January 2013 - Parks & Recreation - 55

VOLUNTEER SPOTLIGHT

Matt Enoch

S COMMUNITY PROGRAM coordinator
for Fort Knox, Kentucky's Family and Morale, Welfare, and Recreation services, Matt
Enoch oversees sports, ﬁtness, aquatics, recreation
programs, and special events for the Army base, much
like many of his fellow NRPA members who work for
non-military communities. However, his career experience, spanning military, federal, state, and university recreation agencies, enables him to lead NRPA's
Armed Forces Network, and his expertise helps him
provide the military viewpoint to the Commission for the Accreditation of Park
and Recreation Agencies (CAPRA) and the National Certiﬁcation Board. Although
a civilian, Enoch is one of the most prominent supporters of military recreation
and cheerfully contributes to several vital member experiences with NRPA.
What are some of the challenges
that come with working for a
military department?
Actually, an Army installation is very
much like an average city. What separates us from recreation departments
" outside the gate " is our requirement
to adapt programs and services to
meet the needs of a very dynamic
and transient community. When a
signiﬁcant portion of our population
deploys for combat, we sharpen our
focus on spouses and children who
are left here without husbands, wives,
mothers, or fathers. When soldiers
come home, we shift our resources
to address the multitude of challenges that face the returning warﬁghter.
For example, our Warrior Adventure
Quest program puts recently returned
soldiers through high-adrenaline
outdoor recreation programs. This
helps meet the soldier's need for excitement in a managed way and has
proved to lessen the incidents of unsafe behavior soldiers engage in to
get that " rush " they become used to
while deployed.

When did you start volunteering
with NRPA's different committees
and networks?
I led Fort Knox through its initial
CAPRA accreditation in 2007 and did
the same at U.S. Army Garrison Hawaii
in 2009. In 2010, I was fortunate to get
the opportunity to serve as a CAPRA
commissioner representing the Armed
Forces Recreation Network (AFRN).
What changes do you think you
may want to implement in your
term of leadership for the Armed
Forces Recreation Network?
We must continue to identify the training and resources our military recreation professionals want and need, and
deliver those in a manner consistent
with new ﬁscal realities. We are going
to have to serve our professionals where
they are through media such as webinars and newsletters. Concurrently,
we will be working hard to convince
the leadership of our service branches that AFRN training is essential to a
quality workforce and that travel and
training funding should be provided

for opportunities such as the annual
Professional Training Institute.
What is your role with CAPRA and
the National Certiﬁcation Board?
I bring the military perspective to
CAPRA and NCB processes and standards, and I promote the beneﬁts of both
to leaders and ﬁeld personnel with all
service branches around the world. My
charge is to get more military agencies
accredited and more military recreation
professionals certiﬁed. If I am successful, we will have better recreation personnel, programs, and services for our
service members and their families.
What motivates your involvement
with these different volunteer
networks within NRPA?
I feel very, very strongly about the power of recreation in beneﬁting people.
I feel as strongly that those entrusted
with providing recreation programs
and services should be competent and
professional. We (professionals in the
ﬁeld) need the NRPA and it needs us. I
am willing and happy to serve our profession in any way I can.
Interview by Danielle Taylor, Associate
Editor, Parks & Recreation (dtaylor@nrpa.
org).

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January 2013 - Parks & Recreation

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