California Park & Recreation Society Conference & Expo Celebrates “70 Years of Inspiring Excellence”

Source: California Park & Recreation Society

November 28, 2017 – (Sacramento, CA) Join your professional peers at the second largest Park & Recreation Conference in the Nation, March 13 – 16, 2018 in Long Beach, CA. Here, the CPRS Conference & Expo is celebrating “70 Years of Inspiring Excellence”! Registration for this milestone event is open for preregistration until January 26, 2018 at www.cprs.org.

Park, recreation & leisure services professional are coming together at the Long Beach Convention Center to network with each other, learn from industry experts, and to share important experiences and best practices. More than 100 education sessions will provide attendees of all experience levels with creative ideas and new tools to implement upon their return to work. Education sessions run Wednesday, March 14 through Friday March 16. Featured learning opportunities include, but are not limited to:

• California Park Bond Advocacy
• Software learning community users group
• Leadership
• Measuring program results
• Hiring
• Strategic planning & problem solving
• Inclusion
• Emergency management
• Remaking public spaces
• Managing public conflict
• Career development

See a more complete list of sessions at www.cprs.org

The Opening Session (sponsored by Landscape Structures) on Wednesday, March 14, promises to be motivating, informative and entertaining as Keynoter Robyn Benicasa addresses attendees on the topic of:  Building the type of World Class Teams that succeed against all odds, that triumph in the face of adversity and that win as one in times of great challenge and change! A topic most of us are dealing with daily in today’s environment!

Afterward, attendees will enter the Grand Opening of the two-day Expo! Taking place Wednesday, 12:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. and Thursday 9:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m., the event includes lunch both days for all attendees and exhibitors. Here, people meet with more than 700 exhibitor personnel from 250 companies as they research products, services and solutions pertaining to all aspects of the park, recreation & leisure services industry. Returning to the Expo will be the Best of the Best Awards Showcase, where Statewide Agency Award Winners display and discuss details about their 2017 awarding winning projects. New this year will be College/Research Row where college and university professors discuss projects in both theoretical and applied research that contribute to the development of leisure, recreation, and tourism professions. The exhibition also includes the Silent Auction, where super auction items can be bid upon at participating exhibitors’ booths. 100% of Silent Auction funds go to the California Foundation for Park & Recreation Scholarship Fund. The Expo ends with a grand prize drawing valued at $2000.

Networking opportunities also abound throughout this three-day event. Wednesday evening, conference attendees can network and unwind at the all-conference Welcome Reception - a 70’s inspired Disco Inferno event! (sponsored by PlayCore). Thursday evening will be the Hops, Grapes and PLAY! Social where leaders in recreation & government come together to share ideas, develop alliances and increase knowledge of the value of PLAY within the context of the recreation profession. Ending the evening will be the Poker Pub Crawl – where conference attendees will visit at least 5 different restaurant pub venues with the object to draw the best 5-card poker hand at the end of the event and winning fabulous prizes.

A new highlight this year is our “Conversations that Matter” which offers you an opportunity to learn from one another on various trending issues. Our closing session “Create your Own Legacy” will explore climate change and entrepreneurial thinking and addressing strategies and solutions for create a sustainable future.  There is sure to be something for all attendees.

Following the final education sessions Friday afternoon, the prestigious CPRS Annual Awards Reception and Banquet will take place from 5:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. Agencies displaying excellence in park planning, facility design, recreation programming, marketing, as well as individuals, organizations and companies who advance the Parks Make Life Better!® message will be recognized for their achievements, thus putting the final touch on this year’s CPRS Conference & Expo.

About CPRS
Since 1946, CPRS continues to provide quality and value to its members through education, networking, resources and advocacy. We are the largest association of park, recreation & leisure service professionals in California. CPRS recognizes its strategic conference and awards partners: Area Parks & Recreation Departments, PlayCore, Landscape Structures, Greenfields Outdoor Fitness, RJM Design Group, Little Tikes Commercial, and SVA Architects.

Visit  www.cprs.org for complete conference information.