Thriving in the New Normal
Just like many other professional development events, the 2020 WRPA Fall Summit went virtual! Traditionally, the WRPA Fall Summit is held as a one-day event in Lynnwood, WA. However, this year it was broken up into two half-day virtual events (Wednesday, October 14, 2020, & Thursday, October 15, 2020). More than 70 parks and recreation professionals joined us for this year’s two-day virtual event.
Early birds for this event got to engage in a trivia game with questions from the show Parks and Recreation. This year’s Virtual Fall Summit kicked off with Keynote Speaker SaulPaul, whose interactive speech on The Power of the Pivot used humor, sincerity, song, and dance to guide the audience on a masterful journey. After the Keynote, the audience was able to choose between two breakout sessions, Mentorship Through Music: Reaching the Unreachable and Great Expectations: Can Revenue Goals and Equity Co-Exist? In between sessions, was lunch on your own and an opportunity to visit the Virtual Exhibit Hall where they could check out some of the new and innovative products from some of our sponsors: Northwest Playground, Great Western, and Musco Lighting. After lunch the audience once again had the choice of two breakout sessions, Leveraging Public, Private Partnerships for Community Benefit, and The Role of Green Spaces in Post-COVID 19 Re-Socialization. Day one ended with a group roundtable discussion on Virtual Programming.
Early birds for day two were able to enjoy another round of trivia featuring music mashups. Thursdays Virtual Fall Summit started with Keynote Speaker Seconde Nimenya’s Race in America─The Big Elephant in the Room. Seconde told stories of her childhood, connected with the audience, and touched on topics like racial bias, stereotyping, and improving race relations. Following the Keynote, the audience was able to choose from two breakout sessions, Race in America─How to Remove the Big Elephant in the Room and Maintaining Positive Culture in a Virtual Environment. After some more exploration of the Exhibit Hall and a little lunch, participants had the choice of joining The Pandemic Pivot: The Power of Parks & Rec Leadership During COVID-19 or Active Virtual Challenges & Activities. The Virtual Fall Summit wrapped up with closing remarks from WRPA President Paul Simmons and Networks / Caucus Meetings.
"I’m an extravert…and was a skeptical on how much I might enjoy a “virtual” conference…but leave it to parks peeps to pull it off. I found the sessions I attended to be pleasantly interactive and FUN!"
Guy Michaelsen
Principal, Berger Partnership
More About Virtual Fall Summit
A special thank you goes out to the dedicated park and recreation industry partners who are helping us put on this virtual training. Without them, this event would not have been able to take place. Take some time to learn more about the services and products they are offering and the special discounts and advice they are providing during COVID times.
A special thank you goes out to the dedicated park and recreation industry partners who are helping us put on this virtual training. Without them, this event would not have been able to take place. Take some time to learn more about the services and products they are offering and the special discounts and advice they are providing during COVID times.
"Thank you WRPA for another excellent educational opportunity. This year’s Fall Summit did not disappoint! It was well planned, well run and very beneficial. The topics and speakers were both informative and inspirational. Although we all miss our traditional, in-person conferences, it was great to see and hear everyone in the various Zoom breakouts. I look forward to sharing the information with my co-workers and hopefully see everyone again in April! Thanks again to everyone who made it happen."
Lauren Woodmansee, Recreation Supervisor, Bellingham Parks and Recreation
Thank You Platinum Annual Sponsor
Thank You Gold Annual Sponsor
Thank You Silver Annual Sponsor
Thank You Fall Summit Speaker Sponsor