June 2011 - Parks & Recreation - 28

Who, What, Where & how Around the Parks

bases. When a citizen agrees to become
a Friend, the process begins with them
providing their email address and name.
They then begin receiving a weekly
newsletter, activity announcements, " Did
You Know " facts, contest entries, and coupons to Lee's Summit Parks and Recreation activities. They also get important
Missouri Parks and Recreation Association and NRPA bulletins concerning issues affecting parks and recreation such
as the recent call to action on the national
trails program.
Lee's Summit currently has 1,400
Friends of the Parks and should exceed
2,000 friends by summer. The goal is to
reach 3,000 by next year. Evidence already
shows that the citizens' understanding of

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26 Parks & Recreation

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the impact of parks and recreation on the
community is growing. In a " coffee shop "
discussion with several community leaders
it was suggested that after a recent failure
of a local school tax that the school district
should adopt the Parks and Recreation
" Did You Know " approach to their issues.
Measurements are now being shared with
the community about the metric impacts of
every program and service offered. Cost
recovery information, job production, economic impact on local businesses are all
important facts every community should
know.
In addition, a partnership with the Missouri Park and Recreation Association has
been formed to use the " Did You Know "
campaign as a template for a web-based
statewide educational/repositioning campaign. It is now available through the Missouri Park and Recreation Association's
web site for members. The program
was launched at the state conference in
St. Louis this March. It contains generic
editorials, facts, critical path implementation steps, friends of the parks set-up
procedures, and other tools to help any
department customize and set up its own
educational program. We hope that within the year there will be 25 communities
implementing their own programs with
thousands of informed advocates in each.
Think about it: If we enlist 50 communities in Missouri with each having 1,000
friends of the park, that is 50,000 friends
of the parks who can join together to support parks and recreation. Could this
work nationally? 50 states with 50 communities in each, having 1,000 friends. Do
the math . . . 2.5 million friends. This could
lead to a much more pleasant week in
Washington visiting our elected officials.
Geometric progression is interesting,
but just ponder the power of just 1,000
knowledgeable advocates in your community who understand the benefits of a
vibrant parks and recreation system. It is
a " game changer. "
Still not convinced this is our problem?
Still think this is about us being better

www . N R P A . O R G

managers, being more entrepreneurial,
doing more with less or less with less?
What if we asked your neighbor what
you do for a living, what would they say?
If we asked them what the specific benefits were of what you do, could they list
10? One? How many can you list? What
if your neighbor was an elected official?
Can we change this? Yes, we can
change this. But we must adapt our approach to the realities of our situation and
work on changing these realities one citizen, one elected official, and one practitioner at a time. Educating our citizenry
has to become as important, if not more
important, than project management,
business planning, marketing, and all the
other tools we use to do our jobs.
We are all in this together and we
are the solution. It is time we all become
" teachers. " The measure of our success
will be the overall well being of our collective humanity of which parks and recreation is an integral part.
J. Thomas Lovell, Jr., CPRP, is the

administrator of Lee's Summit Parks &
Recreation in Lee's Summit, Missouri. He has
been actively involved with NRPA
throughout his career and is an occasional
contributor to Parks & Recreation. Lovell is
also a member of the American Academy for
Park & Recreation Administration, adjunct
professor at the University of Central
Missouri, current President of Missouri Park
& Recreation Association, and a faculty
member of NRPA's Director's School in
Oglebay, West Virginia.
Janet Snook, CPRP, is Director of

Parks and Recreation for the City of
Raymore, Missouri. She has been a
member of NRPA since 1998 and has
served as a Regent for the Rocky Mountain
Revenue and Management School. Active
in her state association, Snook has served
as a board member, study and research
committee chair, regent to the Leadership
Development institute, and is the current
President-elect of Missouri Parks and
Recreation Association.

June 2011 - Parks & Recreation

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