FROM THE EDITOR

"Lost innocence is how longtime park commissioner Judy Beck, Glenview Park District, describes how the field of parks and recreation has changed over time.

Tax caps. Fees and charges. Sponsorships. Playground safety. Gangs and vandalism. Criminal background checks. September 11.

Perhaps the field simply has grown up since its innocent beginnings, as we all must do from infancy to adulthood.

It's a young profession. The first student to graduate with a bachelor's degree in Recreation from the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign did so in 1952. It wasn't until 1957 that a department was formed and in 1972 offered its first doctorate program in Parks and Recreation Administration.

"In the last 20 years the face of park districts has really changed," says Diane Stanke, manager of administrative services for the Park District of Oak Park. It was Stanke—a park and recreation professional for 21 years and former member of the magazine's Joint Editorial Committee—who suggested that we focus an issue of Illinois Parks & Recreation on changes in the field.

Says Stanke: "There's such a grey area between government-run facilities and fitness clubs, tennis clubs and daycare centers run by the private sector. Park districts are run much more like a business now. We look at the bottom line more than ever before. Where park districts before were primarily tax-supported, now fees and charges make up a huge percentage as do revenue facilities.

"I think we've become so much more customer driven."

See page 24 for more thoughts on what's changed in parks and recreation. Michael J. McNicholas, CTRS, just four years into his career, starts things off with a young professionals view of "the calling."

Of course, we want your opinions, too. Tell IP&R how you believe the field has changed and tell us, too, where you think we're headed. Call or write me, alondrigan@ILparks.org, 217.523.4554.

ANN M. LONDRIGAN
Editor