Join professionals from across parks and recreation for the annual SHARP Workshop—a day of learning, networking, and collaboration designed specifically for front-line staff and supervisors. The day will begin with an engaging keynote focused on delivering exceptional customer service, followed by afternoon breakout sessions tailored to your area of interest. Choose from Aquatics, Sports, Recreation, Park Law Enforcement, Wellness, or Youth Services for focused discussions and practical takeaways you can put to use right away.
DATE: October 15, 2026 | 8:45 AM - 2:45 PM
LOCATION: Greenbush Facility, Lawrence
Register Here
PRELIMINARY SCHEDULE:
8:45 - 9:00 AM Check-In and Registration
9:00 - 9:15 AM Welcome
9:15- 11:30 AM Customer Service Sessions
Speaker: Sara Reiter, Manager of Supervisory Training & Custom Workshops
These engaging, hands-on sessions will provide front-line parks and recreation professionals with practical customer service strategies they can apply immediately in their daily interactions. Through discussion and real-world scenarios, participants will strengthen their communication, problem-solving, and service recovery skills to enhance customer experiences across diverse recreation and community settings.
11:30 AM - 12:15 PM Lunch
12:15 PM - 2:45 PM Breakout Branch Afternoon Sessions
(Participants will select one of the following afternoon breakout tracks: Aquatics, Sports, Recreation, Park Law Enforcement, Wellness, or Youth Services.)
Aquatic Session:
All Afternoon Aquatic Session: Interactive Lifeguard Inservice
Speakers: Aquatic Branch Committee Members
Looking for fresh ways to keep your lifeguard in-services engaging and effective? This highly interactive session takes participants through a series of lifeguard in-service stations featuring practical drills, leadership activities, emergency scenarios, team-building exercises, and creative training techniques. At each station, participants will experience the activity firsthand, discuss how it can be adapted to their own facility, and share ideas with fellow aquatics professionals. Rather than sitting through another lecture, you'll leave with hands-on experience, valuable feedback from your peers, and a collection of ready-to-use in-service activities that reinforce critical skills while keeping staff motivated and engaged. Whether you're planning weekly trainings or revamping your entire in-service program, you'll walk away with fresh ideas, new perspectives, and practical tools to elevate your next training session.
Sports Sessions:
1st Afternoon Sports Session: Going Beyond "How Did We Do?": Building Youth Sports Surveys That Drive Change
Speaker: Cody Bradford
Postseason surveys are one of the most valuable tools for improving youth sports programs—when they're designed with purpose. This session will explore how to create concise, meaningful surveys that generate actionable feedback from parents, participants, coaches, and volunteers. Learn how to ask the right questions, increase response rates, identify trends, and turn data into measurable program improvements. Participants will leave with practical survey templates, examples of effective questions, and strategies for analyzing results to enhance participant satisfaction, strengthen program quality, and guide future decision-making. Whether you're evaluating a single league or an entire sports department, this session will provide tools to make feedback a catalyst for continuous improvement.
2nd Afternoon Sports Session: Building a Successful Youth Instructional Sports Program: From Concept to Community Impact
Speaker: Dr. Kylie Guthier, CPRP
Many recreation agencies offer youth sports—but not all instructional programs are designed to maximize participation, skill development, and long-term retention. This interactive session will guide attendees through the process of creating a sustainable instructional sports program that emphasizes fun, confidence-building, and participant development while remaining operationally efficient. Participants will collaborate to build a program blueprint they can take back to their own communities.
Recreation Sessions
1st Afternoon Rec Session- Showing Up: The Human Side of Customer Service
Presenters: Jenny Smith and Kari Baesel
Building on the ideas introduced in the opening keynote, this session explores the human side of customer service. Beyond policies and procedures, participants will discover how empathy, communication, and intentional responses shape every customer interaction. Through engaging activities, discussion, and collaborative problem-solving, attendees will develop practical skills to strengthen relationships, navigate difficult situations with confidence, and create memorable experiences for the communities they serve.
2nd Afternoon Rec Session- Foundations of Frontline Excellence
Presenters: Renee Jenkins, Ciera Leach, Clay Neal
This training session equips frontline Parks & Recreation staff with the essential skills and tools needed to deliver exceptional customer service. Participants will learn core front desk operations, understand key policies within the employee manual, practice confident and professional guest interactions, and master how to gather meaningful program feedback through surveys. Through hands‑on activities, scripts, and real‑world scenarios, staff will leave prepared to represent our department with consistency, clarity, and care.
Park Law Enforcement Sessions:
All Afternoon Park Law Session: Vehicle and Camper Clearing and Search Exercise
Participants will practice clearing a vehicle and camper working both alone and with teams. Participants will also practice searching the vehicle and camper using various search methods. The exercise will use prop firearms and will be guided by KDWP training officers. This session is for certified law enforcement officers only.
Wellness Sessions:
1st Afternoon Wellness Session: GEO Yoga Fitness 4Kids
Speaker: Gail Wickham, Hays Recreation
Are you looking for a fun way to get kids moving and stretching? Do need a way for preschool to learn their colors, numbers, and ABC while having fun. Join me for an active session on how to teach while still having fun. We will use a GEO mat to help us as we move, groove, and stretch. Can’t get your hands on a mat come anyway we can teach you how to do it other fun ways.
2nd Afternoon Wellness Session: Make Every Bite Count
Speaker: Jessica Phelan
Nutrition education is not just for the classroom! Explore the United States Department of Agriculture’s Dietary Guideline resources in this hands- on learning session. Participants will leave this session with curricula designed to educate children and young adults about eating well.
Youth Service Sessions:1st Afternoon Youth Service Session: “YVC” Youth Volunteer Corps. Youth Service learning.
Speakers: Sarah Miller and Lorenzo Harrison
Youth Volunteer Corps (YVC) empowers young people to make a positive impact through meaningful community service and service-learning opportunities. This session will explore the importance of service learning in youth development while emphasizing compassion, healthy lifestyles, arts and culture, STEM, environmental stewardship, and education. Participants will learn how becoming a YVC affiliate can strengthen an agency’s approach to community engagement and customer service. The session will provide practical guidance on building relationships with partner agencies, communicating effectively to secure service projects, and understanding customer service from multiple perspectives—including the partner organization receiving service-learning support, the youth participants, and their families. The session will also highlight YVC’s commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion by creating environments where every young person feels valued, respected, and welcomed. Participants will leave with a stronger understanding of YVC, the benefits of service learning, and how YVC can support youth growth while making a meaningful difference in communities.
2nd Afternoon Youth Services Session: Building Your CSR Cheat Book: The Front Desk Game-Changer
Speaker: Josie Maples, Pittsburg Parks and Recreation
Your front desk is the first impression and the information hub of your entire organization or department. When questions are flying, phones are ringing, and lines are forming, even the best staff can't remember everything. That's where a CSR (Customer Service Representative) Cheat Book becomes essential. This session breaks down why every front desk needs a well-built cheat book and how it can dramatically improve customer service, consistency, and staff confidence. We'll cover what to include, such as common questions, program details, polices, pricing, and key procedures. Walk away with practical ideas and a simple framework to create or improve your own cheat book.
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