Let's Talk Parks Podcast: Stories of Purpose-Driven Parks and Recreation Professionals

Marissa sits down with Kate Darcangelis from What the Rec to discuss all things active adults, or as many refer to them as: seniors. Marissa and Kate are both passionate about working with this age group and hope to encourage young and seasoned professionals to give this age group a try.  There are so many benefits to working with this age group, so take a listen!

Learn more about Kate from What the Rec -->> https://whattherecofficial.com/ 

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Connect with Becky on LinkedIn --> https://www.linkedin.com/in/becky-dunlap/

Connect with Marissa on LInkedIn--> https://www.linkedin.com/in/marissa-moravec-cprp/

This week on the podcast, Becky jumps on the mic to talk about how to best utilize your strengths and interests to do more of what you love in your job. While many of our roles in Parks and Recreation allows you to be a "Jack of all Trades" - there can be benefit and opportunities to specialize.  If you've been thinking of narrowing your focus in your career, take a listen and reflect on where this new perspective might be able to take you! 

Join our weekly newsletter -->> https://letstalkparks.com/ 

Follow us on Instagram -->> https://www.instagram.com/lets_talk_parks/ 

Connect with Becky on LinkedIn --> https://www.linkedin.com/in/becky-dunlap/ 

Connect with Marissa on LInkedIn--> https://www.linkedin.com/in/marissa-moravec-cprp/

In this episode, Marissa and Becky share a preview of what's to come for the rest of 2021 - and how we see the field of Parks and Recreation adapting and raising the bar.  

Join our weekly newsletter -->> https://letstalkparks.com/

Follow us on Instagram -->> https://www.instagram.com/lets_talk_parks/

Connect on Becky on LinkedIn --> https://www.linkedin.com/in/becky-dunlap/ 

Connect with Marissa on LInkedIn--> https://www.linkedin.com/in/marissa-moravec-cprp/

Marissa sat down with Corrine Daut, Recreation Coordinator at Raymore Parks and Recreation to discuss the challenges and advantages of hiring entry level staff...and sometimes their parents too.   

This episode came about when Marissa was reading through a thread on the Women in Parks and Recreation Facebook page. The discussion was about interviewing and hiring seasonal staff after their parents had involved themselves in the application process. Even as younger professionals ourselves, we can sometimes have biases against other generations and what comes with them when they apply as our support staff. Not all interactions with parents of our staff has to be negative. It can be to the benefit of the staff member as well as the district for parents to get involved in the hiring process. 

It's in our DNA to want more influence. Especially as Parks & Recreation professionals, we want our voice to be heard.  We want our share our ideas, relay insights from our patrons, and be respected as a leader in our agencies.  

Too often, we wait for a promotion or status to decide that we have *enough* power to influence.  But as Chris Dropinski points out in this week's episode, real power is something that is earned, not given. "Effective influencing is a skill and a very valuable one; power is not a skill, it is a result."  

This means that TODAY we each have an opportunity to influence others.  In fact, we influence all the time.  Everything we do can cause a chain reaction - just imagine the impact you've already made.

Knowing that you already have influence, the key now is to use it for good.  This week's episode is an in-depth conversation around how to influence without alienating others. Enjoy!  

Meet Chris Dropinski: Her current role as co-owner and Senior Principal at GreenPlay, spanning 20 years, builds on a strong foundation of 24 years of Parks and Recreation administration with nearly half of that as Director of the City of Boulder, Colorado, Parks and Recreation Department.  Armed with a teaching degree in addition to her P&R Administration degree, Chris has passionately helped move our profession forward, taking advantage of opportunities to serve in leadership and faculty positions ranging from non-profits and foundations, to the NRPA Rocky Mountain Revenue and Management School, and the National Association of Park Foundations.

As a Certified Parks and Recreation Executive, a fellow of the American Academy for Park and Recreation Administration, and experienced consultant she continues to help organizations remain relevant in our ever-changing environment.  Living in Colorado with her husband Mike is extraordinary, and motherhood has been the joy of her life.

When you work in local government, you are bound to run into complaints and less-than-positive feedback. That's just part of the territory as a Parks and Recreation professional. But if you're someone who truly cares, It can be hard not to personalize their comments. In this episode, I go over 6 tips around how to overcome public complaints so that you can use them as motivation and learning experiences.

In this episode, Marissa and Becky discuss how we have found success in moving ideas forward in the field of Parks and Rec.  We talk about the barriers of red tape, the surprising pros and cons of it, and how to move past it.  We hope this episode is useful if you've been wanting to make progress on an idea or program, but haven't made traction.  Sometimes just changing your mindset can give you new energy and perspectives to keep going. 

