October 2017 - Parks & Recreation - 49

Member Spotlight: Diane Drake
By Cort Jones

t really is true that everyone deserves a park. However, the reality is that not everyone lives in an area that has quality, safe parks or recreation programs. As the
assistant director of evaluation and partnership development for the Recreation
and Park Commission for East Baton Rouge (BREC), in the East Baton Rouge
Parish in Louisiana, one of Diane Drake's many responsibilities is to seek financial
resources through grants and partnerships to provide quality recreation opportunities
for underserved residents.

Parks & Recreation magazine recently caught up with Drake to learn more
about her role in making sure everyone
has access to quality recreation.
Parks & Recreation: What is something
your organization is doing that is near
and dear to your heart?
Diane Drake: A program that we're proud
of is 'BREC on the Geaux,' which is a
mobile program that we take to schools,
churches and other areas in the community. We provide physical activities for the
kids and the adults, and we serve thousands of citizens of this and surrounding
parishes. What's so great is that we go into
places where people don't have access to
parks or quality playgrounds. It's exciting
to see these people be able to get out there
and participate in quality programs, rather than being out on unsafe playgrounds.
It's such a unique program, and over the
past five years, it's still the top request in
our division.
P&R: Why do you think that it's so
essential to provide access to quality
recreation programs for members of
these underserve communities?
Drake: BREC was established to provide quality, affordable programs to
all members of the parish. Most of the
communities we do outreach in are areas where there is a lot of crime, where
parents work late hours, and these kids
are not exposed to the programs that are

offered in the stronger economic communities. We're bringing these opportunities to people that may not normally
get them. With programs like BREC
on the Geaux, we can serve kids in the
community even while their parents
are at work, and it gives them quality
program opportunities in a safe environment. We know that this is needed

We provide physical
activities for the kids and
the adults, and we serve
thousands of citizens
of this and surrounding
parishes.
because the kids are out there waiting
for us whenever we come around. They
always keep coming back, so we know
it's necessary for them. We take kids out
of the environment that they're so accustomed to and expose them to other
areas. We take them on field trips to the
aquarium, the IMAX theatre, museums
- things they may not usually do.
P&R: What's the most rewarding thing
about your role and all the great
things your organization is doing?
Drake: It's to be able to look back

and see some of the projects we've
done and to see the participants and
where they have gone with their lives.
Some of them are going off to college,
many of them even come back just to
say, " Thank you for helping me get
through. " That's the most rewarding
for me because we've done something
to give them a positive outlook instead of the negative outlook that they
may have had. It just makes me feel
good, especially if I go in the grocery
store and someone recognizes me and
says, " You're the BREC on the Geaux
lady! " It feels great to know I'm doing something positive. People are always asking, " When are you coming
by again? " It's really rewarding to see
the impact of these programs and to
see them continuing. It tells us we're
doing something right when the kids
don't want to go home because they
love our programs so much. Parents
tell us that on a school day they have
to wake their kids up, but on a day
that they're participating in one of our
programs, the kids are waiting on their
parents to wake up!
-Cort Jones, Associate Editor for
Parks & Recreation magazine

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October 2017 - Parks & Recreation

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