News

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

APRA members can visit the "Professional Development" section of the website and view the latest edition of the APRA Magazine!  Congratulations to the City of Mesa - Celebrating 75 Years of Parks and Recreation!  Read stories like this one highlighting best practices in communities, plus many more beneficial articles related to our field.  Additionally, please don't forget to read about the various vendors and products advertised in our magazine.  They are the reason this publication is possible at no cost to our membership!

The next deadline for submittals is just around the corner - December 2nd!  Please send articles, photos, art to llangenbach@ajcity.net.  What makes the magazine a success is your input - your ideas, your experiences and your creativity. Articles of approximately 1,000 words or less may be submitted for publication. Please consider sharing your experiences, research, book reviews and other noteworthy information with more than 1,400 readers from around the country. 

The Inaugural APRA Arizona Salsa Festival held on Saturday, November 5, in Chandler, Arizona, was a great hit! Thanks to all the volunteers and APRA members that came out to lend a hand.

And the winners are: Eric Gerhne (M-1) for Best Mild and Best Overall. He took home a $1,500 bounty for his efforts! Lance Anthony's Team (H-4) won for Best Hot and Debra Donald (U-5) for most unusual.  What a great day with just under 3,200 people in attendance!

More pictures from the event will be up soon!

Hello Parks and Recreation Professionals!

The inaugural Arizona Salsa Festival is just around the corner...as in it's next Saturday!

We still need about 5 more volunteers to help from 7am to 2pm on the event day, Saturday, November 5th. Please contact event chair, Marty McDonald at 480-236-6394 or via email at arizonasalsafest@gmail.com

Also, if you know of any non-food vendors that could be interested in the event, please encourage them to visit:  www.azpra.org to download a vendor registration form today.

Finally, we have 25 salsa contestants in the contest which is a great turnout! We have space for a few more so if you know anyone who makes great salsa and likes to win money then tell them to sign up today!!

Don't forget: the Arizona Salsa Festival is on Saturday, November 5th from 12pm to 6pm at Tumbleweed Park in Chandler.

Sincerely,

Marty McDonald
Arizona Salsa Festival
Cell: 480-236-6394

In tough times, the following may be just what you are looking for to be more productive!  Budget cuts are short term responses.  Training is long lasting!  Training is like teaching a man to fish…he can then be more productive because he sees a much larger picture and can reduce overall costs by feeding himself!

You can save money by sending your staff to appropriate training!

In the course of our every day operations, we need to look at ways to become more productive.  Many times, in order to be more productive, we need a change of venue, or change in perspective.  What that may be is to look at additional training for staff to help them be more productive.

The National Executive Development School (NEDS), being held in Albuquerque, NM December 4-7, 2011 is one of those relevant training opportunities that just may help you or your staff in becoming more productive, which in the long run will help to save your operation money…without having to cut the budget.  It has provided assistance in this manner for twenty years to Departments and individuals from all over the United States…and is still going strong!

NEDS is a two (2) year format with an Executive Track third year that focuses on a particular topic of interest for the profession.  Year One and Year Two have some of the best professionals in the country who will be presenting specifically on management and leadership issues.  The Executive Track will focus on “Dollars and Sense – Selling the Value of Our Industry” with one of the top ranked researchers in this area along with others who have directly been involved and/or benefited from this research!  We have known for years that parks, recreation, natural resources and leisure benefits our communities, but we now have a means to show our communities the impact that we have where we live.  It is no longer guesswork!

Personally, I always ask to keep my travel budgets, not necessarily for me, but for my staff, at an appropriate level where I can send staff as needed to various trainings, where ever it may be.  If the needed training is across state lines, then that is where my people need to be and I will make the effort to get them there.  At times, it is necessary to fight for this line item.  However, my staff know that I am fighting for them to help our overall operation to becoming more productive.

As a leader in your community, why not make the effort to send just one (1) staff person to NEDS this year.  The price is extremely affordable for the type of training provided…and this includes both the training and the lodging.  Most meal functions are included in the registration.  We have negotiated the best prices for you.  All you have to do is to take advantage of the opportunity!

You can see the  NEDS brochure at our State Association website at www.nmrpa.org .  If you have any questions, you can contact me directly.  I look forward to seeing you in Albuquerque in December!

