December 2009 - Parks & Recreation - 52

N R PA I n A ct i o n

Congress in Review

They came, they learned, and they played in Salt Lake City

hen N R PA selected
Sa lt L a ke Cit y severa l
years ago as site of its annual Congress in October, little did the
organizers know of the " Great Recession " that would be pummeling municipal budgets around the country. That
many Congress regulars might balk at
attending the three-day event became a
concern as show time approached. However, a solid turn-out of nearly 6,000 park
professionals and advocates made the
45th edition of Congress a resounding
success. While a testament to the new
benefits provided attendees (such as
complimentary meals each day), Congress 2009 more importantly bore out
the importance of networking and education that attendees assign the event.
The theme, " Looking to the Future, "
permeated nearly every facet of the
event held at the Salt Center Convention
Center.
NRPA chair Lois Finkelman delivered
the remarks opening Congress. Among
other topics, Finkelman discussed goals
for the NRPA Board of Directors and her
thoughts on the re-structured board.
" This Congress will be the last for the
Board of Trustees as we know it, " Finkelman said. " In past years, the board
consisted of 70 Trustees. That may have
been a workable number a generation
ago when demands on the organization
didn't seem as rapid-fire. But in the era of
the World Wide Web, more and more is
happening so fast that the board needs to
be able to act quickly and effectively. After much study and consideration, it was

Expect a radically different future
15 years from now-from healthcare
to sports, futurist Jim Carroll told
the opening session.

agreed to trim the board in order to better navigate this changed environment. "
As for the coming year, Finkelman
added, " We will continue to find ways to
use our new technology to better serve
members and to increase opportunities

" We will engage the Board of
Directors to take a more active role
in fundraising, in identifying and
securing partnerships and cooperative
relationships and in helping to raise
the visibility of NRPA and the value of
parks, recreation and environmental
conservation, " NRPA chair Lois
Finkelman said.
50 Parks & Recreation

DECEMBER 2009

www.NRPA .ORG

for component groups to interact, share
information and build leadership. We
will engage the Board of Directors to
take a more active role in fundraising, in identifying and securing partnerships and cooperative relationships
and in helping to raise the visibility of
NRPA and the value of parks, recreation
and environmental conservation. With
a significantly smaller number of Board
members, the role of each becomes that
much more important. "
NRPA Chief Executive Officer Barbara Tulipane provided an overview of her
first year heading the association.
" I continue to believe that NRPA must
be fluid and flexible if we are serious
about accomplishing our mission, " Tulipane said in the opening general session. " This means that we must have the
courage to look at ourselves and determine if this is the best way to move forward or consider new ways.
The good news is that we all want
the same thing, so let's agree to give
each other the benefit of the doubt and
get on with it, " Tulipane said. " Let's be
that organization that gets things done,
the organization that is considered
the source for not only the field but the

December 2009 - Parks & Recreation

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