Virginia Recreation & Park Society 's Annual Conference provides access to a field of leaders and financial decision makers throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia.  
2016 VRPS Annual Conference
Education Sessions
Do you need another reason to attend the 2016 VRPS Annual Conference?  Explore the Possibilities with over 50 education sessions at this year's Conference in Roanoke, Virginia. 

Take a look at seven education sessions!
Getting the Dirt on Soil
This program will detail all the basics of soil science that a sports field manager needs to know for both growing healthy turf AND managing the best skin area possible.  Dr. Goatley will detail the basic sciences of soil physical and chemical properties in managing your soil and Mr. Rodgers shares his knowledge in constructed soils and soil modification, in addition to skin area management based on his years of experience as a Certified Sports Field Manager, managing and consulting on the turf, soil and dirt across a broad spectrum of sports fields from parks & rec to major league baseball. 
Speaker: Dr. Michael Goatley, Jr., Professor and Extension Turfgrass Specialist at Virginia Tech; Jimmy Rodgers, CSFM, Luckstone Specialty Products
Date: November 6, 2016
Session Time: 9:30 a.m. - 12:15 p.m. 
Location: Crystal Ballroom C
CEU: .2
No Props Group Games for Leaders: Making Fun Out of Nothing at All
Fun team-building should be an intentional goal every time your group gets together.  Group games can be simply recreational in order to fill time, OR games can re-create your group.  Adults can find new ways to solve problems, and children and youth can develop trust and leadership.  This workshop will instantly add several excellent and easy "no-props" and "low-props" games to your bag of tricks for working with groups of any and all ages.  Instruction and printed directions will be provided, plus we'll play each game together, so come ready to move, smile and laugh.
 
Speaker: Barry LeNoir, Director of Camp Bethel
Date: November 6, 2016
Time: 11:00 a.m. - 12:15 p.m. 
Location: Shenandoah
Keynote Address: Building a Culture of Customer Service Excellence
In many agencies, customer service is often 'good enough for government'. Discover secrets to build your Disney-like brand by building a culture of customer service excellence. Learn from case studies that show best practices and the evolution of building an award-winning brand that customers and the community want to associate with.

Speaker: Neelay Bhatt, Vice President, PROS Consulting INC.
Date: November 6, 2016
Time: 3:00 - 4:30 p.m. 
Location: Crystal Ballroom 
CEU: .1
Master Planning for (Accreditation) Success
This session will focus on how to undertake a Planning process that serves as a realistic road map for the future while also establishing a foundation for agency accreditation. The Commission for Accreditation of Park and Recreation Agencies (CAPRA) accredits park and recreation agencies for excellence in operation and service. Currently less than 200 of the several thousand agencies nationally are CAPRA accredited - making it a prestigious accolade to enhance the agency's credibility and justify additional funding and resource allocation. 

Speaker: Lakita S. Watson, CPRP, Director of Suffolk Parks and Recreation; Neelay Bhatt, Vice President, PROS Consulting INC.
Date: November 7, 2016
Time: 8:30 - 9:45 a.m. 
Location: Buck Mountain
CEU: .1
Delivering YOUR TED Talk: How to Speak So People Listen
Learn how to 'tell your story' and deliver impactful messages through the personal experiences and techniques of an international presenter, TEDx Speaker and Speaker Coach.

Speaker: Neelay Bhatt, Vice President, PROS Consulting INC.
Date: November 7, 2016
Time: 1:00 - 2:15 p.m. 
Location: Crystal Ballroom E
CEU: .1
Unplugging Our Participants: A Contemporary Programming Challenge
The digital age and evolving technology that infiltrates our lives influences the leisure experience in many ways. As recreation programmers, we face unique challenges as our participants' reliance on technology can conflict with our programming agendas. With nature deficit disorder on the rise, fear of missing out fueling anxiety disorders, and where staying connected 24/7 is the norm, do we have a duty to "unplug" our participants in order to maximize the leisure experience? How are parks and recreation professionals managing the challenges of the digital age? This session will explore the risks and benefits of addressing our participants' dependence on technology while participating in our programs. 

Speaker: Mark Wagstaff, Ed.D., Professor of Recreation, Parks and Tourism at Radford University
Date: November 8, 2016
Time: 10:00 - 11:15 a.m. 
Location: Crystal Ballroom B
CEU: .1
APP IT!
Want to connect to your participants right on their smartphones? We'll help you decide if a custom app will help you stay in touch and grow business. We'll examine creating an app on your own through hosted services like como, or weigh the pros and cons of hiring a tech company to create one for you. 

Speaker: Scott Ramsburg, Business and Information Manager, Roanoke County PR&T; Maureen Wilson, Marketing Specialist, Roanoke County PR&T
Date: November 8, 2016
Time: 11:30 a.m. - 12:45 p.m. 
Location: Crystal Ballroom D
CEU: .1