During my nearly 10 years in this role I’ve occasionally heard the suggestion, “we need to do a better job at telling our story.”
I strongly concur with that sentiment. All of us in Kansas and, in fact, everyone involved in a leadership role in park and recreation throughout the country needs to sharpen their marketing and promotion strategies when it comes to selling the value of what we offer in our communities.
That’s why the KRPA Board of Directors adopted the Did You Know? Campaign and launched it last January. But, I’ll have more on that opportunity later.
Without a commitment to make advocacy a priority on all levels, our slice of the budget pie will continue to dwindle. Jobs will be lost, services, programs and facilities will disappear and citizens today – plus generations of others in the future – will be missing a meaningful opportunity to enhance their lifestyle.
If we don’t step up and be proactive in making the case for parks and recreation, who will?
One strategy is to organize a grass-roots advocacy approach and find those untapped champions among us. There are hidden voices of power that, perhaps, you pass in your buildings, swimming in your pools or walking or in your parks each and every day.
Take the improbable story of Mary Ann West as an example.
Four years ago, Mary Ann was, in her own words a “physical mess.” A retired school teacher who had recently moved back to Kansas with her husband to be near family, Mary Ann was cleaning the floor in her new home one day when she felt severe pain that left her anchored on the floor and unable to move.
The diagnosis was three herniated discs. As a result, she endured nearly 12 months of epidurals, pain medication, laying flat on her back for long periods of time each day, a back brace, hip brace, shoe orthotics and physical therapy twice a week.
“I was frail and could do nothing,” Mary Ann recalled. “I could only sit for short periods, walk for less than 10 minutes and could do no housework.”
She sought help from a local surgeon, but was advised that surgery could make matters worse. Instead, he strongly recommended she swim laps.
“Well, since I could not swim and could hardly walk to the car that seemed really stupid,” Mary Ann recalled in frustration. “But, we went home and started looking. Oh yes, my medical insurance would no longer cover my visits to the physical therapist. Finally, we discovered Blue Valley Recreation about 10 minutes from home.”
Mary Ann secured a BVRC punch card, bought a swimsuit and got in the water. “The doctor suggested just kicking and walking since I couldn’t swim,” added Mary Ann. “After two weeks of kicking and walking very gingerly, I started feeling better.”
Eventually, as she gained more reassurance, Mary Ann wanted to increase her aquatics involvement. She joined a BVRC water aerobics class, but was “terrified that I’d drown or hurt myself.”
It took about three months for Mary Ann to build her stamina to the point she could get into the lazy river by herself. Gradually, with the help of an instructor she calls “an angel from heaven” and encouragement from her classmates, Mary Ann made great strides.
That experience led her to enrollment in an advanced aerobics class.
“I was terrified,” explained Mary Ann. “I was a 64-year-old little person who had never ever been in the deep end. I gave it a try and have been in the deep end ever since. I loved it. My body loved it and all the while I was getting stronger.”
The results of Mary Ann’s story, an example we’ve probably seen before, is that her experience with Blue Valley Recreation changed her life.
“Gradually, my pain subsided. No longer did I need medications, braces or epidurals. Now, I can actually do housework, go shopping and drive. I danced at my nieces wedding pain free. I’m strong and I’m no longer depressed.”
“There are really little miracles that happen to ordinary people,” smiled Mary Ann.
And, that’s not the end of her story. Mary Ann, at the age of 65, went on to take swimming lessons at Blue Valley and now loves the water and is a regular in the “deep end.” She eagerly credits a great instructor at BVRC who could “teach a rock to swim” for her new advanced skills in the water.
“Now, that really is a miracle,” added Mary Ann.
Mary Ann is quick to credit BVRC for her major miracle. She also offers praise for the quality of instruction she witnessed and hopes others in her age group take advantage of programs that “made all the difference in my life.”
She quickly adds, “I wish there was a way to do a better job of getting the word out.”
By simply sharing her story with me, Mary Ann is now a resource for getting that “word out” to others. She’s a champion of our cause who helps define what we are all about. I suspect if you look around your recreation centers, your parks or your ball fields you can locate your own champions.
And, for the benefit of people like Mary Ann West, now and into the future, we need to activate their voices and create a platform for them to be heard.
Suffice it to say, I understand the real challenge in adding another time-consuming task to our work loads. Carving out time to plan, organize and execute a marketing strategy is not easy. But, make no mistake about it; selling the values we bring in our communities needs to be a priority.
That’s one of the reasons the Did You Know? Campaign was introduced. It’s a ready-made advocacy/education tool designed to give agencies clear direction and resources on how to promote themselves and develop grass-roots advocacy support in the community.
The program was launched in Missouri and has been proven as an effective method in educating consumers in the community and building a support mechanism for the services we provide. A dozen agencies signed up for the DYK? training last January and, as a result, are currently involved in launching the program or looking forward to pushing it forward in the near future.
I hope we can rally together all of the park and recreation champions throughout Kansas – like Mary Ann West – to help clearly illustrate in a personalized way to governmental leaders why what we do is important.