IAPD Plans For Members' Future

IAPD Plans For Members' Future

by
Ted Flickinger, CLP
Executive Director Illinois Association of Park Districts

Planning for the future is one of the most important functions of the park and recreation board and director. What plans have been made to meet the needs of the changing clientele? What have you anticipated for the future? Will we have to modify traditional funding sources? These and many other questions will be addressed at the Governor's Conference on New Horizons for Conservation, Parks and Recreation to be held in the House of Representatives, State Capitol, March 26-28,1992.

A second program to provide a forum for members to identify future challenges for conservation, parks and recreation into the year 2000 is scheduled for June 12,1992.

Governor's Conference on "New Horizons for Conservation, Parks and Recreation", March 26-28, 1992, Springfield, Ill.

The Governor's Conference is designed to allow invited participants an opportunity to engage in goal setting for the next 10 years.

World renowned speakers will address three major subject areas including sources of funding, population demographics, emerging social trends and resource as well as environmental management practices.

Participants will break out into eight different special interest groups and make recommendations for:

Professional facilitators will conduct the small group sessions and bring back to the entire group of conference participants their findings and recommendations for future action.

Dr. Marvin J. Cetron, who serves as a consultant to world leaders from President George Bush to Deng Xiao Ping, will be the keynote speaker. For years Dr. Cetron has been forecasting the future with amazing accuracy. He foresaw such startling events as the Arab oil embargo, the unrest that would lead to the creation of Solidarity in Poland, the fundamentalist revolution in Iran, the conservative movement in the United States and the Iraqi situation.

Dr. Cetron will include information on population shifts and ethnic diversity. He will discuss current emerging social trends, family make-up, social problems, and attitudes regarding the use of leisure time.

On Friday afternoon participants will hear a panel of experts address the trends and issues dealing with environmental, resource and recreation management as well as preservation and urban concepts for group discussion.

David Pearce Snyder, consulting futurist from Bethesda, Maryland, who wrote the American Society of Association Executive's publication, Future Forces, will be the major speaker for the Saturday session. Mr. Snyder's topic is The '90s: A Decade of Challenges and Opportunities.

David Snyder will focus on economic trends, the public/private sector cooperation, what proponents are raving about in privatization of park and recreation services and the future funding of land acquisition and development projects. He will also explore how park, recreation and conservation organizations will have to acquire, seek and adapt innovative public practices to compete effectively for the continued patronage of their constituents.

Participants will be challenged in the working session to generate new ideas to fund current and future services of the Department of Conservation and park, forest preserve and conservation districts throughout the state.

The closing session will have all eight discussion groups reconvene in the House of Representatives to present their recommendations to Governor Jim Edgar.

The year 2000: For decades it has symbolized a technologically advanced future, served as the time frame for science fiction novels and such fantasy movies such as 2001: A Space Odyssey. Now the dawn of the 21st Century is only eight years away. The turning of the millennium is no longer a hazy shorthand for a life filled with techno-wizardry or fodder for psychics and other con artists; it is a reality fast approaching, and we need to understand it. No one is better prepared to bring us that understanding than Dr. Marvin J. Cetron and David Pearce Snyder.

The Aging Of The Baby Boom: Speculations On The Future Of Health, Aging And American Culture, June 12, 1992 (Location in the Chicago area to be announced later.)

For the first time in the history of the United States, our demographic composition is shifting dramatically. As a result of a century of advances in health care, the United States is fast becoming a nation of middle-aged and older people. With the 76 million post World War II "baby boomers" currently entering middle-age, a future "senior boom" is on the way. No longer a baby boom, this "age wave" will force the redefining and rebuilding of many of our current institutions, structures and relationships. It will affect every aspect of American life, but none more radically than our health care system.

This comprehensive presentation will demonstrate the dramatic effects that the aging of the baby boom will have on all aspects of American culture and lifestyle. With the aid of a unique slide show, a visual overview will be provided illustrating the profound impact this social revolution will have on the worlds of health care, lifestyle, work, leisure, the family, politics, education, beauty, fashion and marketing styles and institutions.

Speculations on the future of our personal, cultural, and economic styles and institutions

This and additional information will be presented by Mark Goldstein, National Training Director for Age Wave, Inc. Mr. Goldstein is an internationally recognized authority in the field of aging and its implications for the work force and marketplace. Over the past 15 years he has presented information-packed programs to well over 100,000 participants.

Mr. Goldstein has developed the rare ability to communicate effectively with a wide range of audiences. His empowering presentations have been highly praised by organizations ranging from Apple Computer to Attica State Penitentiary. Corporate and government leaders throughout the country have found his work invaluable in understanding new market opportunities and the implications of a maturing work force. Audiences consistently remark on the entertaining as well as the educational nature of his presentations.

Along with his programs on aging issues. Mr. Goldstein leads a series of highly interactive seminars that develop participants' communications and job performance skills. Managers and executives have found his work highly effective in motivating the workforce for optimal performance in a high stress environment.

Age Wave, Inc., an education, communications, training and research firm founded in 1986, is considered to be the nation's foremost authority on the social, health care, and business implications of the aging of America.