I miss my favorite workout class but is it safe to return to it? Will it be safe for my child and family if I send my kid to a summer camp? My child can’t wait to play baseball, but is it wise to expose him and our family to a large group setting again? These are just a few thoughts that your patrons and possibly you have had in the last few weeks when thinking about the reopening process. The idea that our lives might have some options outside of the home is exciting, but there are still underlying hesitations when people think about jumping back into events.

So, how do you market these events? What do you need to do to make people feel safe enough to come out and play again? SHOW THEM! Your patrons want to not just hear what you are planning to do to keep them safe, they want to see it. People want to know and see what they are going encounter when they return to their favorite events and places. How do you do that?
- Take time to create short videos or take pictures of what specific steps you are taking to follow the health and safety measures suggested by your local and state government.

- Video and post on social media a training that your agency holds for your staff about sanitation processes.

- Take a short clip interviewing a summer camp staff member or umpire verbalizing their excitement for their event and also what they will do to keep the kids healthy and safe.

- Prepare your staff and front-line workers with extra customer service skills to answer questions about the new procedures. Prepare them for anxious patrons who want to join in your programs but might still have underlying fears which may come out in anger or frustration.

- When you reopen, have extra staff available to talk and walk people through what the new procedures will be. Your patrons do not want to guess about what they should do when walking into your facilities.

We’re in this together. Please visit the Locker Room and share what marketing you are doing to reopen your programs and ask your questions. Here is a link to a reopening marketing discussion thread in the forum to share your examples or questions. #StrongerTogether

We want to send a huge thank you to the KRPA reopening guidelines task force. They have worked very hard in a short amount of time in the last few days. Attached you will find our updated guidelines.

Please always refer to our website for the most updated version of the guidelines.

KRPA Support Guidelines 6.01.20.pdf (June 1, 2020)

Submitted by KRPA member, Troy Houtman, Wichita Park and Recreation

Some organizations emerge from a crisis stronger and more ready to thrive than they were before the crisis arrived. The big differentiator that separates them from companies that falter is people – how their leaders empathize, engage, motivate, and capitalize on their talents and knowledge in the face of adversity.  Even more so is communication!

The critical first step is making sure people don’t jump on the “freak-out train” of doom, gloom, and complete helplessness. This train’s last stop is Catastrophe City, where we view today’s health crisis and economic plunge as being worse than they are or worse than they’re projected to be. In Catastrophe City, people feel powerless to change what’s happening. But this is rarely true.

So what can organizations do to turn adversity into an advantage during times of unprecedented uncertainty?

