September 2019 - Parks & Recreation - 85

Sarah Lisiecki, BCI Burke
Marketing Communications and
Education Specialist
" Play is an important part of development in all areas, from physical to
social to emotional. Children need
a space to play that fosters all these
types of development and provides a
comfortable place for rest, intergenerational engagement and community
gathering. Providing these places is
our passion and our mission. Participating in Parks Build Community
allows us to leave a place we all travel
to more playful and developmentally
rich for years to come. It's the type of
impact we strive to provide with every
project. Parks and recreation spaces
impact the health, happiness and engagement of communities by creating
a space for everyone to gather, move,
play and socialize. People seek to
be outdoors in a place that connects
them to each other and their community. As a society, we are becoming less healthy, more depressed and
anxious, and less connected. While
the fix is multifaceted, play and parks
are certainly part of the solution.
And, play is fun and helps children
learn and develop the necessary skills
that transcend the playground, while
breaking down barriers that may exist
in other areas of life. Parks create a
place for everyone to thrive, grow and
develop together. "
Kara Oughton, GARED Holdings
Marketing Manager
" GARED is an advocate for rebuilding communities and rejuvenating play for people of all ages.
Our ongoing mission is to provide
sports equipment solutions to
renovate and restore community
spaces, such as Catherine Street

Park in Baltimore. On this project,
GARED is pleased to partner, once
again, with NRPA, which shares
our passion for play and the importance of sports and recreation
in communities across the country. We believe parks are crucial in
several ways. They foster a sense
of togetherness and inclusion for
the community, and for individual
families to gather and enjoy each
other through recreational activities. Parks are also important for
promoting physical well-being for
people of all ages through hiking
trails and paths, playgrounds, recreational facilities, water activities
or sports leagues. In addition, parks
are amazing places for wildlife habitat to flourish, allowing families to
connect with and learn more about
nature and animal species. "
Bob Simonsen, R.J. Thomas Mfg./
Pilot Rock Marketing Manager
" We have participated in three PBC
programs and enjoy being part of a
larger project to improve park facilities for areas in need. We appreciate
having some of our Pilot Rock site
amenities included. It's kind of a " real
life " trade show exhibit with the other
brands and equipment on display for
people to use. All we have to do is look
locally to see how important parks are
to a community, and how enthusiastically people will support them. Our
hometown of Cherokee, Iowa, has
embarked on a project, led by volunteers, to greatly expand our trails system and parkland. In just a short time,
they've raised the money with donations and grants to purchase land.
There is much local participation that
will design and furnish the new trails
in the next year. The city has also suf-

fered three floods in the last year that
laid waste to two very popular park
areas. City funds are limited, but local groups have stepped up to raise
the money needed to relocate the disk
golf course and other amenities. And,
many people are involved in the discussion of how best to replace these
two flooded areas with new parklands. All these efforts began with the
people of Cherokee wanting to improve their park facilities. Even small
towns can accomplish great things. "
Byron Carroll, Vice President of
Product Management at ACTIVE
Network
" ACTIVE has spent many years
providing technology solutions, IT
and digital marketing services to
the parks and recreation industry.
We've been fortunate to witness the
selfless passion and commitment
the people of parks have for building strong, equitable communities.
Our team at ACTIVE is constantly
inspired by this dedication to public
service and its immeasurable impact.
So, when we learned about this project, we jumped at the opportunity
to enable those who already give
so much to bettering other people's
lives. ACTIVE has always supported
organizations that share our mission
of making the world a more active
place, but this is our first year being
involved in the Parks Build Community project. The NRPA pillars and
ACTIVE's mission are so closely

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Parks & Recreation

September 2019 - Parks & Recreation

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