November 2015 - Parks & Recreation - 64

NRPA Update
Member Spotlight: John Prue

H

e accepted a position as a college intern in 1986 with the Naval Station Great Lakes, and since then, John Prue, installation program
director of fleet readiness, has been developing, planning, operating and maintaining Morale, Welfare and Recreation (MWR)
facilities and activities for more than 25,000 Navy personnel, their family
members, retirees and other eligible patrons in the immediate area. He also
plans and organizes community special events, such as an internationally recognized, open-to-the-public Fourth of July Celebration that draws more than
40,000 attendees, and oversees a hotel and lodging program that serves Department of Defense travelers and temporarily assigned military personnel. Prue
maintains affiliations with several international associations and serves as the
United States Navy Representative to NRPA's Armed Forces Recreation Network. He received a master's degree in management from Webster University
(1994), a bachelor's in parks and recreation administration from the University
of Wisconsin-La Crosse (1986) and has been the recipient of several professional awards. Parks & Recreation recently had the opportunity to learn a bit more
about Prue's work and personal life - below is our conversation.
Parks & Recreation magazine: What
five words best describe you?
John Prue: Driven, determined,
dedicated, unpredictable and (a little) sarcastic.
P&R: During the course of your career as installation program director,
what has been your greatest achievement and how has it shaped you?
Prue: My greatest achievement was
actually getting my master's degree
in 1994 from Webster University. I
was working full-time and finishing
up my thesis and final presentation
with a brand new baby at home, who
happened to come three weeks early at that! Bottom line: the graduate
degree was a powerful learning outcome in my career, and I used that
newfound knowledge and experience
to immediately make positive impacts to my work with MWR and as
a professional in our industry.
P&R: What is most interesting about
your work?
Prue: I think the most interesting

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thing for me working here at Naval
Station Great Lakes is the sailors that
I meet. We are the Navy's only " boot
camp " and approximately 38,000 recruits each year start their career and
train on our base. From the young
sailors to our senior enlisted and officers, there is a true dedication to duty
and professionalism that you just
would not imagine. Meeting these
military members (and their dedicated families, as well) makes me proud
as an American and also glad that
I'm serving them with our MWR
programs and services.
P&R: What has been your greatest
challenge(s)?
Prue: As much as we try to function
like a normal business, the " bureaucracy " can be a challenge at times.
In fact, we are the government (local,
state or federal), and there will always
be some of that, as a part of the job!
P&R: The MWR Department at Naval
Station-Great Lakes was the first
military installation to win the cov-

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eted National Gold Medal Award
and the Great Lakes MWR team
also currently holds the Commander Navy Installations Command
(CNIC) 5-Star Accreditation, which
exemplify the highest standards of
MWR programming. What has been
the key to your success?
Prue: [It's] about teamwork and good
people. I have always had a tremendous group of talented staff members
who make things happen each and every day. Their focus on the sailors/families drives what they do and with good
communication and teamwork, great
things can happen to any organization!
P&R: When not on the clock, what's
your favorite way to unwind and why?
Prue: I actually like to get outdoors
and play golf but never seem to have
the time, so my real answer is cooking!
My son is a senior in college and is on
the track and field team, so an occasional 5-hour track meet with my wife,
in God knows what kind of weather,
is actually enjoyable, after all these
years. Finally, I'm a huge Green Bay
Packer fan and go to many games!
- Sonia Myrick, Managing Editor of
Parks & Recreation magazine
November 2015 - Parks & Recreation

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