New Media Outreach - Parks and Rec

   

How and where people are getting their information is changing fast! Just a few years ago the shift from print newsletters to e-newsletter looked like a fantastic way to connect with targeted groups of users in a very cost effective way. Social media like Facebook is all the buzz, but few people know how to use it effectively to engage the public.

 

In the 2013 eNonprofit Benchmark Study put out by M+R Strategic Services along with the Nonprofit Technology Network a great deal of interesting data is collected about how nonprofits are using IT to engage their supports. The data shows some interesting trends that directly relate to how park and recreation agencies are and should use these tools. Here are some of the results:

E-mail list sizes are up 15% since 2011, but open rates for e-newsletter are down with only about 13% of  e-newsletters being opened.

The implication of this is huge. As targeted and inexpensive as it is to have an e-newsletter, it is not very effective if it is only reaching 10-30% of your target audience. Two factors are driving the decline in the effectiveness of e-mails. One is more filters that are catching such newsletters and marking them as spam to be filtered out. The second dynamic is that there is a major shift from computer (which is where most people use e-mail) to mobile (where people use texting and social media). E-mails are becoming viewed as old-fashioned and clunky.

For every 1,000 e-mail addresses nonprofits typically have 149 Facebook Fans, and 53 Twitter Followers.

Most organizations post daily on their Facebook page, but only 1.4% of viewers respond (like, comment, share).

Photos posts get over twice as many responses as others.

While Facebook is synonymous with ‘Social Media’ it is a system made to connect you with old school mates you have not seen in years, and figuring out how to use this enormous platform to effectively communicate and engage with your customers is a challenge that every corporation in the world is trying to unlock. I think one of the take away truths of this data is that to engage your customers, you must be engaging. Posting interesting photos or comments that solicit a response is so much more effective that just using you Facebook page as a sign board for upcoming programs.

While Facebook is the giant of social media, it is not the only game in town. Pinterest, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIN, Google Plus+, and many more are out there and each is attracting a different sub-set of users. Target the user profile that best fits your target customer and you win!

Two key issues in thinking about any of these options are: do they target your market (customer), and do they effectively deliver your message? And then a third factor is have you crafted your message to be appealing? In a cluttered world of tweets and posts, you need to be very relevant to break through the background noise.

 

For more on this survey of nonprofits see: http://www.e-benchmarksstudy.com/

Lessons from George Tabb

George Tabb in 2008

Lessons I Have Learned


I have made lots of mistakes over my career. Years ago, I learned to let my mistakes teach me valuable lessons. I have found that I always learn best from the mistakes I have made and not from the successes I have had. After nearly 40 years as a Parks and Recreation professional, here are a few of the many valuable lessons I have learned:

• Don’t be afraid to make mistakes, rather embrace them as they are valuable and rare learning opportunities. That said; always admit it when you do make one even if it is embarrassing at the time.

• Treat others as you would want to be treated. You never know who you will be working for some day.

• Always take the high road in an argument. The low road always puts you out in the gutter.

• Always try to better your employees. They are the ones who make you successful.

• When faced with an important decision, always sleep on it if time allows. Things may look different in the light of a new day.

• Volunteers are not free. You must invest time and effort in them to make them and your program successful.

• Always let your employees have a say in important decisions if at all possible. If the decision goes their way, you have a natural supporter. If not, they will respect you for listening.

• Let your employees have a long leash. No one likes a micromanager and your employees will likely work out the best plan anyway.

• Always seek input from the public. To do otherwise creates suspicion in their minds when important decisions are to be made.

• Never start thinking that you can't be replaced. Everyone can be replaced and sometimes with better results.

• Always do your best and give supervisors and customers more than what they ask for or expect. They will be amazed.

• Be as generous and supportive of your employees as you can. Everyone needs help and understanding occasionally.

• Don't set yourself aside as being "too good" or "too important" to perform lowly or menial tasks. Your employees will work their hearts out for you once they see your willingness to take on jobs similar to what they do every day.

