From the presidents.....

It is now time For Action

By Robin Hall,
President Illinois Park and Recreation Association

Much has been said and written about the many challenges public recreation and park services will face in the 1980's. We are all aware of the situation. The time for hand wringing has ended. It is now time for action. It is time to come together to work together for our common interests. If we work together as a team, we will meet the challenge of the 80's.

The challenge for us then is evident. Join! Get involved! Become active in some aspect of our Association's operations. We can and will be successful. The Illinois Association of Park Districts' and the Illinois Park and Recreation Association's Joint Legislative Committee recently led by example. The success with the joint legislative program this past summer and fall was the result of hard work by many Commissioners and staff members. All of the people involved are to be congratulated. But, as the song says, "we've only just begun."

We all have ample opportunities for helping make IPRA succeed. Six sections - Administration and Finance, Recreation, Therapeutic, Parks and Natural Resources, Special Facilities, and Students - service the varied interests of our members. All of the Section Directors would welcome your involvement. There are also several IPRA professional and service committees whose chairpersons need people willing to work hard. Only hard work will allow Illinois to remain a national leader in the provision of park and recreation services.

Much of our work this year will be focused primarily, but not exclusively, on fourteen goals recently adopted by the IPRA Board. The goal statements are based on input from last year's Delphi Forum and from more recent meetings with IPRA Board members and chairpersons.
The goals are as follows:

1. Develop and maintain in cooperation with the Illinois Association of Park Districts a statewide legislative program for leisure services,

2. Continue efforts to provide high quality and varied continuing education opportunities for IPRA's membership.

3. Assist membership with the education of the public in development of lifetime leisure skills through involvement in community recreation programs.

4. Develop public awareness programs on a statewide basis which emphasize leisure services.

5. Develop public awareness programs on a statewide basis which emphasize professional services, competencies, and ethics.

6. Propose and promote a standard device for Park and Recreation agencies to voluntarily use in monitoring the quality of services offered.

7. Encourage study and research on matters of interest relating to the park, recreation, and conservation field.

8. Develop standardized methods for the dissemination of relevant research and information.

9. Consider the development and maintenance of a central reference center for information relating to the leisure field.

10. Continue to develop and refine a communication process to coordinate the activities of IPRA, sections, committees, affiliates, and other organizations.

11. Provide a system for the coordination of IPRA's continuing education workshops, seminars, etc.

12. Develop an IPRA policy manual.

13. Conduct a study with the Illinois Association of Park Districts concerning the feasibility of the development of an IAPD/IPRA Federation.

14. Conduct a study of ways to better serve members involved in the operation of nature and environmental centers. The challenge is ours. The future is ours. Let's meet them well - working together.

Illinois Parks and Recreation 12 January/February 1982

If not You - Who?
If not Now - When?

by Peter J. Koukos,
President Illinois Association of Park Districts

Serving on a park, forest preserve and conservation district board is a serious responsibility and a noble cause. (It should be fun, too). Board members come from all walks of life and serve as unpaid elected officials representing the top talent of each community. There are over 2,000 citizens serving on park/recreation, conservation and forest preserve district boards. That gives us a minimum of ten lobbyists for every legislator. An elected board member portrays a favorable image as a citizen leader with legislators and represents a voting constituency. Yet, I find that many board members are reluctant to become involved in the politics necessary to promote the cause of parks and recreation. As elected park commissioners we are not just representatives for our constituents, we are their local legislators - our job is to legislate local park and recreation policy and to work to encourage state and national legislators to recognize our legitimate aims.

The fundamental reason for our being on the board is to influence and give direction to the joint decisions and policies at every level of government that affect recreational opportunities and the protection of open space.

Think for a moment about how our role at the local level parallels the role of the state legislator. Our responsibilities require objectively balancing the interests of one group against those of other groups with equally legitimate interests, weighing the costs of doing (or not doing) against the actual results to be derived, being realistic about what can and cannot be done given the economic and poltical realities. We must be able to capitalize on our "kinship" with the legislators as elected officials directly responsible to the public taxpayer. Our salary or livelihood does not depend upon our role as park commissioner unlike park and recreation professionals who have a vested interest. This is a major reason legislators will listen to us when they won't listen to the pros. State legislators look at us as lobbyists for the public interest, not for our personal or professional interest.

The Illinois Association of Park Districts represents park and recreation interests in the Illinois legislature. The IAPD prepares statements for use before legislative committees and executive agencies; the IAPD staff testifies and also arranges for park and recreation spokespersons to testify before legislative committees.

The staff prepares a monthly newsletter, "Communicator," outlining current and pending legislation important to the park and recreation field, and issues alerts on a timely basis which call for action from us IAPD members to respond to specific issues or legislative developments by contacting legislators and influential individuals.

We want to continually encourage more and more board members to get involved in the legislative/political process so that our voice will be heard in the state and national capitols.

How often are you in contact with your legislators? When was the last time you met with your legislator? Have you been involved in his/her election or re-election? If you have, in what capacity, and, does your legislator know this?

We need your direct participation. There is no substitute for the committed volunteer member who has the political and legislative savvy and limitless energy and willingness to work for the advancement of the park and recreation movement.

Simply, what we are asking you to do to advance parks and recreation is to: Work at keeping in touch with your legislator. Work at finding different ways to reach your legislator. Work at making telephone calls and finding excuses to correspond. Your efforts might very well determine the success or failure of the legislative program in Illinois and in Washington, D.C.

We hope you will help us with the broad responsibilities involved in the implementation of legislative programs and support our combined efforts to speak with a forceful and united voice on issues confronting the field of parks and recreation.

To all of you who are interested, who are concerned and responsive—I can only say:

If not you—Who?

If not now—When?

Illinois Parks and Recreation 13 January/February 1982