saving the fund. However, we were advised last week that those of you in the North East and the South West need to be more vocal. I'd recommend calling your local representative or senator and telling them you need them to support the Keystone Fund being reinstated in the DCNR budget. We cannot afford to lose this funding - thank you to everyone who is making the PRPS voice be loud and clear! For sample letters, sample resolution and additional information visit our website at: http://www.prps.org/advocacy/advocacy-legislative.html. Our advocacy efforts have been strengthened over the past year with the strong leadership of Greg Weitzel, Governmental Affairs Chair. Greg is leaving Pennsylvania to pursue a new opportunity in Idaho and has stepped down as chair. Thank you Greg for your hard work and support for PRPS - you will be missed!
I hope to see many of you at our legislative day on May 22nd at the capitol building. Please refer to the additional information on this day later in the newsletter.
Sincerely,
Kim
Kim Woodward
Executive Director
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| ADA REQUIREMENTS |
Attention Aquatic Facility Directors!!!
The National Recreation and Park Association has scheduled a webinar with John McGovern entitled "Are You Prepared? 2010 ADA Standards Now in Effect", during which John will address the current standards surrounding swimming pools and pool lifts, in addition to other facilities and compliance with the 2010 ADA Standards. The webinar will be held on May 10th from 2:00 - 3:15 pm eastern time.
Please follow this link for registration information, or contact Beth Wickline, NRPA Director of Education and Accreditation. Beth contact information is as follows:
Phone: 703-858-2148
Fax: 703-858-0794
Email: bwickline@nrpa.org
Website: www.nrpa.org |
| CAPITAL DAY |
written by Kim Woodward, PRPS Executive Director
PRPS Capital Day
May 22, 2012
Taking the PRPS Message to the Statehouse
Be a part of PRPS Capital Day! Help Stop the Largest Cut to Conservation Funding in
PA History!
10 a.m. - 6 p.m.
PRPS will be in the cafeteria area of the Capital Building from 9 a.m. - 10 a.m. We will have packets available for anyone going to meetings with PRPS information, Keystone Fund information and information from your district related to the Keystone Fund. Please stop by to pick up your packet prior to going to your meetings.
We are planning to hold a press conference from 11 a.m. - Noon and would like everyone to attend. We will be providing additional information in regards to the press conference early next week.
In addition, we'll be ending the day with a reception for everyone from 5 p.m. - 6 p.m. in the Capitol Rotunda. This is a great opportunity to meet with legislators in a casual atmosphere.
If you plan to participate in our Capital Day in Harrisburg, this is what you'll need to do:
1. Let Kim at PRPS know that you plan to attend. kwoodward@prps.org or call 814-234-4272.
2. Identify who your local representatives and senator are and make appointments to meet with them. Appointments are usually about a half an hour in length. Give yourself time between appointments to walk to the various offices. Once you have made appointments, please let Erin at PRPS know who you have made them with and for what time. If you can double-up with someone else it is highly recommended.
3. To find talking points and resources to help prepare for the visits visit the PRPS website at http://www.prps.org/advocacy/advocacy-legislative.html or www.conservationadvocate.org.
Thank you for your advocacy support! Let's save this fund!
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| PRPS CONFERENCE |
The Road to Making a Difference Starts with PRPS!
66th Annual PRPS Conference
Save the Date: March 23-27, 2013
Hershey Lodge, Hershey, PA
65th PRPS Conference-Sessions, Sweepstakes, and Superheroes!
written by Emily Gates, Special Projects Coordinator, PRPS
PRPS office staff arrived at Seven Springs Mountain Resort on Saturday, March 17th, to skiers carving the slopes in shorts! A result of unseasonably warm March weather and the resort's last weekend of open slopes. The warm weather allowed the PRPS staff to easily unload their vans of materials and begin preparations for the number of "super" park and recreation professionals soon to arrive. Unfortunately, this left no time for Tracy Robert, PRPS Membership Coordinator, to don her tank top, shorts, and ski's!
To read more about the Conference click here.
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| KEYSTONE FUND | written by Erin Regenfuss, PRPS, Marketing & Training Coordinator
Save the Keystone Fund!
 PRPS has joined with organizations across Pennsylvania to form the Save Keystone Coalition. Along with other coalition members, PRPS has met with several Pennsylvania senators and representatives over the past few months. We've received a variety of responses, including some strong support! Universally, legislators are saying that they want to hear from their constituents. They want to know if the Keystone Fund is valuable to the people in their districts, how it has impacted the communities, businesses, families, and individuals. Likewise, they want to know how their communities and constituents would be affected if the Keystone Fund were to be eliminated.