• Honesty is always the best policy. To be less than honest results in eventual failure or loss of respect in the eyes of others.

• Always pick your battles. Winning a fight doesn't win the war. Always argue from a position of overwhelming strength. Otherwise, it isn’t worth the fight.

• Do your best to keep your employees informed about developments within the organization. Share as much information as you possibly can with them. Otherwise, your employees will become disconnected from the organization and some may become resentful.

• Once management makes a decision, move forward and be supportive. Do not spread the seeds of discontent because the decision did not go your way.

• “Don’t make a living, make a mark.” (Eugene Patterson, newspaper editor and Pulitzer Prize winner)


George E. Tabb, Jr.

15 January 2013

Temple Hall helps state top Green Building List

Virginia Business reported the story below about the Commonwealth toping the list of green building states in 2012. I am proud that the Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority contributed to this great year by completing our first LEED Certified building in 2012. We built a new visitor Center at Temple Hall Farm Park outside of Leesburg and recieved a LEED Gold designation for this great building.


Virginia ranked as top state for green buildings in 2012
January 23, 2013

Virginia ranked as the top state for new eco-friendly buildings in 2012, according to a list issued Wednesday by the Washington, D.C.-based U.S. Green Building Council.

The Old Dominion, once a laggard in the green building movement, led the 50 states in buildings certified during the year as meeting Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standards.

Virginia had 170 projects certified encompassing 29.7 million square feet of space. That footage translates into a ratio of 3.71 feet of certified space per capita, the measuring stick used by the U.S. Green Building Council to rank the states.

While Virginia was the top state on the list, the overall national leader was densely populated Washington, D.C., with a ratio of nearly 37 square feet of certified space per capita.


Following Virginia among the states are Colorado, 2.1 square feet; Massachusetts, 2.05; Illinois, 1.94; and Maryland, 1.90.

Virginia ranked behind Colorado and Illinois last year.

The Green Building Council’s report singled out a number of significant projects during 2012, including Cooper Vineyards in Louisa, the first winery on the East Coast to achieve LEED platinum certification.

CPR and AEDs in the Parks

CPR and defibrillators save lives. Heart attacks are a very common cause of death, and these methods and technology can often save people.

The Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority like many public places has AEDs (defibrillators) readily available in many locations. These devices are remarkably easy to use, and they will not shock the person in need unless it determines that a shock would be useful.

In addition to these great devices, many of the staff at the Regional Park Authority are Red Cross trained in CPR and first aid. I just went through this training and I would encourage everyone to get this kind of training. Just the first aid I learned in Boy Scouts years ago has helped me provide aid to other in need several times. Having updated skills and training helps anyone be ready to assist other when and if there is a need.

The Future of the Past

In Today's Washington Post there is an article by J.Freedom Du Lac about the plight of most historic house museums in the country. The problem is steeply declining attendance, and a trend that has been going on for decades. Just in Virginia there are over 100 historic house museums, most of which operate at significant losses.

Monticello saw 671,000 visitors at its peak forty years ago, and now sees 440,000. Stratford Hall on the Northern Neck saw 80,000 visitors during the Bicentennial and now sees 27,000 visitors. While some look for excuses like a lack of interest in history, or gas prices, that is not the reality. The movie on Lincoln is one of the top 25 grossing movies this year, and the Smithsonian Institute has seen increasing attendance.

I believe the core issue is how is information being delivered, what is the experience that these sites are selling?

Someone telling visitors about the furnishings of a room was enough 40 years ago, but not enough to grow attendance today. The new Mt. Vernon Education Center, has a 4D movie, where it snows in the theater when they are at Valley Forge, and the chairs shake when the cannons fire. Their are various hands on displays that are much more inviting than the typical museum. This makes for t he kind of interactive experience that attracts visitors. Re-enactments is another type of event that makes history come alive for the public. Smartphone apps is another area that offers a great potential to build a new experience.

