November 2014 - Parks & Recreation - 59

Staff Spotlight: David Wenner, MBA, PMP

s one of NRPA's " behind the scenes " staff members, AMS Administrator
Dave Wenner may not be the most visible face to members, but every member and staffer of NRPA has benefited from his work. In his four-plus years
at NRPA, the " database guy " has pushed through a number of system improvements that have made NRPA's information easier to navigate, access and apply, and
he has automated a number of processes to make everyone's jobs easier to manage.
Like NRPA, Wenner will be turning
50 in 2015. We learned more about his
career, his life as a swim dad, the origin
of his famous chicken costume and his
notorious obsession with bacon.
Parks & Recreation Magazine: Tell
me a little about your work as NRPA's AMS (Association Management
Software) administrator.
Dave Wenner: I basically work with
our internal database and see my
job as making sure anyone here can
use the data we have to make the
right decisions. Members, nonmember purchase history, anyone who
has worked with NRPA - we have
info in the database about that, and
we can use it to make decisions for
programming, decisions for products
we want to implement, etc. The other part [iMIS Specialist Cara Bracamonte and I] do is to implement tools
that make staff more efficient so they
don't have to do tedious things.
P&R: What are some of your biggest
projects and accomplishments in
your time with NRPA?
Wenner: The biggest thing was that
we implemented a tool that really
advanced and automated a lot of processes, like renewal notices. A lot of
our certification processes are automated as well, which took the responsibility out of the users' hands and
lets the system do it for them. We also
implemented a better solution for the

online store and did a lot of cleanup.
P&R: What first drew you to work at
NRPA, and what are some of your
favorite things about working here?
Wenner: I was looking to get out of
consulting - I had done not-forprofit consulting for 13 years. Also,
working for NRPA has given me the
opportunity to become a better dad.
I live 1.4 miles away from the office,
so I can do carpool in afternoons and
have more time to become involved
in my kids' activities. Also, I have
worked with 40 to 50 not-for-profit
companies with my consulting work,
and we have top-notch staff here.
P&R: You are well-known as the
staff's resident bacon aficionado.
What's with the bacon obsession?
Wenner: It started in college. When I
came home for summer, maybe four
nights a week I'd fry up a pound of bacon and put it all in one sandwich. Last
Thanksgiving, we did 15 pounds of bacon. We're big fans of pork products.
P&R: You've also appeared in internal
staff videos wearing a chicken costume. Where did that come from?
Wenner: When my son was about 3, I
asked him what he wanted me to be for
Halloween, and he said a chicken. I always wanted [a chicken costume] - you
never know when you might need it!
P&R: Finally, tell me a little about

your family and your personal life.
Wenner: My wife, Kelly, and I will
have been married 20 years next January. My daughter, Jordan, is 14, my
son, Teddy, is 12, and we also have
two dogs. Outside of work, I'm pretty much a swim dad. My wife and
I heavily volunteer for the summer
swim team - for six weeks a year
we're doing that nonstop, and one to
two weekends a month I'm at a local
park facility for swim meets.
I'm one of eight kids and had more
than 50 foster brothers and sisters.
My dad was a minister, and we always had a few foster siblings with
us. Four of my siblings are adopted,
including three former foster siblings.
P&R: Anything else?
Wenner: Members can help us a lot
by filling out their profile when they
connect to our website - we're trying
to understand members as well as we
can. We just finished a database project to understand who our members
are so we can better serve them.
- Danielle Taylor, Executive Editor,
Parks & Recreation Magazine

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November 2014 - Parks & Recreation

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