September 2013 - Parks & Recreation - 62

Speed Sessions Highlights

he 2013 Congress and Exposition will feature a new series of quick, lively and innovative sessions designed to
energize and inspire conference attendees. Make sure you join us in Houston, and don't miss the 2013 Congress
Speed Sessions!
NRPA collected more than 120 proposals from across the country, and then asked our members to vote on which
sessions should be presented at Congress. From cool, creative marketing and program ideas to leadership and telling the
park and recreation story, the members picked 40 of the most exciting, fun and motivational sessions to be presented in
Houston. Check out the highlighted titles and speakers below, and see the entire list at www.nrpa.org/Congress2013/
speedsessions. See you in Houston!

All sessions will be held at the George R. Brown Convention Center on October 9.
9:30-9:55 a.m.
Session 2102
Building Loyal Customers...
One Minute at a Time
Room: 310ADBE
Presenter: Neelay Bhatt, Vice President
of Planning and Facilities, PROS Consulting LLC, Indianapolis, Indiana
Every agency, department or individual agrees on the importance of
customer service. Yet, few are able
to allocate adequate resources to do
it right. Learn how to change your
customer-service culture and convert
window shoppers to participants, participants to loyal customers and loyal
customers to advocates - all by simply investing one minute at a time.
Session 2105
Coaching Your Staff
Room: 330AB
Presenter: David Carter, President
and CEO, Carter Consulting Group,
Fuquay-Varina, North Carolina
Every interaction you have with a
staff member allows you an opportunity to " coach " them in their performance. Coaching is the art of asking
intelligent, open and curiosity-based
questions in a way that allows the staff

Parks & Recreation

member to examine options for a solution that in turn is generated by the employee. The answer always lies within
the individual. " Train for competence,
coach for performance. " Quickly learn
some powerful techniques.
Session 2108
Get Families Active on a $10 Budget
Room: 320CF
Presenter: Sarah Brooks, Recreation and
Events Coordinator, Town of Palisade,
Colorado
Discover great ways to get youth and
families active with methods that are
inexpensive for recreation professionals to offer in their parks and facilities
and in turn affordable to the consumer. You can expect to be engaged,
giving both the brain and the heart a
little workout.
Session 2110
Importance of Parks and Recreation
in Major Development Projects
Room: 361ABC
Presenter: Rick Horrow, President, Horrow Sports Ventures, Miami, Florida
El Paso residents recently voted to
spend $473 million to redevelop the
city. The group of projects receiving the most money? Parks and rec-

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reation, with $195 million. While
most of the conversations are about
the new baseball stadium and arena,
the bonds never would have been approved without significant park and
recreation investments. The key to
major development in the new millennium: making sure parks and recreation are a focal point.
Session 2117
Success Strategies for Building
Healthy Communities
Room: 351BE
Presenter: Cindy Heath, Executive Director, GP RED, Plainfield, New Hampshire
Around the country, park and recreation agencies are implementing
program, policy and environmental
changes to promote health and wellness in their communities. Learn
about the most successful strategies,
including park prescriptions, funding
for greenway and trail development,
creative multisector partnerships,
bicycling and walking audits, and
health impact assessments.
Session 2119
The Art of Innovation: Parks and
Recreation Edition
Room: 310CF

September 2013 - Parks & Recreation

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