In addition to hearing directly from constituents, legislators have said that they want to hear from municipality/borough/township/city leaders. You can help make this happen by contacting your local leaders and emphasizing how important the Keystone Recreation, Parks, and Conservation Fund is to your community, and ask that they pass a resolution supporting it.
The fight to save the Keystone Recreation, Park, and Conservation fund cannot be won by organizations in the Save Keystone Coalition alone! As park and recreation professionals and as individual citizens, YOU can make a huge impact on the future of the e Keystone Fund! Your voice is vital in saving this program that is so essential to our state and its citizens.
The Keystone Coalition has prepared several pieces to help you make your voice heard. These resources can all be found on the PRPS website under Advocacy. Click here to go directly to the page, which includes:
- Sample letters - from the citizen perspective and the park and recreation professional perspective
- Citizen Letter
- Park and Recreation Professional Letter
- A listing of Keystone projects by county
- A list of Keystone Talking points
- A sample resolution for municipalities/boroughs/townships to demonstrate support for the Keystone Fund
Please take action today! Join PRPS and the Keystone Coalition in telling Pennsylvania's legislators how important the Keystone Fund is now and in the future!
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| AMUSEMENT PARK DISCOUNTS AVAILABLE |
written by Tracy Robert, PRPS Membership Coordinator
 Each year, the Pennsylvania Recreation & Park Society offers amusement park, zoo, aquarium and other attraction tickets at a discounted rate as a community service to the residents of Pennsylvania. Tickets are sold by local recreation and park departments and agencies throughout the state, and are also available for purchase through the PRPS office.
In 2012, we are offering discounted tickets to 32 different amusement parks and attractions: Adventure Aquarium, Baltimore Aquarium, Busch Gardens, Camelbeach, Cedar Point, Clementon Park, DelGrosso's Amusement Park, Dorney Park, Dutch Wonderland, Hersheypark, Idlewild, Kennywood, Knoebels Amusement Park, Longwood Gardens, Morey's Piers, Ozzy's Family Fun Center, Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire, Philadelphia Zoo, Pittsburgh Zoo, Ride the Ducks Philadelphia, Roundtop Mountain Adventures, Sahara Sam's Oasis, Sandcastle, Sea World, Sesame Place, Six Flags America, Six Flags Great Adventure, Sno Cove, Splash Lagoon (Erie, PA), Splash Zone Water Park (Wildwood, NJ), Waldameer Park, and Water Country USA.
Click here for the price list/order form. If your agency is interested in offering discounted tickets for sale to residents in your community, please contact Tracy at the PRPS office for more information about our Consignment Ticket Sales Program, trobert@prps.org or 814-234-4272. |
| OTHER NEWS | |
The new fourth edition of the Recreation and Parks Board Handbook has been placed on The DCNR Bureau's website. Please spread the word that this new edition is available for free downloading.
http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/brc/elibrary/brcpublications/index.htm
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| LEADERSHIP LIVING | |
Meanwhile, chasing the dream...
One of my dreams is to act in a film with my hero, Kermit the Frog. I love his natural optimism and team leadership as he artfully leaps from mayhem to mishap with his company of "frogs and dogs and bears and chickens and things" in pursuit of their dreams. In The Muppet Movie, they trek across the country through one misadventure after another until they rambunctiously arrive in the office of The Big Hollywood Producer, played by the indomitable Orson Welles. He glowers at the ragtag gang for several long moments, then summons his secretary to fetch the "Standard Rich and Famous Contract." Jubilant Pandemonium! Slap-happy Music Reprise! Crack-brained Credits! The Blissful End!
Hooray for them!
Click here to read more. |
| EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES |
PRPS Trainings
PRPS is in the planning process for the 2012-2013 professional development offerings, and we'd like to hear what the members want. Do you have an idea for a topic you'd like us to prepare a training for? Is there something you really think the members need to know about? Do you have an idea for a training that you'd like to conduct? Please share your ideas with Erin Regenfuss, Marketing and Training Coordinator. Please email those ideas to Erin at eregenfuss@prps.org, and let her know the topic, training format, whether you are interested presenting, and/or if you know someone who would be a great presenter. We plan to offer traditional trainings as well as webinars, so the possibilities are endless!
