News

Inside you will find great articles from your colleagues and other technical professionals, as well as fantastic products and services advertised by many of our great area vendors (who, by the way, ALSO support many of our upcoming events and annual conference).  Click the picture to link directly to the magazine, or better yet visit our Magazine page on the website and view this issue plus past issues, AND find out how your article can be featured in an upcoming edition. 

Remember, you must login to view member benefits pages.  You can do that in the top right hand corner of the page.  If you don't have a password, please take 30 seconds to hit the "forgot password" button and you will be prompted to enter your email address - a new password will be sent to you right away!

The Summer edition of the magazine will release the first week in May.  The deadline for submittals to Liz Langenbach is March 2nd.  Visit the Magazine page on the website for more details on file formats accepted.

Volunteer Clean-up 8:00 a.m. to Noon:

Join REI volunteers at the North Mountain Visitor Center for a celebration of places we love to recreate in! Help with a clean up around the NMV Center, parking lots and popular trails. We also have paint to re-paint the red fire lanes in the parking lot, so wear old clothing! Be sure to wear sturdy shoes, bring work gloves, wear protective clothing and a hat. Bring your own water and snacks although the NM Visitor Center will have water and snacks available to purchase.

Please call the center for more information: 602-335-1962

Coffee House Event and Volunteer Clean-Up Flyer

Dear Colleagues:
 
The Maricopa Association of Governments (MAG) is excited to announce registration is open for Planning for the Next 100 Years, an event sponsored as part of the MAG Municipal Aging Services Project. The goal of the project is to help redefine how the needs of people aged 65 years plus will be met in the future. The purpose of this FREE event is to bring together the national and local best practices to respond to needs and priorities identified by local leaders and stakeholders. Please join residents and community representatives, local governments, nonprofit agencies, and faith-based organizations as we plan for the next 100 years on:
 
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Registration: 8:00-8:30 a.m.
Event: 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Phoenix Convention Center
North Building
 
A free light breakfast and lunch will be provided at this event. Registration is required by February 8, 2012 by submitting the attached form to Rachel Brito at rbrito@azmag.gov, fax to (602) 254-6490, or mail to 302 North 1st Avenue, Suite 300, Phoenix, AZ 85003. A description of the workshops is available in the attachment.
 
Thank you for your support of this important work. Your insights and expertise are needed to make sure the region is realizing the full potential of all residents. Many thanks to the Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust for making the MAG Municipal Aging Services Project possible.
 
Please contact me or Rachel with any questions at (602) 254-6300.
 
Thank you-
 
Amy
 
Amy St. Peter, MPA
Human Services and Special Projects Manager
Maricopa Association of Governments
302 North 1st Avenue #300
Phoenix, Arizona
Phone: (602) 452-5049
Fax: (602) 254-6490
Email: astpeter@azmag.gov

If you are like me, I have picked up additional work load that has been very demanding of my time and made it more difficult to volunteer for things not directly related to my responsibilities.  But here is an opportunity to invest back into your profession and our future leaders in the park and recreation field.

APRA has been distributing information about an upcoming professional development opportunity entitled the Emerging Leaders Workshop.  There are two trainings currently being planned and one of those is scheduled.  The training is scheduled for Friday, February 17 from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. in Chandler  (Environmental Education Center at Veterans Oasis Park; 4050 East Chandler Heights Road; Chandler, AZ 85249), and the second training is currently being planned in early May at Tucson.  We have several college students whose area of study is parks and recreation that have stated interest in attending this workshop to learn from the professional leaders throughout our state.  I am asking that your agency help sponsor and fund the registration fee for one of the these students, and send one of your professional staff to help mentor and communicate their leadership skills and information about your organization.  So for less than $100, you are giving back to your professional organization; you are growing your staff; you can acquire 0.4 CEUs toward your professional certification; and your investment back to APRA is significant.  Please consider sponsoring a student and encourage your staff to attend . . . . better yet if you can afford the time, attend yourself and share your expertise with tomorrow’s leaders.

If I can be of further assistance:

Kirk Haines, CPRP, MPA, and your APRA Administrator’s Branch Chair
City of Peoria, Parks Manager
Community Services Department
9875 North 85th Avenue
Peoria, AZ 85345
(623) 773-7120

Our next Administrator’s Branch meeting is scheduled:

January 12, 2012 from 11:00 AM - 12:30 PM
City of Avondale - Avondale City Hall / Sonoran Room (1st Floor Lobby)
11465 W. Civic Center Drive, Avondale, AZ 85323
 
If you are unable to attend this meeting, we are scheduling a series of meetings in your region of the state throughout the year.  I hope you can attend one of the meetings in  your [geographic] area.

Dear APRA Professional:

Join us in exploring the history and benefits of park development at a
screening of the documentary "Olmsted and America's Urban Parks" on January
12, 2012.