It seems I've been getting more questions about being a consultant in the field, so in this episode I talk about why you might consider moving into a consultant role.  As a project consultant for GreenPlay LLC for the last five years, I feel very fortunate to work for a company that provides a great and supportive workplace culture. Although every role is different, I wanted to share my own personal experience so you can see if it might be a good fit for you. 

Today I want to talk about something that I think is really important, but I couldn't really find anyone talking about this at all. Its the idea that sometimes it's ok to be disengaged at work. As a supervisor, you never want your employees to disengage. But if you are a high achiever, intentionally disengaging can be a good thing. It can prevent you from burning out. It can prevent you from making irrational decisions.It can prevent you from resenting your job. 

Engagement has to do with how motivated you are at work. Apparently only 13% of employees are engaged.  When you are engaged, you are excited to come to work. You are full of ideas, of energy, of enthusiasm. You are moving your organization forward. You are making valuable contributions. You are aware of the big picture, and you are motivated every day to help get your organization to a better place.  

That means 87% of employees are disengaged. Many of our listeners are highly engaged employees. After all, they are listening to a podcast about the field. So knowing that you are usually really engaged, I want to recognize that we all have seasons of motivation, right? Some of us experience waves of energy and enthusiasm for our work on a weekly, monthly, or annual cycle. If you take time to notice your patterns, your moods, or your work output, you will find that it goes in cycles. You can't be ON all of the time. You are not a machine.  So knowing this, you can know that trying to be engaged ALL of the time is actually a recipe for burnout.

Raise your hand if you've ever completed a facility or park inspection, noticed a safety hazard, or budgeted for improvements in your facility. If you're in the field of parks and recreation; likely you've been involved in the maintenance of your parks or facilities in one way or another. Marissa sits down with Jeff Reinhard, retired Director of Parks and Planning from the Gurnee Park District to talk about the importance of maintaining our spaces. Learn about how far our maintenance departments have come over the last 40 years and the technology they use to maintain our spaces. Get to know about what our parks crews work on during different seasons. Explore how you can become more involved in parks and planning at your agency, despite your current role.

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Whew, we made it!   In this episode, Anthony and Becky sit down to reflect back on 2020 and think about the future of this next year.  As his last year of being a young professional, Anthony talks through some of his highlights as he moves on to the next stage in his career.  Becky talks about the transition between her passion project and making it into something bigger with Let's Talk Parks.   Enjoy this reflection of 2020!

Wishing you all the best in 2021!

Marissa and Becky sit down to discuss how we survived this year as working moms.  

We discuss what it was like to navigate a new normal of virtual learning, working from home, and transitioning back into the office.  

If you're a woman working in parks and recreation, how have you had to adapt?  

How did your views on goal setting, work/life balance, and mental health change this past year?

That's exactly what we discuss, plus more, on this episode of Let's Talk Parks.

All agencies, public, private, and nonprofit have been negatively effected by the Coronavirus. There is not one agency or person who will not feel the effects. There is NO waiting to go back to the way it was. 

Tom O'Rourke is an experienced Park and Recreation Professional with over 40 years experience managing the people who manage great Parks and Rec agencies. Current Professor of Practice at Clemson University specializing in helping graduate students, (and some undergraduate,) understand the Innovative, Creative, and Entrepreneurial skills necessary to sustain the Park and Recreation profession into the future. Connect with him online --> https://www.linkedin.com/in/tom-o-rourke-8255bb6/

In this episode, Atuya and Anthony sit down to talk about how as park and recreation professionals, we have impact the lives in the communities we serve on a daily basis and create lifelong memories.  It is often said that we work so that others can play!  With that said, it is extremely important that park and recreation professionals prioritize their professional development and utilize various tools that helps to keep one connect to their why.

Mr. Atuya O. Cornwell is a certified park and recreation professional with over 15 years of experience. Atuya is an active member of NRPA and is passionate about connecting young professionals with professional development tools and opportunities. He is also the 2015 recipient of NRPA’s Robert W. Crawford Young Professional Award.   Atuya has served on NRPA’s Program Committee, Young Professional Network Leadership Team and the Public Policy Committee.  Atuya has presented at the NRPA Annual Conference the last three years, where his ‘What’s Your Awesome Sauce?!?’ session received great reviews.Atuya is the proud son of a former Paralympic athlete and credits his father as the reason for his passion for sports and recreation.