Happy Anniversary!

Commemorating your agency's anniversary is an excellent time to maximize positive PR. Here are some creative ways to do just that.

BY GENE POPA

Given that the majority of Illinois park districts are 20 years or older, more than a few no doubt are preparing to acknowledge a milestone anniversary.

In 1997 the Calumet Memorial Park District (CMPD) celebrated its 75th anniversary. For this special occasion, we conducted a number of events throughout the year. The reasons for doing so were twofold: first, it was only natural that we celebrate our "birthday." Founded in 1922, the CMPD is one of the longest lasting recreation agencies in the state, and we're proud of our three-quarters of a century worth of accomplishments. Just as importantly, however, was the unique opportunity that our anniversary presented to reach out to the community and promote our current programs.

Here are a few of the efforts we undertook to commemorate our anniversary, shared in the hopes that you might find some inspiration if you are planning your own observance. Good luck with yours and "Happy Anniversary!"

• With 365 days in the year, every day is a birthday! While it's important to determine an actual "birth date" for your park district (such as the day when residents voted for establishment, or the day you were formally incorporated) and to commemorate that day, you should take advantage of the fact that you can celebrate throughout the year. Don't miss a chance to link your anniversary to all of your programs, trips and special events.

• Symbolism is a powerful tool. Just ask Madison Avenue ad execs: people respond favorably to familiar symbols and brand names. With that in mind, it's a good (and relatively inexpensive) investment to develop a special anniversary logo for your park; in particular, one that's a variation of your already-familiar one. Affix this logo to all of your literature. Have stickers made to place on all outgoing mail. Use it on shirts, hats, towels, coffee mugs, pencils, any and all promotional items that your district produces. Make it as familiar to your community as the logos for Coke and Chevrolet!

• It takes a village. Work with other institutions within your district. Your city council can be surprisingly amiable to the idea of acknowledging your anniversary with a citation. The same goes for the state legislature; contact your district representative. Does your town host a parade or festival? Ask whether either could be dedicated to your park's anniversary. Call your postmaster; given enough lead time, he can arrange to have a special cancellation mark, complete with your logo, stamped on every piece of outgoing mail that passes through your local post office on a particular day. Little gestures such as these all add up, and serve to remind people of your agency's importance.

• I only know what I read in the papers. Take multiple steps to cultivate the media. Bombard your newspapers, radio and television stations with press releases detailing every event your park is offering. Suggest to editors various feature stories they could run regarding your anniversary. Invite reporters and photographers to anything that is even the slightest bit newsworthy. And don't be disappointed if it seems as though the media isn't giving you the attention you feel you deserve. The media is inundated with countless press releases and requests every day, and they have to pick and choose. But they can't choose you if they don't know about your event.

• History is written by the victors. The fact that your park district is celebrating its anniversary means that you're a survivor. Times change, needs evolve, but you remain. You are an institution, a pillar of the community. As such, it's important that you chronicle your park's history. As you begin to investigate, don't be surprised to find that the record is terribly incomplete; most of your predecessors probably didn't take the time to keep track of noteworthy events. Your strongest resource will be oral reminisces from "old timers." (Keep in mind, of course, that there's always three sides to every story, so triplecheck as many stories as you can!) You can also find a gold mine of information at your local library and historical society archives.

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• When you've assembled a linear narrative, publish it. Calumet Memorial Park District printed a special commemorative booklet, which combined our history, brief biographies of leading park figures of the past, and photographs. At the very least, you could provide the information you have gathered to the newspapers for feature stories.

• Don't just observe history, make it.Stress to your residents that they will be a small part of history when they take part in your commemorative special events, but not just a part of the past. For example, they can stake a claim in the future of the park district by contributing to a time capsule.

• A device guaranteed to attract attention. A time capsule can work on many PR fronts. Invite your local schools to sponsor student essay contests about the park district, with the best being placed in the time capsule.

Include in the time capsule a copy of your park's history, as well as copies of photos. (A video seems like a nice idea, but the magnetic tape will probably decompose within a few years.) Have some fun with "predictions" of what the park district and the community will be like in the future. Add some everyday items, such as a few of that week's magazines and newspapers, a copy of the current#1 CD, something faddish (Beanie Baby, Virtual Pet), etc.

Finally, on the day of internment, make a real event of it, with lots of hoopla. Have residents who attend the event sign their names to a register that will be included in the capsule. When we buried our capsule, it was not for the usual 100 or 1,000 years. Instead, it will be recovered in 25 years, during our park's centennial. Presumably, a significant number of people who took part in our 75th will still be around for our 100th, and will take a special interest to that commemoration as a result. (Besides, this will be a lot of fun for the people a quarter of a century from now. In 1997, we would have loved to have opened a groovy time capsule from 1972!)

