MRPA Leadership Workshop

experience I had gained, I was able to then be promoted to the interim parks and recreation director and then ultimately went through the interview process to obtain the parks and recreation director position. I am very lucky to work beside some of the best parks and recreation professionals at the City of Otsego. I also owe Ross Demant, the MRPA past president, a debt of gratitude. Ross was my mentor and close friend. Surprisingly, he taught me career and life lessons that I will partially use for years to come.”

Jacobs has been involved in the MRPA since 2019 when he was asked to be the logistics committee chair for the MRPA Annual Conference in 2020. He states, “As we all know 2020 was anything but a normal year. The one good thing is the annual conference committee bonded together as a family to overcome the adversity to offer a virtual conference.”

He adds, “In late 2021 we were happy to rally the 2020 committee (mostly) to put together an outstanding MRPA Annual Conference in 2022 at Cragun’s Resort and Conference Center. In 2022, I was fortunate enough to be the annual conference committee chair alongside Chelsea Swenhaugen. We were proud of all the work that our amazing committee did to put on the smashing success of the annual conference.”

Jacobs is also an active member in the parks maintenance and operations network and the awards committee. “MRPA is a great organization that provides training and networking opportunities,” he states. “I have met so many incredible people and made lifelong friends. I can pick up the phone and call anywhere in the state to talk about parks, programming, and the various issues all of us professionals face.”

Over 60 members were in attendance at the MRPA Leadership Workshop, which was held December 6, 2022. National speaker Annie Frisoli discussed the art of conversation on a deep level and looked at how trust, active listening, values, questioning, and feedback all impact our daily communication. MRPA extends a warm thank you to the leadership development network chairs Aimee Peterson from Maple Grove Parks and Recreation, and Andrew Pimental from Eagan Parks and Recreation, for designing this workshop. Also thank you to Golden Valley Parks and Recreation for hosting, and Minnesota Recreation and Park Foundation, SRF and Stantec for sponsoring this educational workshop.