August 2013 - Parks & Recreation - 58

Congress Live! Session Highlights
Thursday, October 10
Session 241
Fun, Free, Affordable Marketing That
Makes You Memorable....And Works!
3:00-4:15 p.m.
Presenter: Rich DiGirolamo,
Founder, Recess at Work,
Marion, Connecticut
How are park and recreation departments missing opportunities?
One of biggest opportunities being
missed is the development and use of
a database filled with people who use
your services and attend your activities. Staying in touch with people and
letting them know you want them to
return is not optional. But you have to
start with a good list and stop worrying
about the people who don't care what
you have to offer - at least for now.
How easy is it to develop a customer-engagement plan?
Developing a customer-engagement
plan is as simple or as hard as you
choose to make it. I use all of the approaches I will share during my session
in Houston to retain and engage customers and prospects. If each attendee chooses no more than three of the
tools/ideas I will present and allocates
a small amount of time to do those
things consistently, they'll see results.
What else are participants going to be
able to take away from your session?
Participants need to understand that
every business is a marketing business.
The amount of money that park and
recreation departments leave on the table by not engaging with customers is
sinful. People need your programs. People need fun. People want better health.
They want affordable options. Join me
in Houston to start making your jobs a
bit more fun and your communities a
heck of a lot happier and healthier.

Parks & Recreation

Session 312
Moving from Best Practices to Next
Practices
8:00-9:15 a.m.
Presenters: Michael Shellito,
retired
City
Manager, Roseville, California, and Consultant, Shellito
Training and Consulting, Loomis, California, and Leon Younger, President,
PROS Consulting, Indianapolis, Indiana
What is one example of a sustainable " next practice " ?
The current operational model of
staffing park and recreation agencies
throughout most of the country is
fiscally unsustainable. In the future,
agencies will need to streamline operations by focusing on core programs
and functionalities, and establish service levels that are appropriate, acceptable and affordable. Agencies need to
determine what operational functions
to " steer " through outsourcing, partnerships and collaborations.
How can an agency evaluate a new
business model?
Agencies should evaluate the effectiveness of new business models by measuring " return on investment. " The
ROI of every program or service
should be evaluated against three criteria: (1) what's the benefit? (2) for
who? and (3) at what cost? Agencies
must evaluate the cost of providing a
service in relation to the public benefit
versus individual benefit achieved.
What else are participants going to be
able to take away from your session?
Next practices will highlight new ways
of providing parks and recreation that
are radically different, innovative and
fiscally sustainable for the future.

| A U G U S T 2 0 1 3 | W W W. N R PA . O R G

Session 332
Networking in a Room of Strangers
9:45-11:00 a.m.
Presenter: Molly Hetrick,
Trainer, The Meeting Institute, Myrtle Beach, South
Carolina
Do you really only have one opportunity to make a first impression?
Yes! And there are several ways to
be sure you're giving that great first
impression, before you even speak to
someone face to face.
What is one example of a connection-making technique?
The best way to make a connection
is consistent eye contact and a solid handshake. This wraps your first
impression and the start to building a connection into one step. I
will also be talking about ways to
make connections with people,
even strangers, through questioning
techniques, body language and nonverbal cues.
What else are participants going
to be able to take away from your
session?
Networking and meeting new people can be very daunting, but there
are solid professional techniques to
do this with ease and poise. During
the session, we will learn ways to
meet people and start conversations that will lead to business relationships and help participants
feel confident when they are networking. I often hear the question
" What if I am shy? " This session
is fantastic for people who are shy
about networking. I'll share some
tried-and-true ways to make networking a smooth and enjoyable
experience.

August 2013 - Parks & Recreation

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