In conjunction with the time capsule, you could have children put their handprints in cement at one of your parks. That would be a visible remembrance of the event that will stand the test of time.

Looking Back in Park District History
85 Years Ago....Tax levy passed by Park Board for $45,000 for the year 1913. (September 2, 1913)
75 Years Ago..... The Park Board ordered the closing of the Fair Grounds Park swimming pool and the Sinnissippi and Ingersoll Golf Courses and the main office in memory of President Warren G. Harding who had died August 2, 1923. (August 7, 1923)
30 Years Ago The Park Board formally approved the retirements of Earl F, Elliot, director, and Alice Pepper, secretary and treasurer, Elliot had been with the District since 1928 and director since 1934. Miss Pepper had joined the District In 1927, Robert H. Milne, Elfiot's assistant since 1960, would become the new director. (October 8, 1968)
25 years Ago., .The Park Board passed an ordinance for the issuance of $1,250,000 in revenue bonds to build the ice skating facility downtown. (October 9, 1973)
20 Years Ago ...The Winnebago County Board buys and on the east, west, and south of Midway Village and Museum Center to serve as a buffer for the museum site. The Park District will later buy the land from the County Board, (August 3, 1978)
The Boards of the Winnebago County Forest Preserve District and the Rockford Park District are studying a future bicycle path development survey, prepared by Rick Strader, associate planner for the City/County Planning Commission, The survey lists 13 corridor opportunities. (August 25, 1978)
Fire destroys the old Log Lodge In Atwood Park. The lodge once served as rifle range shelter house when the park was part of the Camp Grant military training center. Arson was suspected in the fire. (September 25,1978)
13 Years Ago...Trolley Car 36 opens for rides. (September 4,1983) Groundbreaking is held at Midway Village and Museum Center for Chamberlain Hotel, which had served railroad workers coming through Caledonia. (October 12, 1983)
10 Years Ago,,,The Rockford Park District was a finalist in the National Parks and Recreation Gold Medal Competition. (August 1988)
James Lockwood made a $5,000 donation to the Observatory in Lockwood Park. (October 26,1988)
5 Years Ago....Elliot Golf Course celebrated its 25th anniversary with a party. (August 20,1993)
Former Park District Commissioner Ed Carison receives the 11th Annual Seth B. Atwood Memorial Park and Conservation Service Award at Midway Village (August 16, 1993)
Overflow crowds help dedicate the new Riverside Bridge to the Sportscore Recreation Path with a trick or treat party. (October 30, 1993)

Plugging history facts is especially effective as we near the new millennium. The Rockford Park District employs a creative and useful tool to keep track of its history and promote the district throughout the year. The "Looking Back in Park District History" hct sheets are used internally for the weekly staff newsletter plus the senior newsletter. Prime Time. The fact sheets are generated and mailed to media outlets six times a year with some success. Weeklies use the "facfoids" as fitter and, as Vance Borne, Rockford's marketing coordinator, notes: "If you don't send it, they don't know about it." Same also says that the media seem more interested in history this year with the millennium fast approaching.

• "Best wishes." Believe it or not, many public figures are happy to share their compliments with you. To add a bit of flair to your commemoration, assemble a collection of congratulatory messages from various luminaries. At the top of the list, the President of the United States sent us a very warm letter, courtesy of the hard-working folks in the White House Messages Department. Add to that personal greetings from the vice president, governor, senators and representatives, and you've got a veritable political who's who.

Additionally, quite a few actors, athletes, broadcasters and various other celebrities will respond favorably to your request. A partial list of those who complied with our own request includes the likes of Liz Taylor, Bob Costas, George Bush, Walter Cronkite, Charlton Heston, Paula Poundstone, Ted Turner, Mike Ditka, Bill Cosby and Ernie Banks.

Something of this nature can attract the attention of people who might otherwise not pay much heed to your anniversary. But once you've hooked them with this, it becomes possible to interest them in everything else.

• The only bad idea is the one untried. Brainstorm with your staff and with members of the public. Get the word out! A vigorous and productive park district is an asset to the community; there's nothing wrong in celebrating your long success, nor in using that celebration to build new connections with the people you have been established to serve. Every now and then you have to remind folks that you're there. Some ideas might even survive beyond their original intent. We held a "one time only" Independence Day fireworks display. It was so successful, we brought it back in '98, and it'll return again this year. •

GENE POPA
is the community relations supervisor for the Calumet Memorial Park District, which serves the communities of Calumet City and Bumham, as well as portions of Dolton and South Holland.

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