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We Are Parks and Recreation
How CAPRA Learned to Love Zoom and Maintained Continuity in the Wake of COVID-19
By Jennifer Schleining
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It was Friday, March 6, 2020. The CAPRA Commission had just wrapped up a productive retreat at NRPA headquarters in Ashburn, Virginia, when suddenly the conversation quickly shifted to the growing concern about the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) and how it was going to impact NRPA activities, such as the upcoming CAPRA visit season. Commissioners expressed some concerns about what types of travel and physical distancing restrictions agencies were implementing, including some of our site visitors’ agencies. It quickly became clear that the CAPRA Commission, in partnership with NRPA staff, would have to conduct all 2020 CAPRA visits virtually. It was one thing to make that decision — it was another to figure out how that would happen. The CAPRA Commission and NRPA staff had to develop plans very quickly since visits were due to start on March 30.
The Plan
On Thursday, March 12, the CAPRA Commission sent a communication to all 2020 agencies, reviewers and visitors that instructed them to immediately halt travel arrangements for all CAPRA visits; that visits would take place virtually; and that NRPA/CAPRA would be hosting a webinar to discuss details. Positive feedback from the 2020 agencies, reviewers and visitors signaled that the CAPRA community was willing and able to make this transition, providing a much-needed confidence boost for the success of the commission’s plan. Right after sending this communication, NRPA closed its headquarters building, in response to the severity of the pandemic nationwide.
NRPA staff and the CAPRA Commission introduced their plan to 189 attendees during a March 20 webinar. Agencies would be given five days for their visits (Monday to Friday) and NRPA/CAPRA would host the kickoff and wrap up meetings via Zoom during the week. The Visit Teams received the agency self-assessment reports upon their approval, giving the teams the opportunity to start their review right away and compare notes in advance of the scheduled visit. At least seven to 10 days prior to the start of the visit, Visit Chairs provided the agencies with a list of outstanding issues and concerns that they expected the agency would need to address. NRPA/CAPRA provided each team with a Google Drive folder to help them stay organized. Visit Teams could collaborate at the same time on the final visit report and have private conversations about the visit. The agency had access to a designated folder where they could upload additional materials as requested by the Visit Team.
Maria Nardi, director of Miami-Dade County Parks, Recreation and Open Spaces, participates in a virtual CAPRA visit.
The Results
The Visit Teams conducted 37 virtual visits during a 19-week period from March to September. All Visit Teams included at least one first-time visitor. Park and recreation professionals are known for their creativity, and a number of agencies demonstrated that during their virtual visits. A few examples included agencies sending daily videos of specific parks and recreation centers; creating virtual backgrounds highlighting some of the parks and facilities that they described during kickoff meetings for the visit; and sharing images that described and demonstrated the unique culture of each agency.
The Feedback
The CAPRA Commission received positive feedback from staff at many of the agencies that participated in virtual visits during the COVID-19 pandemic. Katie Lockhart, outdoor education and parks manager at Garner (North Carolina) Parks, Recreation and Cultural Resources, says, “I think we may have been the first virtual visit. We could not have asked for a better experience given
the circumstances. [Our Visit Team was] responsive to ideas (like scheduling a full-staff Zoom call, so they could meet our team). They communicated their needs effectively. I feel like we all worked well together, and that made the process pretty painless. Obviously, we all missed out on some of the benefits that come with an in-person visit, but our agency was pleased with how our virtual visit went.” Chris Smith, deputy director of Grapevine (Texas) Parks and Recreation, a newly accredited agency, says, “All things taken into consideration, Grapevine was very honored to be part of the process and is extremely grateful that NRPA and the commission [were] willing to adjust and face the challenge in a brand new way rather than delaying the process. This is an example that reinforces [that] NRPA is willing to evolve and make adjustments as needed to produce the outcome being desired.”
Those on the Visit Team also felt positive about the transition to a virtual process. According to Jill Korsok, director of Orange Community Education and Recreation in Pepper Pike, Ohio, and firsttime visitor, the process with Reston (Virginia) Community Center “went as smoothly as it could have in mid-May. I was fortunate to have two very experienced visitors on my team to offer guidance and reflection on their experiences in previous visits….I was very glad that we were able to make contact with the agency a few days prior to the beginning of our visit to review the information they provided and begin to formulate what we needed to ask them for. They were working under incredibly unusual circumstances with limited access to files, documents, other agency partners, etc., and the extra time was a positive thing for all of us.”
