Do you decide not to attend state conferences, seminars or workshops that would be helpful to you as a public official because you're worried about criticism from constituents?

As a board member who serves the public unselfishly and voluntarily, you should counter with confidence charges that board members should not attend training opportunities. You were elected to make intelligent decisions about spending millions of taxpayer dollars. You were not elected to operate in a vacuum. The park and recreation business, like any other business, requires continuing education.

Todays citizens want board members who are well-in-formed, effective, accountable and credible. Agencies will be repaid many times over for the knowledge gained by their board members attending the state conferences and workshops. Without continuing education, everyone gets hurt in the long run: your board, your agency, your public

How Boards Benefit from the State Conference

The IAPD/IPRA Annual Conference (January 7-10,1999) is a one-stop source for timely information, expert counsel and networking opportunities. At this valuable educational event, board members learn and examine the latest developments and issues confronting the park and recreation field.

There, too, they compare notes, voice opinions and discuss experiences face-to-face with board members from across the state. Its through this type of idea-sharing that we advance and grow. Not all education can be engendered by correspondence and reading alone.

Sometimes the news media, taxpayer groups and mising formed citizens criticize commissioners for attending a state conference. The best way you can counter such critics is to bring back reports of what you have learned, especially information relevant to local problems. You should also identify information you expect to glean from the conference that will benefit your agency. Most citizens will respect commissioners who take time from their busy schedules to attend conferences to become better informed and to seek solutions to local problems.

In a nutshell, the three-day state conference offers

more than 150 educational sessions plus skill development workshops, networking opportunities, exhibits and social events. Educational programs feature a broad range of topics including youth-at-risk, crime and safety, funding, ADA, finances, recreation and senior citizen programming, boardmanship, and the latest legal and legislative developments that affect the local operation of park districts, forest preserves and recreation departments.

The specific LAPD-sponsored educational programs are tailored to board member needs and information, to help boards establish prudent and effective policies for governing the district. They help local officials determine what they need to do to meet both the letter and the spirit of new laws and better the parks and recreational opportunities they provide children and families in their communities.

Tips for Getting the Most from Your State Conference Experience

1. Plan your itinerary, including educational programs, networking opportunities, hospitalities and special events. (Staff and board members each should attend different sessions and share summaries at a post conference meeting.)

2. Review the conference program in advance and summarize your needs (your questions on each topic) to develop a daily schedule.

3. Attend as many sessions as possible. From each session you certainly will pick up at least one idea that will be worth the time you have spent.

4. Get acquainted with other commissioners. Join the

"bull sessions" after the formal sessions are over. Visit the "Boardwalk/Park Place" networking center. Don't be afraid that you are not as informed on particular subjects as are others: you might be surprised to learn just the opposite. Talk and listen.

Dr. Ted Flickinger

IAPD Executive Director

In tough times some choose to cut back on continuing education. Yet that's when it's most prudent to maintain and even increase education budgets.