Playground Maintenance Workshop May 4, 2012 District I: Marshall Township May 4, 2012 District II: Carlisle Parks and Recreation Department Therapeutic Recreation Institute
June 6 - 8, 2012 Grantville, PA Click here for the Registration Guide! To register online click here.
SAVE THE DATE!
Park Operations Workshop
October 18, 2012 at Cabela's in Hamburg - more details soon!
Western Pennsylvania Tree Climbing School This five-day tree climbing school is sponsored by the Pennsylvania State University Cooperative Extension and the International Society of Arboriculture - Penn Del Chapter. The school is designed to teach the fundamentals of safe tree climbing and maintenance. Major emphasis will be placed on learning the skills required to climb and prune trees. Experienced professionals from Penn State, ISA Penn Del Chapter and industry will present lectures and demonstrations. The school will include classroom and fieldwork covering: safety/safe climbing practices, equipment/use of hand tools, tree terminology, tree disease and insect diagnosis, culture and pruning, tree removal, and knots. Students completing this school will not be accomplished climbers; however, students will have a satisfactory basic understanding, knowledge, and the skills required in the field of tree maintenance and tree climbing. A great deal of time will be spent in trees climbing. This week long workshop will be held May 14-18 at North Park near Pittsburgh. This program is designed to teach the fundamentals of safe tree climbing and maintenance with a major emphasis being placed on learning the skills required to safely climb and prune trees. Click here for the registration brochure. APWA Sustainability in Public Works Conference June 25-27, 2012 Pittsburgh, PA Register today at www.apwa.net/sustainability |
| MEMBERSHIP DIRECTORY | |
written by Tracy Robert, PRPS Membership Coordinator
Membership Directory Coming Soon!
The printed version of the PRPS Membership Directory and Buyer's Guide will be released in June. Please take a few minutes to log-on to the PRPS interactive website to view your listing and make any necessary updates.
Click Here to log-in or visit www.prps.org and click on "Store" in the upper right corner of the homepage.
Select "Login" from the left sidebar menu, and log-in using the email address that you previously provided to PRPS for correspondence. Use the default password: Password1 or select "Forgot Password" to assign a new password to your account.
Once logged-in you will have access to expanded options in the left sidebar, including a searchable online membership directory, ability to register for upcoming events and view registration history, purchase or renew memberships, update your contact information, etc.
Select "My Information" on the sidebar to verify your current listing. If you wish to make any changes, click "Edit Information" to update your record in real time.
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| MEMBER NEWS | |
Sympathies
John Spencer's Father-in-Law.
Harry Norton's Father.
Gene Comoss, PA State Parks.
Thank you!
Robert Deffner for your Building Fund Contribution.
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| THERAPEUTIC RECREATION INSTITUTE | |
Generation 2 Generation: People are What Matter
June 5-8, 2012
Harrisburg/Hershey Holiday Inn
Grantville, PA
We have listened, we have planned and now it is your turn! Start making plans to attend the 44th Annual TRI from June 6th to June 8th. There will be a Pre-Conference session on Tuesday, June 5th titled Evidence-based Practice in Therapeutic Recreation: The Why and How presented Norma Stumbo, Ph.D., CTRS. Dr. Stumbo is a retired professor from Illinois State University who has written and edited numerous professional books and articles. She has presented over 300 research and educational sessions at state, national and international conferences so we are thrilled that Dr. Stumbo has accepted our invitation to be a presenter at our state conference.
The Education Committee has created an outstanding slate of sessions with so many new speakers for you to learn from over three days. We have created four topic categories (long term care, rehabilitation/developmental/mental health, programming/activity and professional developmental) to assure the TRI covers the diverse areas which we work in as recreation therapists and activity directors. As they say something for everyone.
Click here to read more about the TRI.
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| YOUTH SPORTS COUNCIL | | written by Kurt Baker and Phil Brady
Backyard Baseball to the World Series.....
I remember one day my father came home after work and surprised my sister and me with a "Bomb Bat and ball. Even though he had a hard day at work, he pitched to us for what seemed like hours as we smashed the ball out into the back yard, ran to the willow tree (Frist Base), Dad's newspaper (Second Base), the fence post (Third Base) and back to the dirt spot in the yard (Home Plate). The time spent with our busy and tired father was great, getting a new bat and ball was a special treat and learning how to be nice to my sister was a rare moment. Back yard baseball can teach kids a great deal about life. With the current shift of today's fast paced society on the reliance on technology, many youth are missing the important aspects of growing up. It begs the question, Have children forgotten how to play? Gone are the days of "ghost" runners, closed left fields, and "pitchers paradise." Backyard games have been pushed aside by video games, cell phones and other high tech gadgets.