The Future
It has been almost a full year since NRPA and the CAPRA Commission started down this path, and, sadly, the COVID-19 pandemic is still with us. Given both the public health emergency and economic realities, virtual CAPRA visits likely will remain a part of the process for some time to come. Thanks to the professionalism of the CAPRA Commission and Visit Teams, we learned along the way. The collected feedback from everyone involved will ensure the process of accrediting park and recreation agencies will continue to improve in 2021 and beyond.
Jennifer Schleining is NRPA's CAPRA Accreditation Manager (jschleining@nrpa.org).
Congratulations to the Newly Certified Professionals and Executives!
Certified Park and Recreation Professionals (CPRPs) and Certified Park and Recreation Executives (CPREs) represent the individuals in the park and recreation field who have gone above and beyond to provide the essential benefits of parks and recreation in the communities where they work and live.
NRPA would like to recognize those professionals who became newly certified between August 1, 2019 and August 31, 2020. Thank you for taking the next step in your career and for being extraordinary leaders in the field.
NRPA also would like to recognize the National Certification Board; the CPRP and CPRE Certification Committee; and the CPRP Examination Committee, CPRE Examination Committee and Job Analysis Committee volunteers. Your hard work and dedication ensure that NRPA’s certification programs are of the highest standards.
Thank you all for your continued commitment to parks and recreation and for what you do for the profession!
To see the full list of newly certified professionals, visit nrpa. org/2020CertifiedProfessionals.
Gary Haller Leaves Major Legacy in Johnson County, Kansas
By David Markham
Johnson County, Kansas, recently lost a champion of green space and recreation activities who was instrumental in improving quality of life in the county. Johnson County Park and Recreation District (JCPRD) employees have lost a friend.
Former JCPRD Executive Director Gary L. Haller passed away in the early hours of Thursday, December 10, 2020. He had retired from JCPRD in March 2001 after 27 years with the agency, but Haller had remained in touch with many current and former employees.
“Many of you, like me, had the privilege of working with him and seeing his true genius that left lasting impacts on JCPRD and Johnson County, as well as beyond those boundaries,” JCPRD Administration Manager Jo Ann Courtney wrote in an email to staff. “He will not be forgotten, and the Gary L. Haller Trail on the Mill Creek Streamway Park will tell a part of his story to generations to come.”
In June 2002, the 17 miles of the trail she mentions was renamed in honor of Haller. Interpretive signs featuring a portrait of the former director and information about his impact in the field are located near all eight access points to the trail.
“So many of us have been fortunate to have Gary as a friend and mentor,” adds current JCPRD Executive Director Jeff Stewart. “Gary was the father of the streamway park system. If you haven’t already, I hope sometime you will have an opportunity to visit the streamway and stop to read the signage about him.”
“It is so true that we are blessed to have had Gary in our lives,” says former Executive Director Jill Geller, who left JCPRD in September 2019 after more than five years as executive director and 36 years with JCPRD in various capacities. “[Gary] did not just lead an organization — he created a family. I wish we could be together to celebrate his amazing life, but we are for sure together in spirit.”
“Few men, or women for that matter, shaped a work team, a community and even a national movement in parks and recreation more than our beloved ‘gentle bear,’ Gary,” says Michael Meadors, who served as JCPRD’s executive director from 2001 to 2013, and has a total of 27 years with the agency. “I know I am a better person having shared many life experiences with such a wonderful man!”
“He was a grizzly bear with a sincere heart of gold,” adds former JCPRD Board Member Vickie Truitt. “I treasure my memories of working with him. We will miss him so much!”
As a Colby, Kansas, native, Haller came to JCPRD in August 1974 after 15 years with the state of Kansas, where he served as assistant director in charge of state outdoor recreation planning and administration of the Federal Land and Water Conservation Fund and did recreation planning for the Kansas Park and Resource Authority. Under Haller’s leadership, JCPRD grew from fewer than 50 employees to 165 employees and from fewer than 1,800 acres to approximately 6,100 acres of parkland; achieved national recognition as the 1995 recipient of the prestigious Gold Medal Award; and in 1999, became the 22nd agency in the nation to become nationally accredited by the Commission for Accreditation of Park and Recreation Agencies. Haller also served in numerous professional leadership roles throughout the field of parks and recreation, including as a member of the NRPA board of trustees, and has received many individual professional awards and recognitions, including the NRPA Distinguished Professional Award.
Johnson County Park and Recreation District Executive Director Jeff Stewart shows a 1995 document to Gary Haller during a November 5 time capsule opening.
David Markham is Communications Specialist for Johnson County Park and Recreation District (david.markham@ jocogov.org).
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