The trick for today's historic sites is to offer a compelling experience that is worthy of the public's time and money. That experience needs to be much more than just an old artifact behind layers of UV protected glass. We need to make history come alive and engage the public in a compelling way that makes them want to learn more about our wonderful shared history.

Children get into the action at the Ball's Bluff Battle Reenactment

Crowd Sourcing Parks

Yelp is a great web site for finding a good restaurant, but did you know it can also help you find a great park? Absolutely! Below is a sampling of Northern Virginia Regional Parks and their consumer ratings on Yelp. The great think about this kind of rating is that it is crowd sources to our actual users. The result is that customers get an unvarnished view of the things users found good and bad.

It only take one or two grumpy reviews to bring a score down, but I am proud to say that our parks rank very highly by our users.




W&OD Trail

 

W&OD Trail: 27 reviews and about a 4.5 rating:

http://www.yelp.com/biz/washington-and-old-dominion-trail-ashburn#query:W%26OD%20Trail

Meadowlark Gardens: 21 reviews and a 4.5 rating:
http://www.yelp.com/biz/meadowlark-botanical-gardens-vienna
 

Meadowlark Garden



Bull Run Shooting Center (Skeet & Trap): 21 reviews and a 4.5 rating:

http://www.yelp.com/biz/bull-run-shooting-range-and-regional-park-centreville



Fountainhead Regional Park: 14 reviews and a 4.5 rating:
http://www.yelp.com/biz/fountainhead-regional-park-fairfax-station-2#query:Bull%20Run%20Park

Pohick Bay Regional Park: 2 reviews and a 4.5 rating:
http://www.yelp.com/biz/pohick-bay-regional-park-lorton



Great Waves at Cameron Run

 Cameron Run/Great Waves: 21 reviews and a 4 rating:
http://www.yelp.com/biz/cameron-run-regional-park-alexandria-2#query:Great%20Waves

Upton Hills Regional Park: 21 reviews and a 4 rating:
http://www.yelp.com/biz/upton-hill-regional-park-arlington#query:Great%20Waves

Potomac Overlook Regional Park: 2 reviews and a 4 rating:
http://www.yelp.com/biz/potomac-overlook-regional-park-arlington

Occoquan Regional Park: 2 reviews and a 5 rating:
http://www.yelp.com/biz/occoquan-regional-park-lorton

Algonkian Regional Park: 11 reviews and a 3.5 rating:
http://www.yelp.com/biz/algonkian-regional-park-and-golf-course-sterling

Pirates Cove Waterpark: 3 reviews and a 4.5 rating:
http://www.yelp.com/biz/pirates-cove-water-park-lorton

Carlyle House: 2 reviews and a 4 rating:
http://www.yelp.com/biz/carlyle-house-alexandria


Carlyle House



Forget Resolutions, create a Strategic Plan

As we approach a New Year many people will be thinking about New Year resolutions. I suggest, forget the resolution, and adopt a personal strategic plan.

While they may sound similar there are some important differences. First it is important to state your goals in the positive, too often resolutions are stated in the negative (I want to lose weight, spend less, etc.) Second resolutions tend to be a one-off goal, not tied to a larger vision of the future.

The process of strategic planning starts with the end. What is your vision of where you would like to be in 5-10 years? You can create this vision for your career, relationships, physical fitness, lifestyle, or whatever you like. It would be great if it was an integrated vision that included all of the above. What in your ideal world ‘could be?’ If you believe it is impossible, then it is. If you believe it is possible, then it has a good chance of being just that.

Once you have the end vision firmly in your mind (preferably on paper), then start thinking about what are some of the key steps that would need to be taken between now and then. Don’t believe you can or should write down every detail, because you do not know exactly how life will unfold, but instead think about the pivotal steps.

With the key steps identified, think about how you might be able to measure your progress, so you see that you are moving in the right direction. Measuring progress creates positive momentum.

Now you have all the pieces of a strategic plan. It is flexible enough to bend with changing circumstances, and specific enough to keep you on the right track.

Then keep the end vision in mind while you put your attention and efforts towards the first key measurable result. When that is achieved move to the next, and so on.