1. Don’t ignore the anxiety people feel. This only magnifies it. It’s important to acknowledge and validate how people feel, as they’re often operating in survival mode – a natural “fight or flight” response. But fight (anger) of flight (escape) reactions keep us from acting on our opportunities. Empathize with how your people think and feel. Bring it out into the open and make them feel safe talking about it. Have managers invite people to write down their feelings in thought bubbles on pieces of paper. Then, as a team, discuss what’s in our control and what’s not. For the things that are within our control, look at them with fresh eyes and outline new ways to approach them in the current environment.
2. Actively define reality. People are amazingly able to deal with reality even if it has a significant downside. It’s the unknown that is paralyzing. A leader’s job is to bring the facts about “exactly where we are” to their organization and teams. In times of economic trouble, not only can most people handle it, they crave it. Be truthful about job security. If there are no guarantees, tell them. Uncertainty and ambiguity can be more harmful than the bad news itself. That’s why accurate “big picture” news is an important tool. Providing context for actions – the “whys,” – is essential.
3. Create a new starting line with your people. During times of crisis, people at all levels of an organization can become fixated on what we lose. It could be a vacation, a bonus, equity or 401(k) value, or even a promotion. Now all bets are off. Spending too much time on what people have lost prevents us from creating a new starting line, focusing our energy on the “new normal” and what we can start over with under the new conditions. Letting go of what could have been is a key first step to being focused on success in the new environment.
4. Use urgency as an alignment ally. Instead of looking at change as a crisis lurking just around the corner, accelerate your efforts to analyze and act on problems instead of wandering around them. Urgency can better frame the challenges, engage people in a deeper understanding of the issues, and equip them with the responses necessary to be successful. Urgency is a powerful unifying force. Use it to your advantage!
5. Establish new check-in routines. Staying in touch with your people is more important than ever. Setting a new routine of 15–30-minute check-ins every other day may be more important than ever. These brief interactions can be opportunities to share updates with the team, highlight the latest critical information, and identify adjustments that need to be made for business continuation. These check-ins become a powerful social experience to reinforce that we’re not alone in responding to the challenges we face.
6. Celebrate all victories, large and small. This means even more recognition of the adaptive actions that get positive results. Don’t over-hype the small gains. To use some baseball lingo, it’s the singles and doubles that allow you to emerge stronger and persevere throughout the game.
7. Scout the possibilities. Deputize your people as “opportunity scouts.” Doing so means tapping into what your people know about the current challenges and getting them involved in imagining a response and a recovery plan that creates value in the current environment. No matter how intensive past productivity efforts have been, people can always see more opportunities when they’re engaged in the essential threats we’re facing. Their ideas for weathering the storm on both the cost and revenue sides of the business are often better than what most leaders could implement on their own.
8. Communicate the score. More than ever, people are interested knowing the costs, sales, and financial strength as measures of “how we’re doing.” Pay attention to their curiosity and interest and use it to immerse people in the metrics of the business. In most cases, you’ll institute a new set of targets during times of crisis. “How we’re doing” on these new metrics is essential information to share. Leaders need to balance the tension of “what’s real” with “what’s possible.”
9. Highlight the rays of light. On a recent airing of CNBC’s Mad Money, Dow Inc. CEO Jim Fitterling said, “In the past two weeks, we have seen our demand bounce back in China. I think that tells us we can see the same thing wash through the economy here.” Rays of light exist and should be as much a part of the narrative as any losses we experience.

As leaders, we need to ask ourselves questions. Am I defining reality and creating hope in this unprecedented environment of challenge and change? Am I helping my people become the change agents we need so we can be successful in difficult times? And do they truly know the score so they can actively engage in improving the situation?

On top of all this, the great philosopher Winnie-the-Pooh has a few words worthy of sharing with your people that are more relevant now than ever: “Promise me you’ll always remember: You’re braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.”

Stay Safe and Healthy!

We remodeled! Many people are taking time during the quarantine to do housekeeping projects and remodeling jobs while they are at home. KRPA has done some remodeling too! The KRPA Discussion Forum, The Locker Room, has received an update. Go to the KRPA website and log-in. Then click on the Locker Room button in the top right corner.

The Locker Room update does not change much for you. The discussion forum looks the same, is still available 24/7 through our website, and can be accessed with your member sign-in information. You can still post and reply, add pictures, documents, websites, etc. 

How is the forum update different?

1. You now can “Join Conversations” by clicking on the Join Conversation button at the top of each discussion thread.  This will enroll you in the conversation, and you will receive the notifications via email.  You may also reply to responses on your email. To reply: Hit the reply function within your email, type your reply directly in your email message and hit send.
2. Reactions, ranks, and badges are unavailable but coming soon.
3. Boards and Committees are unavailable but coming soon.

You might be asking "why the changes?" KRPA takes much pride in serving you. We believe this service is extremely important for our member engagement, but we also want to be financially responsible. After some investigating, we found resources to provide this service to you while also cutting out a large amount of cost for our budget. As the economy recovers and the COVID-19 situation slow downs, we will be adding the extra features (like reactions and badges) back into the system. 

A few reminders:

-Please remember to go to your profile, edit profile and your notification preference to get email notification when a new discussion is started.  

- If you have never logged into the Locker Room before, you will need to click log-in and then "forgot password." It will walk you through resetting your password.

3. If you had bookmarked the old website, please change it to krpaforum.org.

If you have any questions about these changes, please do not hesitate to reach out to Jamie Reed. 

Keep leaning into each other with your questions or resources. We are stronger together.

The Governor asked KRPA to create a reopening plan for parks and recreation most of which she included in her state reopening plan announced April 30th. The recovery plan task force has been working long hours to create the plan and give guidance to our members. 

Detailed guidelines to open each area in the plan will be sent later this week or early next week.

