New Training Opportunity! 

Creating a Vision for Positive Leadership

April 10 - Good Shepherd Rehabilitation, Allentown

April 30 - Masonic Villages, Sewickley

Our ever-changing work environment presents daily challenges to our present and future leaders. An effective leader needs to create a positive workplace for their employees. This workshop will provide the knowledge and skills required to challenge motivate and grow employees' careers. Tools explored include the Seven Career Coaching Questions, performance reviews and reinforcement.

For more details, click here. Register online!

PA Therapeutic Recreation Society (PTRS) Workshops 

April 8, 2015

PTRS Day - multiple sessions

York College of PA, York, PA

Session Topics:

• Overview of Equine Assisted Psychotherapy & Equine Assisted Learning (utilizing the Horse Boy Method)
• Do You Know Who is at Your Community Center's or Long Term Living Front Door?
• Vision Therapy: More than just a New Pair of Glasses

April 10, 2015 

Creating a Positive Vision for Leadership

Good Shepherd Rehabilitation Raker  Center

Allentown, PA

April 30, 2015 

Creating a Vision for Positive Leadership

Masonic Village, Sewickley, PA

May 11, 2015

No Health Without Mental Health

MossRehab, Elkins Park, PA

Click here for the brochure. Online registration is OPEN!

Leadership Living

The MasterPoint™ Series for the ascendant professional

How to confront someone without making things worse

Which makes you cringe more?

a. Fingernails scraping a blackboard. (Aarrrgh!)

b. Biting into aluminum foil. (E-youch!)

c. Confronting someone. (Nooooo!)

I'm going to be blunt here: The purpose of confrontation is to effect a positive resolution.

But to most people, that's not the immediate implication. Many will declare they do not like confrontation, they don't do well with confrontation, or they avoid confrontation whenever they can. The mere thought of it provokes a very strong adverse reaction. (Let's not and say we did!)

Why? Because what we often fear is the terrible conflict and angst a confrontation can generate.

Yet strife need not be a part of an effective confrontation. As leaders, it's our job to shepherd our most valuable resources-our people-to attain the goals we've set together. But let's face it, people are people, and conflicting differences in attitudes and behaviors happen. And when things go off-kilter, we need to fix them.

Click here to continue reading.

PRPS Conference Updates 

Thank you to our conference co-chairs, committee members, staff, speakers, sponsors, vendors, advertisers, entertainers, and all the volunteers who assisted with the 2015 PRPS Annual Conference! 

Conference Evaluation

Click here to evaluate the conference. We want your feedback to help us improve. 

Educational Session Information

To view any conference materials, click here. All presentations, handouts and other resources that were provided to us are available.

Conference Program Guide

If you did not receive a copy of the program guide and would like one, click here to download.

Election Results

The 2015 PRPS General Election results are in! New officers and directors were sworn in on Tuesday, March 23, 2015 at the Annual Business Meeting. Thank you to all nominees for your dedication to PRPS and willingness to serve. 
 

President Elect (2015-2017)  Kirk Rakos, Masonic Villages

Secretary (2015-2017) Tammy Echevarria, Upper Dublin Township

Treasurer (2015-2017) Rob Lewis, Chester County Parks & Facilities

Citizen Director (2015-2017) Jim Pashek, Fox Chapel Borough Park Commission

Educators Director (2015-2017) Kim Batty, Lock Haven University

Retired Professional (2015-2017) Helen Griffith

Student Director (2015-2016) Zurrell Toney, Temple University 

Therapeutic Recreation Institute - Save the Date!

47th Annual Therapeutic Recreation Institute June 3-5, 2015 DoubleTree Resort, Lancaster, PA

2015 PRPS Memorial Moment

We are privileged to submit the following names to be entered into the Necrology of the Pennsylvania Recreation and Park Society for the year of March 2014 through March 2015, and request that these names be spread over the pages of the Annual Minutes of our Society.

Let us remember the following individuals who were members of PRPS:

Joseph Callan, who brought honor to our Society and our profession, late of Philadelphia; last serving as Special Events Manager, Philadelphia Parks and Recreation.

Roy F. Harpster, who brought honor to our Society and our profession, late of Boalsburg; last serving as Member of the Centre Region Parks and Recreation Authority.

Donald R. Marushak, who brought honor to our Society and our profession, late of Whitehall; last serving as Superintendent of Parks, City of Allentown.

Col. Gerald Russell, who brought honor to our Society and our profession, late of State College; last serving as Member of the PRPS Capital Campaign Committee.

Michelle G. Smyser, who brought honor to our Society and our profession, late of Lhaska; last serving as Superintendent of Recreation Program Services, Bucks County Parks and Recreation Department.

Helen M. Quackenbush, who brought honor to our Society and our profession, late of Harrisburg; last serving as Division Chief, Bureau of Recreation and Conservation, Pennsylvania Department of Community Affairs.

PRPS Past-President and Honorary Member, Donald R. Koontz, who brought honor to our Society and our profession, late of Thorofare, NJ; last serving as Parks and Recreation Director, Whitemarsh Township.

Let us also remember the following loved ones of PRPS Members:

Sue Canniff's Father

Michele Clark's Son

Ken Earnest's Father

Gene Eubert's Father

Judy Houck's Father

Karl Lukens' Mother-in-Law

Chotty Sprenkle's Mother

Jeff Witman's Mother

Larry Williamson's Brother

May we be guided by the dreams, inspirations and accomplishments of these colleagues who preceded us and who illuminate the path for us to follow.  

Greenways & Trails Summit - Save the Date!

Did you sign up to receive the Get Outdoors PAthfinder?

Learn about new trends in outdoor activities; hear about cool events happening all across Pennsylvania; get to know more about the wonderful Get Outdoors PA partners bringing outdoor recreation to your backyard...plus much more. 

We promise we will not inundate you with tons of emails or sell your contact information to third parties. Get Outdoors PA will just provide you with helpful tips pertaining to outdoor recreation skills, programs, best practices and featured events.

So what are you waiting for?  Become a Get Outdoors PAthfinder today!

Upcoming PRPS Trainings

May 5-7, 2015

Certified Playground Safety Inspector Certification Course

Middletown Township - Bucks County

Click here for the brochure. Registration is now OPEN!

Swimming Pool Spring Workshops - Register Online!

Click here for the brochure.

April 20, 2015 - Swimming Pool Pesticide Applicator Recertification Workshop (6 Core and 4 Category 24 Pesticide Credits)

Location: Greater Plymouth Community Center, Plymouth Meeting, PA

April 27, 2015 - Swimming Pool Pesticide Applicator Recertification Workshop (6 Core and 4 Category 24 Pesticide Credits)

Location: Trails and Trees Environmental Center, Mechanicsburg, PA

April 21, 2015 - Swimming Pool Management 101 Workshop

April 22, 2015 - Department of Agriculture Core and Category 24 Pesticide Applicator Certification Exams

Location: Greater Plymouth Community Center, Plymouth Meeting, PA

April 28, 2015 - Swimming Pool Management 101 Workshop

April 29, 2015 - Department of Agriculture Core and Category 24 Pesticide Applicator Certification Exams

Location: Trails and Trees Environmental Center, Mechanicsburg, PA

April 21, 2015 - Swimming Pool Management 101/Recertification Workshop

(6 Core and 4 Category 24 Pesticide Credits)

April 22, 2015 - Department of Agriculture Core and Category 24 Pesticide Applicator Certification Exams

Location: Cranberry Township Municipal Building, Cranberry Township, PA