This approach is much more powerful than creating a “don’t list” like most resolutions. Or maybe your resolution needs to be to create a strategic plan?

W&OD as vital community resource

Recently citizen committees in both Falls Church and Vienna Virginia looked at the role the W&OD Trail plays in those jurisdictions. The 45 mile trail goes through four towns, three counties and one city. It is really the center spine of the the region's bike routes, and also serves local walkers all along its course. Above is the letter from the Falls Church Committee. Last week Chris Pauley, our Director of Operations, and I, met with the Vienna Town Council to discuss the report from the committee in that Town. 

It is hard to overstate the vital role the W&OD Trail plays in all the communities it passes through.

New parkland along the Potomac



Wright Property is where the "cabin" is marked on this 1918 map

 Today, we acquired a new piece of parkland along the Potomac River. 10.7 acres a few miles upstream from Scott's Run Nature Preserve. This beautiful river-front property will help future efforts to make the Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail.

Ms Wright did a bargain sale of her property, where the Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority paid for part of the value of the property, and she donated a portion of the value. The property has been in her family for 100 years, and she wanted to see it preserved forever as parkland.


Ms Wright with Paul Gilbert at Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority Headquarters



Strategic Planning Video

See the video outlining some of the high points in the new 5 year Strategic Plan for the Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority. It is about 8 minutes and touches on every area of focus for the plan.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yeWmerd6MlI

Investing in a healthy retirement plan

Because the Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority is an independent governmental authority (not part of a City, County or State), we do a lot of our own administrative functions like, purchasing, human resources, and retirement plans, that in a larger government would be handled by different departments.


Our retirement plan is run by a group of Trustees that include an elected representative of the retirees, the Planning and Development Director, Chairman of the NVRPA Board, and me, the Executive Director. We had one of our regular meetings yesterday to work on diversifying some of our investments and review our performance. Our investments had grown about 12% so far this year, but with the fiscal cliff looming, the stock performance in December is anyone’s guess?

Like almost all retirement plans ours has been hurt by the erratic stock performance particularly through the recession. We also carry some unfunded obligations from when the plan was started in the 1980s. The good news is that we have been taking good consistent actions over time to make the plan healthy. Every year we have an actuarial study to determine how much should be contributed, and each year we make to commitment to fund that amount. In our Strategic Plan we pledged to reduce the unfunded obligations from when the plan was started by 25% over the next 5 years.

Several years ago in the heart of the recession we had a special two day Board Retreat where we looked in detail at all of our options for retirement benefits. After an in-depth analysis, we decided the best option was to work to make our plan healthy. We have been putting a lot of effort to those ends ever since.

Trails and Conservation

I recently spoke to the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club at their annual dinner and awards ceremony held at the Atrium at Meadowlark Gardens. PATC is a fantastic group that for decades has been building and maintaining hundreds of miles of trails in our region. In addition to large areas of the Appalachian Trial and the portions of the Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail, they also maintain the Bull Run/Occoquan Trail which is an 18 mile nature trail along the southern boarder of Fairfax County Va.

A number of trail groups like PATC help the Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority maintain our 100+ miles of trails. I estimated that for every mile of trail we have over $3,000 in volunteer labor per year. That is a saving of over $300,000 to the public contributed by all of these volunteers, just for our park system!

I also told the group of about 200 club members about our founder Ira Gabrielson who served as the Chairman of NVRPA for our first 17 years. Gabrielson was the first Director of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, and was inducted into the Conservationist Hall of Fame.

We are very proud of our conservationist roots, and our long-standing partnership with the PATC and other trail groups that help us run our 11,000+ acre park system.

Meadowlark Winter Walk of Lights... Awesome!

The all new Winter Walk of Light at Meadowlark Gardens in Vienna Virginia is an unbelievable show. Over a half mile walking through one of the best public gardens with over a half million LED lights! The theme is nature with fish jumping from a river of lights, flowers bloom, and butterflies fly in the winter! While there are spectacular animated displays, perhaps the most inspiring elements are the hundreds of trees that are wrapped in stunningly vibrant colored lights.

