December 2015 - Parks & Recreation - 10

EDITOR'S LET TER

Diligence, Not Despair

PRESIDENT AND CEO
Barbara Tulipane, CAE

As 2015 draws to a close, many of us have disaster on the brain. At a time when we already long to be close to the ones we love, celebrating and enjoying the bounty of the holiday season, we're lately even more compelled to draw our friends and families closer.

VICE PRESIDENT OF MARKETING,
COMMUNICATIONS AND
PUBLISHING, AND EDITORIAL
DIRECTOR
Gina Mullins-Cohen
gcohen@nrpa.org

As of press time, we're little more than a week past the horrific terrorist attacks in Paris that
killed at least 130 people and wounded dozens more. In the western United States, a storm
system that brought whiteout conditions to highways in Colorado threatened to inflict damaging tornadoes on Texas and points east. This coming winter, a
strong El Niño weather system is expected to heavily influence
weather and climate patterns in ways we cannot solidly predict.

EXECUTIVE EDITOR
Samantha Bartram
sbartram@nrpa.org
MANAGING EDITOR
Sonia Myrick
smyrick@nrpa.org
EDITORIAL INTERN

In all these instances, municipal services - often and particularly
park and recreation agencies - may be called on to help citizens
survive and cope with disaster. Our parks, sports fields and community centers are where we gather in the best of times to feel a
deep sense of connection, support and freedom - that's why it
hurts us so deeply to see sports events and cultural celebrations
attacked by terrorists.
It's why Manhattan Beach Parks and Recreation's Idris Al-Oboudi
was so shaken when an earthquake struck his community, as author
Sarah Thompson discusses in our cover feature, starting on page 40. When our safest-feeling
spaces are attacked, either by man or nature, it is, indeed, a " shake-up call, " as Al-Oboudi puts
it. Disaster is a painful motivator for preparedness, but, as Thompson details, park and recreation
agencies are well-placed to be on the front lines of support should disaster strike.
Happily, Thompson's piece - as well as that of Sarah McLaughlin, which begins on page
46 and details the state of New Orleans' recreation landscape 10 years after Hurricane
Katrina - also highlights the remarkable resiliency of our communities to rise from disaster, often better than before. In the right circumstances, disaster can sometimes make
way for improvement in our emergency response protocols, the way our communities are
engineered and how we enhance our communities through parks and recreation.
While it may be tempting to despair in what can feel like an unceasing wave of tragedy, the
park and recreation professionals and agencies highlighted throughout this issue give us
ample reason for hope. Parks and recreation provides the means to cultivate a sense of connection and empathy for our neighbors, colleagues, friends, families and patrons. It's there
to support us, whether we need a quiet walk or a place to shelter safely during a tornado.
With the new year on the horizon, it's a great time to count the blessings we enjoy and pay
them forward, while remaining ever vigilant in the communities we serve. Our patrons
look to us to lead - in times of good and ill - and we must be ready.

Catrina Belt
cbelt@nrpa.org
PUBLICATION DESIGN
Creative By Design
www.creativebydesign.net
SENIOR MANAGER OF
ADVERTISING
Dana Storm
703.858.2174
dstorm@nrpa.org
MAGAZINE ADVISORY
BOARD MEMBERS
Keith Anderson
Gerald Brown
Ernest Burkeen
Gwendolyn Chambers
Brendan Daley
Ryan Eaker
Mariela Fernandez
Robert García
Kathleen Gibi
Paul Gilbert
Sandra Gonzalez
Greg Harrison
Todd Lehman
Sam Mendelsohn
Maria Nardi
Gil Peñalosa
Dr. Kevin Riley
Paula Sliefert
Anne-Marie Spencer

GINA MULLINS-COHEN
Vice President of Marketing, Communications and Publishing
Editorial Director
8

Parks & Recreation

| D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 5 | W W W. N R PA . O R G

Stephen Springs
Randy Wiger

December 2015 - Parks & Recreation

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of December 2015 - Parks & Recreation