December 2015 - Parks & Recreation - 23

O'heir paid a visit to the Lawrence, Kansas, Parks
and Recreation Department to surprise staff
members with their Gold Medal Award Class III
nomination plaque.

LPRD: You mentioned park and recreation professionals often tell you
something that happened on the
show was exactly like a situation
that happened at their agency. Do
you remember any of those conversations and what parts of the show
most resonated with them?
O'Heir: I've gotten emails and tweets
from Parks and Recreation Departments all over the country since the
show started. Almost all of them
said we nailed it. It seems like most
of them can relate to the interactions
we portrayed with the local citizens,
especially the community meetings.
I'm guessing that every town has
their own " interesting " citizens who
like to make their opinions known.

a kid, did you participate in park and
recreation activities in your hometown? Do you have any memories of
your time spent in a parks and recreation program or memories about a
particular park?
O'Heir: To be honest, I'm not sure if I
had involvement with park and recreation programs specifically. I was involved in Cub Scouts and swam daily
at the local pool. Being a kid, I didn't
know who operated these things...I
was just happy it was available to
me. As far as a particular park, we
lived near Lan Oak Park in Lansing,
Illinois, and we would go there all
the time. As I grew up, it became the
hang out with my buddies. We played
basketball, swam and just goofed off.
I still drive by there every time I'm
back home. It's a place that holds so
many memories.

LPRD: NRPA's " I'm a Park and Rec
Kid! " campaign asks people to reflect on their youth and their interaction with parks and recreation. As

LPRD: What's your favorite
episode of the show? Why?
O'Heir: I have many favorite episodes,
so it's hard to nail down just one. But,

how hard they work to make it all
come together.

I can tell you that early in season two
there was an episode called " The Hunting Trip. " The reason it stands out for
me is because it was the first episode
that we were all together out of the office. We went to a cabin for a hunting
trip and of course some terrible things
happen. I just loved being with everyone out of the soundstage, and I think
it gave us all a chance to get to know
each other better. It was the beginning
of many years of laughs and love.
LPRD: Anything else you'd like to
add?
O'Heir: I would just like to thank
you again for including me in your
special day. From what I've seen,
you guys (park and recreation agencies across the country) are working
hard and making a huge difference
in your communities. You should
all be very, very proud.
Roger Steinbrock is with the Marketing
Division for the City of Lawrence, Kansas,
Parks and Recreation Department
(rsteinbrock@lawrenceks.org).

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Parks & Recreation

December 2015 - Parks & Recreation

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