This is one of the truly one of a kind shows in the area. A world class attraction.

Tickets are sold on-line at: http://www.nvrpa.org/park/winter_walk_lights

Do not miss the opportunity to see this amazing show!

The Potomac Floods



Algonkian Regional Park on October 31, 2012



With Hurricane Sandy dumping many inches of rain in the Potomac River watershed, the river is doing its job and carrying that water out to the Bay. Along the way is Algonkian Regional Park in Sterling Virginia. Here are some pictures of the park today, and the river will likely crest sometime tomorrow.

Because rivers flood, one of the best uses for the floodplain next to rivers is to make them parks. Parks like these offer the public access to the river, great areas to hike, play, picnic, and decompress from our daily lives. Then a few times a year, or every few years the waters rise and the park serves a secondary purpose of controlling the flood waters. Parkland next to waterways also serves as natural filters cleaning storm water runoff before it reaches the river. Such passive filtering reduces the expense of treating drinking water. These areas are also some of the richest places for a diversity of plant and animal life.

Most of the over 11,000 acres of parkland owned and operated by the Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority is along our major waterways. We have over 14 miles of Potomac River frontage, and over 25 miles along the Bull Run and Occoquan Rivers.

A Good Investment - Civil War Preservation

Ball's Bluff Battlefield will soon be expanded. The Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority and the Civil War Trust are partnering to acquire a property called the "Jackson House." This is the site where the fighting that erupted into the Battle of Ball's Bluff started 151 years ago.

Below is an editorial that was in Leesburg Today about his announced acqusition:

September 1862 - Big events in the Civil War

150 years ago this month big things happened in the Civil War. The Battle of Antietam, which was the bloodiest day in American history, was fought near Sharpsburg MD on September 17th. On September 22, in the wake of the modest Union victory at Antietam, President Lincoln issues the Emancipation Proclamation. From that point on, the Union mission was the freedom of all people in America, rather than just the number of stars on the flag. This gave the war a different and much greater significance than it had had in the first year.

Before the battle could take place, the Confederate Army would need to cross the Potomac River from Virginia to Maryland. The person most involved in selecting the place to cross was Col. Elijah White. Below is a recently found letter from White about the crossing writen years after the war.

Today the property on the Virginia side where the crossing took place is owned by the Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority and will be open to the public next Spring as White's Ford Regional Park.

White is in the front row holding the sword

PEOPLE’S NATIONAL BAN

Of Leesburg VA

Leesburg VA June 2, 1896

Gen. E. A. Carman

My Dear Gen.,

Answering your letter of May 25. Sorry I can give no information as to Munford’s Cavalry Brigade Sept. 17th, I was not at the battle of Antietam. But I can speak positively about where Gen. Lee crossed into Maryland Sept. 1862. It was White’s Ford. The night before crossing Gen. Jackson’s Headquarters was at Big Spring, house of “Washington Ball” two miles NE of Leesburg on Leesburg & Pot. Of Rocks road. Gen. Lee’s at the house of Henry T. Harrison, Leesburg, VA. By order of Gen. Jackson I went with him to Gen. Lee that night at which time they determined on the march for the next day. Gen. Jackson wanted me to go in front the next day, I did so, crossed at White’s Ford on my own at that time. Camped the next night near Three Springs Frederick Co. Md.

I will mention here one of Gen. Jackson’s peculiarities. He ordered me to attend him, starting a little after dark. He rode over the road we march[ed] that day nearly back to the Potomac River, then back to camp again—not speaking a word.

Would be glad to furnish you any information in my power, Can give information about Leesburg.

Most Resp’y, E.V. White

Top GFOA Awards for Budget & Audit

News Story from the Sun Gazette Newspaper

Regional Park Authority Wins 5th Straight Budget Awards

Posted: Friday, September 7, 2012 10:34 am

For the fifth year in a row, the Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority (NVRPA) has won top honors from the Government Financial Officers Association (GFOA) for the agency’s budget and annual financial audit.

