ABOUT BOOT CAMP
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
This RECREATION PROFESSIONAL BOOT CAMP will provide you with the foundation you need to THRIVE as a Recreation Professional. We will explore the theories of recreation, and give you hundreds of tangible “take-home” ideas to put those theories into practice. This Coaching Series will ACTIVATE YOU, so you can ACTIVATE YOUR COMMUNITY. We will be investigating program areas that you might not be engaged in yet, thus LAUNCHING the next phase of your career.
[See the detailed BOOT CAMP CURRICULUM listed below]
BENEFITS OF BOOT CAMP (THE RETURN ON INVESTMENT)
• Perfect for new Young Recreation Professionals
• Insight into the Profession’s Principles & Practices
• Build a foundation for launching your Rec Career
• Invest in Yourself and Build Expertise ($380 Value)
• 100’s of Take-Aways to Implement ($900 Value)
• 8 Sessions (12 hours) of Recreation Coaching ($480 Value)
• Plus, receive a free Resume Review & Input ($200 Value)
• Plus, receive Certificate of Completion ($100 Value)
• Free access to 6 of the once-a-month Check-Ins (“Rec Quest Cohort”) ($240 Value)
• Mentor for Life (“Just a call away”) (Priceless)
TARGET AUDIENCE
Young Professionals, Those new to Community Recreation, Those looking move up in Municipal Recreation, Those who value Professional Development
BOOT CAMP SCHEDULE
BOOT CAMP CURRICULUM
WEEK
1
GET REC’D (Getting Recreation To Our Community)
This introductory session provides a quick overview of the Recreation Profession, showing both the “Principles” and the “Practice” of providing recreation to your community. We will look at the WHY of recreation being essential. We will take a short tour of the history of Parks and Recreation in the United States. We will learn the WHAT of assessing our community needs, to then align our services to best meet those needs by determining our Core Services. We will discover what our message is and learn how to best put that message in front of our community by creating Agency Ambassadors.
WEEK
2
A STRATEGIC APPROACH TO CONTRACT INSTRUCTORS
Here we introduce the concept of being strategic in our profession. Then, with that framework in mind we explore the best practices for implementing Contract Instructors on a wide scale. As a program area, Contract Instructors can reach all ages, all demographics, all cultures. This program area can significantly impact your Agency’s fiscal outlook, by increasing Cost Recoveries and decreasing General Fund Subsidies, while accomplishing your Agency’s Mission to meet your community. We will explore the best methods and practices for taking your Contract Instructor Program to the next level.
WEEK
3
THE HEALTHY HABITS MOTIF & CONNECTIONS CONCEPT
The motif of “Healthy Habits” should run through all recreation programs. We will explore what Healthy Habits are (it’s much more than you might think) and why they are so vital. Then, we dive into the 3 different types of creative HEALTHY HABITS CAMPAIGNS, aimed at a thriving community. We will explore the concept of “CONNECTIONS”: (1) Helping our community connect with one another, (2) How to connect with our elected officials, & (3) Connecting with our profession. At the end, we will activate our own Personal Leadership Philosophy and Check-In with the Recreation Professional Job Competencies.
WEEK
4
WOW FACTOR (Unleashing Creativity In Recreation)
JUST WOW: We will dig into what makes a Wow Factor and we will learn how to accomplish that Wow without losing our foundational mission. HOW TO WOW: We will investigate how Wow can be Factored into programs and facilities, by creating an Agency that values Innovation and Incubates creative ideas. BE A WOW FACTOR(Y): Discover how to keep churning out Wow-Ness as we explore dozens of creative real-life examples for adding Wow on a Budget. Then, we will practice Activating Our Creativity. At the end, we will investigate how to implement the Continuous Improvement Model.
WEEK
5
EXCELLENT FACILITY RENTAL MANAGEMENT
Even if you do not currently manage your Agency’s Facility Rental Program, there are two good reasons to invest the time to understand this service: (1) You may find yourself in charge of facilities in the future, (2) Every program you run will be utilizing a facility, so it is vital to know what goes into managing it. We will explore the best practice methods for organizing the rental process. We will create a defensible rental fee structure based on square footage and “price-points”. We will examine a dozen effective policy considerations. We will investigate better ways to work with, and connect with, the maintenance staff.
WEEK
6
PARTNERING WITH COMMUNITY GROUPS
Partnering with Community Groups is a “Best Practice” that can result in new programs, new facilities, new volunteers, and increased community safety. We will investigate how to negotiate with community groups. We will look at how to set up Partnership Agreements that exchange “equal value” between the two parties. Then, we will look at the pros and cons of dozens of real-life partnership examples. After that, we will discover the steps for determining your agency’s Brand, knowing that Branding is a vital first step before Marketing your programs.
WEEK
7
PERFORMANCE MEASURES & BUDGET PROJECTIONS
Tracking Performance Measures allows us to turn basic data into vital information that tells our Agency’s Story, and highlights our Agency as an “Essential Service” to both our Elected Policy Makers and the community. We will discover the difference between outputs and outcomes. Then, we will cover some unique ideas for accomplishing Budget Projections. We will dive into the Recreation Program Planning Worksheet, that captures data from each single program, so we can build up to an Agency-Wide Budget. After that, we will use the Benefits Pyramid to establish a defensible pricing strategy for setting programs fees.
WEEK
8
REVENUE GENERATION IN PARKS AND RECREATION
It is vital that Recreation Agencies press forward in their efforts to generate additional Revenue, instead of just passively “hoping” for more participants to register for the recreation programs. We will dive into 50 to 60 ideas for generating revenue to help your agency THRIVE! Some of these, you are likely already doing, but may need to think about them in new ways. Others will be new ideas that you can put into practice starting tomorrow. By increasing revenues, we allow our agency to have more resources available for other programs and we help our agency to reach its mission.