A Professional's True Education Continues Throughout Life

Remember when we were in grade school, then high school, and then college, and it looked as though our years of schooling would never end? They stretched ahead endlessly, broken only by summer vacations. And sometimes those, too, were set aside for makeup classes. All many of us could think about was graduation day; the day when the learning would finally stop and we'd be able to get on with our lives in the real world. How very misinformed we were. At this time of year, when parents across the country are concentrating their efforts on getting their children back to school, it is a good time for us to stop and reconsider our education - our past education, that is and to take stock of how much we know and how much we have yet to learn.

Kay Kastel Forest, CAE IPRA Executive Director

Does a professional's education stop when he or she completes the academic work necessary to earn a degree? Absolutely not.

By this stage in our lives, most of us have enough years under our belts to realize that the years of learning in traditional schools were only the beginning of our education. In other words, the more we know, the more we realize that we know so little.

Continuing education is vitally important to all professionals. For some, like doctors and lawyers, it is required. How else would they keep up with the wealth of knowledge that becomes available every hour of every day?

For those of us in parks and recreation, the field may not change daily but it is changing very fast, especially in a period of great technological change such as the one we're living in today. We cannot keep up, we cannot contribute, unless we continue to expand our knowledge of our profession.

The business world realizes the importance of retraining and continuing education, and commits far greater finds to this purpose than do local governments. When times are tough and downsizing hits, many businesses beef-up their training dollars to provide their remaining employees with the necessary skills. When local government budgets need trimming, many times the training dollars are the first to go.

Continuing education is the basis for the formation of many associations. It is a primary purpose for the Illinois Park and Recreation Association (IPRA).

Why am I concerned about this now? Because there are several very exciting educational offerings scheduled in the near future: opportunities for all of us to learn and grow and remain valuable in the field of parks and recreation.

Success Summit '98
Positive change is the theme for this conference, which is scheduled for October 4-6 at Jumer's Chateau in Bloomington. The sessions offer each of us the chance to "get the know-how we need to set positive goals, build a network of contacts, and climb to new heights to effectively meet the challenges of today's rapidly changing marketplace.

The Success Summit sessions cover a lot of ground, including: How To Become an MVP Park District Financial Planning, The Three R's of Leadership, Ethics, Developing Successful New Programs, Priority Management, Environmental Scanning, Marketing, Leadership in the 21st Century, and Roundtable Discussions on Inclusion and Legislation.

To lighten the load of all that learning, the Success Summit also offers a golf outing, a riverboat casino trip and an Oktoberfest social.

It's not too late to register. Just call the IPRA office at 630.752.0141 for more information.

1999 IAPD/IPRA Conference
January may seem a long way away now, but IPRA and IAPD are hip-deep into planning educational opportunities that will be offered next January It doesn't matter whether the 1999 conference will be your first or your twenty-first--it's another chance to learn, to grow, to recharge our batteries for the year ahead.

• New Ideas
You'll be exposed to hundreds of ideas about the newest and the best in leisure service management and supervision: ideas to make the future brighter than the past.

6 | Illinois Parks and Recreation

• New People
Meet hundreds of leisure service professionals and elected commissioners from every type of discipline; individuals like you who want to learn all they can to do the best they can.

• Networking
Build a statewide network by connecting with colleagues at the all-conference luncheon, on breaks and in social activities.

• Information-packed Sessions
Choose from more than 135 educational sessions and workshops tailor-made for both new and seasoned professionals.

• Continuing Education Units (CEUs)
The CEU is a nationally recognized indicator of one's participation in a continuing education program. The units help to fulfill certification requirements of the IPRA/NRPA Certification Plan. Sessions and workshops for which CEUs are offered will be noted in the pre-conference program, available in September.

• Excellent Speakers
Learn from your peers and other experts. See and hear creative solutions to problems and gain new approaches for the future.

• Exhibit Hall
See dozens of exhibitors whose booths sizzle with product and service information. Make contacts that can save you time and money.

• Agency Showcase
Be challenged and inspired by the award-winning publications and promotions of agencies throughout the state.

• All-Conference Awards Luncheon
Thrill to the excitement and anticipation as individuals from all over Illinois are honored by their peers for outstanding dedication and service.

• Have Fun!
Entertainment and social activities at the conference always draw large crowds. And our conference site in Chicago makes after-hours fun easy to find!

IPRA Section Seminars
Throughout the year, there are many opportunities to continue our education at seminars which vary in length and focus. The Administration and Finance Section presents Professional Development School, the Parks Section offers Park Management Institute, and other sections put on workshops and seminars highlighting the latest in technology, market research, customer service and programming trends. This year, for example, the Communications & Marketing Section hosted an all-day workshop on September 18 entitled "Achieving Excellence: Gold Medal Award & Distinguished Agency Award."
All these opportunities provide valuable information,of course, but they also offer some less tangible benefits such as:

• time away from the work environment when we can step back and look at our profession with new eyes;

• the stimulation of exchanging ideas and concerns with our colleagues; and

• the chance to expand ourthought processes to allowfor the possibility of new ideas and innovative approaches.

All this is part of learning, growing, evolving and stretching our professional imagination. How fortunate we are to have such opportunities available to us.ž