Bob Johnson has spent the last 24 years in parks and recreation. He’s served as a volunteer coach, a commissioner for Blue Valley Rec, a citizen liaison for Kansas Park and Recreation Association (KRPA), and now is the Board Chair-Elect for the National Park and Recreation Association (NRPA). Read his thoughts from the August edition of Parks & Recreation from NRPA.
NRPA Board Chair-Elect Bob Johnson
“We should be framing the national discussion about parks.”
Bob Johnson serves currently as vice chair of NRPA’s board of directors – and in November he will begin his duties as board chair. Bob, a business professional who comes to NRPA from a 24-year-long citizen leadership and volunteering career, has a unique perspective to offer on NRPA’s fundamental role in serving its members. One that stresses the importance of changing perceptions of parks – and igniting discussions about their value – at both grass roots and national levels.
Could you touch on the three types of nonprofit board structures – fiduciary, strategic, and generative – and explain how it relates to the NRPA board?
Fiduciary governance refers to the fiscal oversight functions of a board, while strategic governance focuses on how a nonprofit fulfills its mission. Generative governance requires a board to reframe its leadership to concentrate on the “why” of a nonprofit’s work rather than on the “what” and the how.”
Over the last five years, the NRPA board has evolved from a fiduciary style of governance to one that is much more generative in its mission. Largely because of the streamlining of the board from 70 “trustees” to 21 directors, NRPA’s governing body has evolved into a more forward-facing group. We are continually reminding ourselves of why we were founded and asking how we can frame the discussion about parks and recreation – rather than simply responding to it. We also seek to provide leadership in the field as it changes and evolves, rather than focusing on organizational operations.
Our role today has roots in our founding purpose. NRPA was founded to be a voice for play, exercise, conservation, and accessible public land. Yet, it has also been geared toward supporting the professionals who run and maintain all of those public lands and facilities. So we represent an interesting mix of professionals and citizens – and our work touches also on the unique role of government in acquiring, owning, and maintaining public lands.
As we transition to this more generative style of leadership and remind ourselves of our purpose, we are poised to be an even more influential voice on the national stage – and to address issues such as crime, obesity, public health, hunger, conservation, and nature-deficit in our country.
In a broad, “big-picture sense,” where is the NRPA Board and how will it measure its success?
The NRPA Board is in the midst of a transition – one that hinges on the question, “How do we get to tomorrow?” We have the responsibility to perform proper fiscal oversight, to consider strategically how NRPA might best fulfill its mission, and to provide leadership in the field. And, in all three areas, we find we are in the place of striving for a more forward-facing model.
I think we can measure our success by how we answer that same question of how to get to tomorrow. Specifically, with regard to:
Financial strength of the organization. If we want to be able to carry out a true, generative model of leadership, we must keep focusing on wise financial stewardship and the building up of our reserves.
Framing the questions. How much success are we having in framing the questions the public – and our nation’s lawmakers – are asking about parks? What kinds of invitations do we get to participate in influential events and panels? Are we becoming a vital part of the conversation?
Shaping the answers. How effectively are we shaping – and communicating – our answers to those questions, once framed? Are we commissioning research that will impact public debates over funding? Are we helping our members to explain the rational for investment in parks and recreation?
Moving the profession forward. How well are we helping our members navigate a changing field? What business are we in? How should it be funded? What are the responsibilities of both the public and private sectors in sustaining the vital services that parks – and park professionals – provide?
What issues came up at the May Board retreat that may be of interest to the members?
The May Board retreat centered on setting and defining priorities – particularly the priority of advocacy. We are committed to strengthening the local connection, because it is our conviction that our messages about parks will ring truest on Capitol Hill when their importance is already well recognized at the state and local levels. The Board itself is becoming more active in advocating for parks at all levels of government. And it is also committed to seeing NRPA provide ongoing resources (e.g., research, networking opportunities, and member training) to equip members for effective advocacy.
But in our discussions of advocacy, we discussed more than funding difficulties. Parks are relevant to everyone – so how can we help our members translate relevance into preserving and strengthening parks? If the public has a vision for parks and is willing to fight to protect them, then that becomes a much more powerful force than a new funding method.
What does the Board consider to be the most pressing issues for the field?
The issue of funding in a time of slashed budgets is in and of itself a critical one for most of our members. Beyond the basic question of how to procure funds, though, is an even bigger issue of how to understand and adapt to a changing business model, how to find the public-private partnerships that will work best for a particular community, and how to seize the opportunities for innovation that come along with widespread funding challenges.
There is much more going on in the field than budget difficulties, however. We have perhaps more opportunities than ever before to demonstrate how parks can help Americans become healthier, reduce crime, conserve natural resources, address hunger, and connect communities.
How does America’s Backyard support the mission/vision of NRPA?
The America’s Backyard initiative – because it champions all parks – can help the public think about parks and recreation in a different way, as well as provide NRPA a platform to pose relevant questions at the grass-roots level. But America’s Backyard is also about building national-level brand awareness. America’s Backyard will keep a message of the value of all parks in front of the entire country. It is, in essence, the public-facing expression of the mission and vision of NRPA.
In short, America’s Backyard encourages citizens, not just professionals, to become part of that national conversation. It’s hard to argue against parks and conservation – and it’s especially hard to argue with private citizens whose passion is to care for and preserve their parks.
Bob Johnson – Citizen Park Supporter
As Doug Vance, executive director of the Kansas Recreation and Park Association (KRPA) described Board Chair-Elect Bob Johnson, “Bob brings a valuable outside perspective to the NRPA Board – the perspective of a citizen park supporter and business leader.” Johnson, whose professional background lies in the insurance industry and business development, began his involvement with parks as a supporter of youth sports. His parks and rec volunteering and coaching career has spanned 24 years – and it has included stints serving on advisory boards and as commissioner of the Blue Valley Recreation Commission in Kansas. Johnson became known as a “one-person citizen voice,” according to Vance, at the state level with KRPA. In his years of involvement with both KRPA and NRPA, Johnson has taken a particular interest in advocacy, attending NRPA’s Legislative Forum faithfully and educating himself on methods of effective park advocacy at local, state, and national levels. He has received numerous awards for his dedication to park, recreation, and conservation efforts – including the 2010 NRPA/Midwest Region Outstanding Individual Citation and the 2009 KRPA Distinguished Commission Member Award.