NRPA Visits Anaheim, California

Anaheim, California is most famous for its amusement park Disneyland, but this week park and recreation enthusiasts flocked to the area for a different attraction, the 2012 National Recreation & Park Association (NRPA) CONGRESS and Exposition.

In 1965 the National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA) was formed to help sustain parks and recreational facilities across the country.

Five years later in 1970 the NRPA produced their first exposition, which has become the flagship event for NRPA and the premier annual event of the park and recreation community.

This year's annual NRPA CONGRESS and Exposition, held at the Anaheim Convention Center was a three-day event bringing together more than 7,000 park and recreation professionals, citizen advocates, educational sessions, and nearly 400 industry suppliers and exhibitors.

Attendees explored the exhibit hall, which not only included park and recreation equipment, but everything that goes into creating a park or recreation atmosphere, including signs, safety surfacing, site amenities and much more.

In addition to the show hall several activities were planned for exhibitors and attendees. On the first day of the show, Tuesday, October 16th there was a much-anticipated opening reception at Disneyland, which allowed attendees to experience a private party and rides.

Other events included the "Student Quiz Bowl", a Jeopardy-style challenge for students from schools across the country, and the "Parks Build Community", an ongoing national initiative demonstrating the transformative value of parks and recreation in communities across America. This year NRPA and partners completed the third "Parks Build Community" project in the City of Los Angeles at El Sereno Recreation Area and Nature Garden.

Attendees also had the chance to win several great prizes with giveaways sponsored by both exhibitors and the NRPA. Prizes included a digital camera, iPad, Tony Hawk-signed skateboard, a full 2013 Congress Registration Package and more.

More than 200 education sessions were also available to attendees with the option of earning continuing education units. Some of the topics covered include, marketing, fitness activities, aquatic play, sports fields, dog parks and more.

NRPA President and CEO Barbara Tulipane also gave a PRORAGIS workshop, which showcases NRPA's new national standards for the tool that helps equip park and recreation departments with best practices, as well as benchmark their operations against others and justify additional funding and support.

For more information about the NRPA and their events please visit www.nrpa.org.

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