October 2018 - Parks & Recreation - 66

NRPA UPDATE
Call for 2019 Conference Session Proposals
An opportunity to expand your professional circle
By Katrina Coots Ward

e...No way! " That was my first thought after learning that a
session proposal I'd submitted for a conference had been accepted. That was almost 17 years ago, while I was a senior at
the University of Southern Mississippi. I was reading a bulletin board posting for presenters who could speak about college decisions and learning
how to live away from one's parents. At the time, I was a potential target
audience for this post: a happily married 21-year-old student, mother to an
infant and a McNair Scholar who was maintaining a 3.6 GPA and holding
down three part-time jobs.
Lost in thought, I hadn't noticed
that my professor had walked up
and had seen me pondering this
post. He challenged me: " Why
not? " he asked. He went on to say
that my story was the " real story "
and could encourage others who
may be thinking they couldn't do it
all. It was the moment I realized I
had a story to tell that could benefit
others and jumped-started the value that I saw in myself as a presenter. I now have done more than 20

Parks & Recreation

professional presentations at a variety of levels: city, parish and state
levels and once at what was then
referred to as NRPA Congress.
When you submit a session proposal for a conference, you are not
only representing yourself, your
family, your university, the organization that you work for, but also
every other person in your professional career path. It's not just
those in the vicinity around you.
It's including those who have encountered you once
or maybe several
times on your career path. Being a
speaker at any conference requires lots
of time and preparation.
I am now in the
14th year at my current job, and the best
advice I can give to
anyone
thinking
about presenting at
a conference is to
just tell your story.
Whatever the topic
may be, you are the
storyteller. Keep in

| O C T O B E R 2 0 1 8 | W W W. PA R K S A N D R E C R E AT I O N . O R G

mind that your goal is for everyone
to leave your session with some information that either offers them
new insight or will help them do
their job better. Also, remember to
practice when preparing your presentation. Enlist co-workers, family
and/or friends to listen to and offer
feedback about your presentation.
Lastly, presenting at conference
is the easiest way to get your name
out there and expand your professional circle. Part of being successful in your career is being known
and respected by your colleagues
- networking and communicating through conference platforms
is a true definition of a win-win
situation.
So, consider being a part of advancing our field. NRPA and the
NRPA Annual Conference Program Committee invites all interested speakers to submit education session proposals for the 2019
NRPA Annual Conference. We
are seeking energetic and engaging speakers and leaders who can
share knowledge, experience and
best-practice techniques related to
the work of parks and recreation.
On Monday, October 29, 2018,
we will begin accepting session
proposals at www.nrpa.org/pro
posals for the 2019 NRPA Annual
Conference, which will be held in
Baltimore, Maryland, September
24-26.
Katrina Coots Ward is the Assistant
Department Director of Recreation for East
Baton Rouge Recreation & Park
Commission (kcoots@brec.org).

October 2018 - Parks & Recreation

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of October 2018 - Parks & Recreation