A documentary on the urban park development movement titled "Olmsted and
America's Urban Parks" will be the subject of a free, public screening at
Civic Space Park's A.E. England Building, 424 N. Central Ave., on Jan. 12.
Doors open at 5:30 p.m. with a reception and refreshments; program begins
at 6:30 p.m.

The documentary explores the park architecture of Frederick Law Olmsted and
the evolution and history of urban park development in the United States in
the 18th and 19th centuries. The event will also feature the TED talk short
video by artist Janet Echelman about her work, including Civic Space Park's
signature art piece, "Her Secret Is Patience."

Viewers also will be able to meet one of the filmmakers of the Olmsted
documentary, Rebecca Messner, and participate in a short presentation and
discussion on the local and national Red Field to Green Fields initiative
to convert economically depressed "red" private property (residential,
commercial and industrial) into public park property "green."

The screening is a presentation of No Festival Required's Building
Community Cinema series with the support of the Speedwell Foundation, the
City Parks Alliance, Arizona State University, Butler Housing Company,
Phoenix Community Alliance, Phoenix Parks Foundation and the City of
Phoenix.

Please RSVP to dolores.o'dell@phoenix.gov or phone number 602 495-5215.

James Burke, Acting Director
City of Phoenix
Parks and Recreation Department
200 W. Washington St, 16th Floor
Phoenix, AZ 85003-1611
(602) 262-4986 / TTY (602) 262-6713

Two upcoming events that have potential to help further parks and recreation in Arizona in the years to come.

Environmental Day at the Capitol on January 31, 2012

Arizona State Parks Advocacy Day 2012 on February 21, 2012

Congratulations to Judy Weiss, Coconino County, and Marc Heirshberg, City of Mesa, on being the first professionals from Arizona to obtain the Certified Parks and Recreation Executive (CPRE) certification.

Over 60 Park and Recreation Professionals sat for the new Certified Park and Recreation Executive certification examination during the 2011 Atlanta Congress.  Of the 62 candidates, 52 professionals passed the examination and received the honor of being one of the first professionals to obtain the certification.  The certification registry is in the process of being updated to include both individuals with the CPRP and the CPRE certification.  I know many states have already begun to recognize these individuals and their accomplishments; for your convenience a list of the first group of CPREs, along with their city and state, is attached to this email.  

A few notes regarding the CPRE certification:

• The examination consists of 150 questions (125 scored and 25 pre-test), candidates have 3 hours to complete the exam.
• The pass rate at the Congress testing was 83.8%  and a passing score requires 97 correct questions out of 125 scored
• Starting March 1, 2012, the examination will be offered as a computer-based examination in local testing sites, similar to the CPRP exam.
• Once individuals have achieved the CPRE certification they will no longer maintain a CPRP certification.
• The renewal requirement is 3.0 CEUs that must fall within the CPRE Renewal Core Competencies (see attached list) or as Professional Service Experience points (up to 1.5).

Check out the latest Trailblazer newsletter for exciting news, information and upcoming events!

Dear APRA Members:

My name is Edward Franklin and I am a faculty member in the Department of Agricultural Education at the University of Arizona. I am conducting a research study to develop a list of technical and personal skills needed by high school graduates for entry-level careers in the turf-grass management industry. I am recruiting members from various segments of the turf-grass management industry in Arizona: golf course supts., athletic field complex managers/supervisors, parks & recreation department managers/supervisors, turf growers, and turf-grass researchers. These selected individuals will serve as members of an “Expert Panel”. The expert panel will participate in three-rounds of the survey study. Each round will consist of completing an online survey questionnaire and will be posted for two weeks. After the first round questionnaires have been received and analyzed, the expert panel will be asked to review the information compiled from the first round and determine the level of importance of each item (second round). During the third round, the expert panel will once again review the results of the previous round, and indicate a level of agreement. The goal is reach a target percentage of agreement among all members of the panel. The entire process will take from six to eight weeks to complete. All members of the expert panel may complete online questionnaires from the convenience of their own computers; all they need is a valid email address and Internet capability.

The results of this study will help the faculty in the Department of Agricultural Education to develop a list of field-based technical and social skills needed by high school graduates to obtain entry-level careers in the turf-grass management industry in Arizona. This information will be shared with our states’ high school agriscience instructors (Arizona Agriculture Teacher’s Association – AATA), and will be used to train undergraduate students preparing for careers as future high school agriscience instructors.

I have attached a letter describing our study for your reference. If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to contact me either by email (eafrank@ag.arizona.edu) or by phone at (520) 940-3718.

Thank you for your assistance.

Respectfully,

Edward A. Franklin

Edward A. Franklin, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Agricultural Education
Coordinator of Agricultural Technology Management
Department of Agricultural Education
College of Agriculture & Life Sciences (CALS)
1110 E. South Campus Dr., Saguaro Hall 205
University of Arizona
Tucson, AZ 85721-210033

Dept Tel (520) 621-1523
Dept Fax (520) 621-9889
Dept Cell (520) 940-3718
eafrank@ag.arizona.edu