Only a small percentage of government agencies have the level of financial transparency to achieve these awards, and even fewer can win these awards consistently over five years, Park Authority officials said.

The GFOA gave the Park Authority a Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting for the agency’s audit, or Comprehensive Annual Financial Report. This award is only given to organizations that receive a “clean audit,” are in full compliance with all new accounting standards and controls, and present their budgets in a manner that is clear and easy to understand.

The GFOA also gave the Park Authority a Distinguished Budget Presentation Award, which the association bestows on organizations that produce budgets that are clear and easy to understand, as well as reflect revenues and expenses.

“It is a great honor to partner with a well-run organization like the Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority,” said Susan Datta, Fairfax County’s chief financial officer. “We put a high value on the GFOA Awards as measure of excellence in financial management.”

Park Authority officials said they strive to tie the agency’s budget to its strategic goals and use the budget as a tool to track performance.

“On behalf of the NVRPA Board of Directors, I wish to congratulate the entire staff for all the hard work and intensive planning associated with these top honors,” said NVRPA board chairman Brian Knapp. “In our current five-year strategic plan, the board has attached great importance to developing an annual budget for both operating and capital expenditures that is tied directly to the goals and objectives we have identified for our parks. This is the commitment we have made to our six member jurisdictions, and it is nice to see how the Park Authority has been recognized for five straight years in developing and implementing such innovative and sound budgets.”

Knapp added, “These accolades also reflect the total commitment of our employees spread across 25 parks who are working efficiently and diligently every day to provide recreational experiences to the citizens of Northern Virginia.”

Financial Transparency & Enterprise Operations

The Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority generates 83% of its operating revenues through enterprise operations. This puts NVRPA in the top 1% of park agencies in the nation when it comes to offering the citizens a very high value for that amount of tax funds that support the agency.

Because we are so dependant on generating our own operating funds, we spend a lot of time focusing on how best to serve our customers and improve our offerings.

We also put a high value on financial transparency. We want the public to be able to understand our budget and finances because it is good government to do so. We post our annual audit (CAFR) and our annual budget on our web site. We are also always working on improving those documents so they are more useful and easier to read. Below is a new chart that we created today that shows the net financial performance of each park, and compares it to the next performance last year.

Our focus on transparency has resulted in winning the Government Financial Officers Association's top rankings for both our audit and budget for the last four years in a row.

Bold New Strategic Plan

The Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority has released it's Draft Strategic Plan for 2012 - 2017.

http://www.nvrpa.org/park/main_site/content/planning

2012 – 2017 Vision and Plan:


The draft Strategic Plan has a number of bold initiatives that will enhance NVRPA and the entire region.

Over 50% of households participate annually in: walking for pleasure, visiting historic sites, visiting local parks and visiting natural areas, according to the 2011 Virginia Outdoor Survey. To respond to this desire for trails, natural areas and historic sites, NVRPA will build on its success at acquiring new parkland in the coming years.

Addressing the issue of children spending less time outdoors in nature, there is an initiative called ‘Nature Nuts’ that will enhance programs and facilities that serve children. The goal of this program is, that in five years half a million area children will have a meaningful outdoor experience through the regional parks. This program will have the effect of improving the physical and mental health of our youth.

NVRPA will be a pioneer in using evolving information and mobile technology to help provide interpretation and educational opportunities in the parks in a creative and cost effective way.

The Regional Park Authority is unique in generating over 83% of its operating revenues from enterprise operations, offering the taxpayers a remarkable value. The Strategic Plan builds on this strength with a combination of new or renovated facilities and a focus on customer service that will allow the Authority to continue to be a model of efficiency.

With over 100 miles of trails, including some of the longest in the region (W&OD at 45 miles, and Bull Run/Occoquan at 18 miles) NVRPA will expand its role as a leader in developing and promoting major trail systems in Northern Virginia.

With a focus on regional destination sites, NVRPA will continue its role as an economic engine of the region’s tourism economy by opening new sites and expanded offerings that attract visitors to Northern Virginia.

