October 2017 - Parks & Recreation - 46

NRPA Update
What It Means to Serve on the
NRPA Board of Directors
By Richard J. Dolesh

S

even new members were elected
to the NRPA Board of Directors
during the 2017 Annual Conference in New Orleans. The new board
members are as follows:
* Michael Abbaté, Director of Parks and
Recreation, City of Portland, Oregon
* Hayden Brooks, Chairman, American
Realty Corporation, Austin, Texas
* Kong Chang, Community Recreation Specialist, Department of Parks
and Recreation, City of St. Paul,
Minnesota
* Carolyn McKnight, Superintendent,
Recreation Commission of East Baton
Rouge Parish, Louisiana
* Ian Proud, Manager of Market Research and Inclusive Play, PlayPower,
Huntersville, North Carolina
* Nonet Sykes, Director of Race Equity and Inclusion, The Annie E.
Casey Foundation, Baltimore,
Maryland
* Xavier Urrutia, Director of
Parks and Recreation, City
of San Antonio, Texas
The new members start
their term of office with
several commitments -
attending three board
meetings each year, an
annual board retreat,
fundraising on behalf of
the association, serving as
national advocates for parks
and recreation, and promoting
the mission of NRPA locally, regionally and nationally. Becoming a
director on NRPA's board is no small
commitment.

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Parks & Recreation

In addition to the governance and
leadership responsibilities named above,
the board of directors also works with
NRPA staff in establishing and implementing the strategic priorities of the
association. As described on NRPA's
website, " The strategic plan serves as
the foundation for integrating annual
budgeting, resource allocation and staff
performance
planning/management
processes for the association, but is also
a unifying guide for the field to demonstrate the impact agencies can have on
their communities. "
NRPA's strategic plan, a three-year
plan that started in FY2017 and runs
through FY2019, is tied to performance

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metrics and to the approval of the annual
budget. The board of directors is already
engaged in planning for the next strategic plan cycle, FY2020-FY2022.
As intended by NRPA's founders,
the leadership of the association is to
be annually renewed by new members
who come on the board to replace those
whose terms are ending. New directors bring fresh thinking and new ideas
along with their commitment to serve on
NRPA's board, typically for a three-year
term. I had a chance to catch up with
several of the new board members to ask
why they accepted nomination to the
board and what they hoped to accomplish in the coming year. Their answers
give a good perspective on the interests
and priorities they bring to their service
as new board members.
Carolyn McKnight, director of
parks and recreation for the
Recreation Commission of
East Baton Rouge, Louisiana (BREC), says, " I was
invited to serve, and I
accepted the challenge.
I don't have all the answers for what is needed
for NRPA to advance,
but I look forward to
learning what each board
member brings to the table to advocate for parks
and recreation. I appreciate
that NRPA has evolved and
now has a clear vision and is laser-focused on measuring impacts
and outcomes. It is my belief that if
park and recreation professionals do
October 2017 - Parks & Recreation

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