Read more here.
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| PRPS PARTNERSHIP | | written by Emily Gates, PRPS, Special Projects Coordinator
PRPS Partnership HIGHLIGHT
The Who, Where, What, When, Why & How
Who:
Center for Nutrition and Activity Promotion (CNAP) at Penn State Hershey Children's Hospital
Where:
Penn State University, College of Medicine
Hershey, PA 17033
What:
The CNAP Center at Penn State Hershey Children's Hospital is a collaboration between Penn State College of Medicine's Department of Public Health Sciences and the Department of pediatrics at Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center. The center, developed in 2003, has "led statewide efforts to promote healthy eating and active living for youth and families" ("NRGBalance"). The Center's work focuses on four key areas:
1) Providing informative and educational program and materials to schools,
youth, and their families 2) Collaborating with schools, communities, and like-
minded organizations on projects related to promoting nutrition and physical
activity behaviors 3) Implementing research-based interventions in the school
and community setting and disseminating innovative solutions and methods 4)
Obtaining funding and in-kind support for its work from foundations, industry, and
state/federal government sources ("NRGBalance").
As noted on the CNAP website, www.nrgbalance.org, "the Center welcomes research opportunities in the areas of nutrition and physical activity among youth and families," view the Center's contact information below.
When:
PRPS has partnered with CNAP since 2003 to promote common goals.
Why and How:
As advocates for community health, a partnership between CNAP and PRPS just makes sense! During the partnership's early years, PRPS worked with CNAP on the statewide Keystone Active Zone (KAZ) program, which featured an online inventory of parks and trails to help residents find information on their local outdoor recreation resources.
More recently, PRPS has participated on CNAP's Advisory Council, which meets quarterly and assists in determining the Center's priorities. Many organizations encompass the council including representatives from the PA State Nurses Association, PA Department of Health and the American Heart Association.
In the spring of 2011, PRPS along with other advisory council members planned the first PA Healthy and Active Communities Summit, www.nrgbalance.org/pahealthsummit. The goal of the summit was "to create a healthier PA by activating leaders throughout the Commonwealth and providing them with the resources and strategies to create communities that promote healthy, active living" ("NRG Balance"). Recreation professionals, healthcare providers, community health professionals and school personnel participated in the event. The summit "provided organizations the opportunity to network, brainstorm ideas, find solutions to benefit their communities, and plans ways to implement them" ("NRG Balance"). The event was a success; PRPS hopes to share the summit findings with more recreation professionals by holding regional health summits.
PRPS will continue to bridge the gap between parks and recreation and the health field by continuing their work with the CNAP Center, an outstanding, cutting edge resource managed by a group of hardworking individuals!
CNAP Contact Information:
Penn State University, College of Medicine
Dept. of Public Health Sciences, A210
Penn State University, College of Medicine
600 Centerview Drive, Suite 2200Hershey, PA 17033
Phone: 717-531-1440
Website: www.nrgbalance.org
Direct any inquiries to the CNAP Executive Director, Donna Kephart,
at dkephart@psu.edu.
Works Cited:
NRGBalance: the movement to make healthy easy. Department of Public Health
Sciences at Penn State College of Medicine, 2011. Web. 27 Mar. 2012. |
| YOUTH SPORTS OBSERVER | written by Erin Regenfuss, PRPS, Marketing & Training Coordinator
What does a Positive Culture look like? Here are four components of a vision that will lead to a Positive Culture in your organization:
- Players love their sport, look forward to practices and games, and experience joy that will last a lifetime.
- Players know they are an important part of the team.
- Coaches are supportive and do not embarrass players.
- All involved (players, coaches, parents, officials, and fans) see their involvement as a privilege that they never want to dishonor.
- Coaches realize that what they are teaching carries far beyond the field into the classroom, home, and even future jobs. They have players focus on effort and personal improvement, rather than simply on the scoreboard result.
Remember: The vision needs to stretch far beyond winning a specific game to making a lasting impact on the lives of your young athletes! |
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Design by Emily Schnellbaugh, Communications Coordinator and
Edited by Erin Regenfuss, Marketing & Training Coordinator
PA Recreation and Park Society
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