If you could pass this along to others that might be interested, it would be appreciated!

Kim Elliott, CPRP, Director
Parks and Recreation
City of Roswell
P.O. Drawer 1838
1101 W. Fourth St.
Roswell, NM  88202
575.624.6720  (W)
575.624.6889  (FAX)
575.910.5043  (Cell)
kim.elliott@qwestoffice.net

Maintenance Management School

CPSC Ruling Upends Drain Requirements

By Rebecca Robledo | 9.28.2011

The Consumer Product Safety Commission has voted to restrict allowances given to unblockable drain covers in the federal pool and spa safety law.

Today, CPSC's voting commissioners decided to change the definition of an unblockable drain to require that the sump, in addition to the drain cover, measure more than 18 by 23 inches and meet certain other testing criteria. The measure passed 3 to 2, in what some say was a predetermined outcome.

The decision is retroactive, so pools that were brought into VGBA compliance with the installation of an unblockable-sized cover over a single, blockable-sized drain will have be split, supplemented with a secondary system, or otherwise treated like a single outlet.

While the agency originally considered setting a compliance date of May 28, 2012, it has instead declared a 60-day public-comment period for affected parties to provide input on a feasible deadline.

This latest episode attached to the first federal pool and spa safety law began in April 2010, when the Commission decided a drain can be considered unblockable if its cover complies with the VGB Act, regardless of sump size. This measure proved controversial. It spurred immediate push-back and a letter-writing campaign from safety advocates, as well as some politicians and industry professionals concerned that unblockable drains would become unsafe if their covers came off and exposed a smaller sump.

The CPSC is comprised of five commissioners - two Republicans, two Democrats and a chairman appointed by the US President. Two of the three Democrats - Chairman Inez Tenenbaum and Thomas Moore - opposed last year's ruling. The two Republicans - Anne Northup and Nancy Nord - voted for it.

The only Democrat to approve last year's interpretation, Robert Adler, was the primary target of the letter-writing campaign and other protest. After receiving input from parties on both sides of the question, Adler had a change of heart and initiated the revote. In early September, with two weeks' notice, the agency announced the meeting but did not invite public comment.

The two Republican voting members publicly protested the revote. While it was originally scheduled to take place Sept. 21, one of the Republican members - Nord - exercised the right all commissioners have to move the hearing back a week, to today. Both she and Northup voted against the move.

"Certainly Anne's disappointed in the outcome of the vote," said Mark Fellin, a spokesperson for Northup. "We knew it was coming, but I think the entire time we had hoped that the facts would present themselves and we would make a rule based on those facts. ... All the facts that we've received have been that the current method was ... safe and where we're going forward now is actually going to create more problems in the future."

Look for additional coverage of this issue in Pool & Spa News and on www.poolspanews.com

Learn Effective Maintenance Management Techniques

January 29 - February 3, 2012 | Oglebay Resort | Wheeling, WV

“Wish I had this training three years ago! A very good heads up for new or prospective supervisors, their duties and roles and what is expected of them.”
-Former MMS student

Attend an intense five-day learning experience that is tailored to the needs of park, recreation, and conservation personnel who manage maintenance programs. This program has over 30 years of service to the park and recreation profession.

The two year school curriculum includes:

Maintenance and Operating/Policy Development	Planning and Organizing a Maintenance Program
Supervising Maintenance Personnel	Maintenance and Operating Challenges
Facility and Structure Maintenance	Grounds Maintenance
Maintenance of Vehicles and Equipment	Site Amenity Maintenance

Space is Limited – Register Today!

This program is conducted by the Departments of Parks, Recreation, and Tourism Management at North Carolina State University; Oglebay National Training Center, and the National Recreation and Park Association.

NPRA and the National Certification Board are excited to announce the launch of a new mastery level certification - Certified Park and Recreation Executive (CPRE).
Demonstrate your advanced knowledge of parks and recreation with this new certification designed to be achieved by individuals employed in the recreation, park resources, and leisure services profession at mid to upper manager level.
For more information go to the CPRE website.

Congratulations to Mike Holste, City of Mesa, on being elected 2012 APRA Vice President., Jessica Compton, City of Show Low, on being elected East Regional Representative and P.J. Conover, City of Chandler, on being elected West Regional Representative.

Thank you to all those that took the time to vote.