Please remember this is a living document so we will update it as circumstances change. The latest version will be hosted on our website. 

We would like to thank our recovery plan task force. 

For the last several years, Parks & Recreation departments across the United States have struggled to find the ideal balance of time and space utilization for sports and recreation programming.  On one hand, the need to increase activity levels for children – regardless of skill or aspiration level – has never been greater.  On the other, the demand from competitive programs catering to players at the upper end of the skill and/or income spectrum has never been higher.

In most communities and on the national average, competitive programs have taken over.  High-level players are participating in year-round programs that are granted the most desirable times at the most desirable locations, leaving less and less time for introductory and recreational programs.  As a result, children whose health and social skills would benefit most from regular activity are losing the chance to play regularly and reap the benefits of consistent activity.

Countless statistics demonstrate this trend, but here is the one data point you should be most concerned about: the United States has a higher percent of overweight/obese children between the ages of 6-17 than almost any other peer country; nearly 40% of girls and 35% of boys in our country are overweight or obese.  That puts us in “last place” compared to Australia, Canada, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, Sweden, the U.K., and nearly every other first world county.

The Covid-19 pandemic has interrupted the sports and recreation industry.  Leagues have paused, tournaments have been cancelled, and – in many cases – service providers have shut down and will not return.  It would be easy, and perhaps even natural, to panic.  It would be equally easy to be complacent and assume that as our country rebounds the recent participation and activity trends will continue.

Instead of either of those, I encourage you to view this as an opportunity to regain your ideal balance.  There is nothing inherently wrong with competitive programs and high-level players seeking extra time to improve.  In fact, that is healthy and should be encouraged.  But there is also nothing wrong with dedicating more time and space to kids who just need to learn to play, to benefit from activity, and to grow from positive adult and peer interactions.  In fact, it is critical.

As a Parks & Recreation leader in your community, you now have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to make a lasting impact on the health of your community by improving access to recreational programs and providing space and time for every child to play.  What will you do with your opportunity?

___________________________________________________

Author: Evan Eleff is the COO of Sports Facilities Advisory, LLC (SFA) and a Partner in all of the SF Companies.  He has led sports and recreation planning, funding, development, and management initiatives in over 1,600 communities around the world and is one of the United States’ leaders and foremost experts in improving the health and economic vitality of communities through sports and recreation.

Message from KRPA President, Olivia Mayer, to Members:

As we find ourselves in uncharted waters, now is the perfect time to remember that we are each other’s most valuable resource. While we are being forced to temporarily close facilities and halt operations, we are faced with the dilemma of how to best serve our communities. It is time to focus on what we still can do to improve the quality of life for Kansans. COVID-19 has affected our lives at such a quick rate that we have been in a reactive state. Now is the time to come together and share ideas to become proactive in this venture. Now is the time to formulate safe and conscientious solutions to offer communities. We need to play to our strengths, reiterate the power of outdoors and greenspace, facilitate ways to enrich day to day living, and work together to make it through these uncertain times. 

The KRPA board urges you to use the discussion forum to share and discuss issues related to COVID-19 during this time. Talk with other professionals about their protocols, policies and leaning on each other to keep up spirits is helpful for everyone. You will find policies and protocols posted by other members but most importantly, respond to those who have questions. There have been posts with language you can use for your own community so don't reinvent the wheel. Your membership is paying for this important tool for you to use. so sign up/in now to see the discussions or opt-in to receive the discussions by email. Visit https://community.krpa.org.

You are an important part of the response to this challenge. Let's all show our communities the leadership they need right now.

In an effort to mitigate the impact and spread of coronavirus, the KRPA office will be closed. Staff will be working remotely until further notice. Please feel free to email any of the staff. We will try and get back with you as quickly as possible. Information regarding upcoming KRPA events will be announced later today.

Erika Devore, Executive Director- erika@krpa.org
Jamie Reed, Membership and Education Manager- jamie@krpa.org
Amanda Sterling, Communication Coordinator- amanda@krpa.org

Working in this unprecedented times will be happening more and more digitally. Does your agency or focus area have questions and need to communicate with park and recreation professionals around the state? Chat and share at KRPA's Discussion Forum, The Locker Room, or find member contact information within the KRPA Online Directory.