About NVRPA:

Founded over fifty years ago with a focus on regional land conservation, NVRPA today has over 11,000 acres and 25 parks and operates in six jurisdictions: Arlington, Fairfax and Loudoun Counties as well as Alexandria, Falls Church and Fairfax Cities.

NVRPA is governed by a 12 person Board that is appointed by the six member jurisdictions. NVRPA parks include the following:

Aldie Mill Historic Park

Algonkian Regional Park

Ball's Bluff Battlefield

Blue Ridge Regional Park

Brambleton Regional Park

Bull Run Regional Park

Bull Run Marina

Bull Run Public Shooting Center

Cameron Run Regional Park

Carlyle House Historic Park

Fountainhead Regional Park

Gateway Regional Park

Gilbert’s Corner Regional Park

Meadowlark Botanical Gardens

Mt. Defiance Historic Park (soon to be an NVRPA property)

Mt. Zion Historic Park

Occoquan Regional Park

Pohick Bay Regional Park

Potomac Overlook

Red Rock Wilderness Overlook Regional Park

Rust Sanctuary (soon to be leased by NVRPA)

Sandy Run Regional Park

Temple Hall Farm Regional Park

Upton Hill Regional Park

W&OD Trail

White’s Ford Regional Park

Waterpark Innovation

Both July and August issues of Park and Recreation Magazine have had articles that highlighted some of the innovative work the Northern Virgina Regional Park Authority has done with their five waterparks. Innovation is a big part of most successful organizations and it certainly is a part of the NVRPA success story.

August 2012 issue features innovation in aquatics:
http://www.parksandrecreation.org/2012/August/Revenue-Builders/

The Experience Economy


Gilbert credits this strategic mindset with the recent success of three of Northern Virginia’s aquatic facilities, which, since renovations in the late 2000s, have recovered costs and generated revenues on an increasing basis. By taking advantage of the Blue Ocean Strategy (developed by Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne), his agency created new market space targeting a specific set of decision makers—children ages 4 to 10.

For example, at Pirates Cove Waterpark in Lorton, Virginia, features such as water cannons and dumping buckets are presented with a thoroughly integrated pirates theme. Children can enjoy murals, play on a ship, and dig for “treasure”—medallions they can trade for trinkets at a treasure chest. Gilbert says the iconic images and fixtures, some visible from the road, create a sense of adventure that can’t be replicated. “The experience starts long before you get inside,” he states.

July 2012 issue featured general innovation within the field of Parks & Rec. and highlighted some of NVRPA's waterparks.
http://www.parksandrecreation.org/2012/July/Secrets-of-Innovative-Agencies/

Nurturing Innovation


Innovative initiatives like Schwerner’s require an organizational culture that values and nurtures new ideas.

Paul Gilbert, executive director of the Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority (NVRPA), says this precept is more than just common sense—it is backed by libraries of leadership research. Gilbert, who teaches a course on organizational innovation within George Mason University’s Parks, Recreation, and Leisure Studies department, offers his students digests of research findings on leadership and innovation.

“In study after study,” he says, “when leadership shows that they are not interested in new ideas, innovation shuts down. Why should you? It’s not going to be rewarded….I think organizations can get stuck in the status quo without even knowing it.”

Conversely, when an organization actively encourages and rewards groundbreaking ideas, innovation tends to thrive and become the norm. Gilbert takes lessons from all this research: Under his leadership, NVRPA has formally identified innovation as one of the organization’s core values. And tangible incentives, such as annual employee recognition awards, are based upon demonstrations of innovative thinking. Gilbert says that when core values lead to new ways of thinking, fresh ways of doing business become more and more apparent. He offers NVRPA’s approach to revenue as an example:

“For quite awhile, we thought that to generate any new revenue we had to build a new facility. That was the only choice. What we realized is that that’s just one out of a number of avenues. You can actually do a whole lot in thinking about the customer and their experience and adding more onto it.”