Articles
Citizen Engagement In Parks Programming In 2021
Leaders in parks and recreation have learned that virtual programming isn’t a COVID-19 programming stopgap. Rather, it’s an opportunity to engage users through innovation to become a vital resource in recreation programming.
Pouring Through The Details
On June 15, 2019, the gates opened to a new, outdoor aquatic center in Oxford, Ohio. The city had been discussing, studying, planning, and preparing for it since 2005.
Emerging From A Sand Trap
Closing a city golf course is a decision more and more communities are facing, given the past 15 to 20 years of declining interest (albeit, 2020 is an outlier), budget shortfalls, and a golf community’s resistance to change.
Destination: Waterloo Park West
The city of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada, installed its only splash pad facility in the early 1990s on the east side of Waterloo Park. Called Lions Lagoon, the pad was constructed over a former outdoor pool.
Master-Planning A Garden
The American Public Gardens Association defines a public garden as “an institution that maintains collections of plants for the purposes of public education and enjoyment, in addition to research, conservation, and higher learning. It must be open to the public and the garden’s resources and accommodations must be made to all visitors.”
Didn’t Miss A Beat
The Festival International de Lousiane was about a month away from hosting its 34th annual cultural celebration when the world shut down during the 2020 pandemic. Instead of taking over Lafayette’s downtown area and welcoming 300,000 festival goers, the team was suddenly faced with giving up or diving into something brand-new.
Driven By Golf
Ever wonder how far you could hit a golf ball and have an accurate way to measure the distance? Originating in 1976 as part of the PGA Championship, the World Long Drive Association hosts the World Long Drive Championship, which brings together golf’s longest hitters from around the globe.
Get Staff Involved!
Everyone involved in managing or operating a parks and recreation agency has a stake in the employee performance-appraisal process. And, with existing research indicating that pay-increase decisions account for more than 80 percent of appraisal uses, employees are eager not only to receive formal performance feedback but also to learn its impact on their future pay levels.
NAYS Celebrates 40 Years
2021 marks 40 years since the National Alliance for Youth Sports (NAYS) was founded as the National Youth Sports Coaches Association. There have been so many milestones for the organization since my dad (Fred Engh) founded it in 1981, but none have had more impact than the Academy for Youth Sports Administrators, created in 1995.
Exercise Authority
I love taking a walk during the pre-dawn hours when the world is still half-asleep. I see houses and neighborhoods come alive. A light turns on here or there.