Get the most from the 2019 VRPS Conference
Amazing Conference Sessions
 
#OneTrackFitsMe? Not so much. Your responsibilities and tasks don't
fit neatly into a track and neither do those of any of your fellow parks and recreation professionals from across Virginia. 

This year, we're introducing a search by hashtag for more than 30 themes of our conference  to help you seek out sessions best suited for you. Examples include #CostRecovery #LoveYourStaff #Operations #TakeItOutside.  With 104 speakers presenting over 80 educational sessions, we know you'll find something new and exciting to learn. Plus, we are pleased to welcome 50 new speakers to the conference as well as many highly rated returning presenters and national speakers. 

Learn more about...
  • Keeping you, your staff and your patrons safe by learning, What You Don't Know Can Kill You and Other Less Dramatic Safety Tips.
  • Enhancing your youth sports programs by attending A League of Their Own: Highlighting Outstanding Youth Sports Programs, presented by NAYS. 
  • Working on Strengthening (Your) Organizational Performance with both Cindy Curtis and Barbara Heller. 
  • Coming up with creative and innovative programming is a challenge. Get help by attending #ThinkBigger: Creating Programs around National Initiatives. 
  • A prescription to spend time in nature, sign me up! A Partnership for Park Prescriptions details the coordination of Fairfax County's Health Department, Park Authority and Park America to reduce chronic conditions through the outdoors. 
     
  • Keeping your food safe. You may need an empty stomach for this one, but it is important to learn What's Lurking in Your Concessions' Food?
Plus, we welcome back Bobbi Nance, President of Recreation Results and nationally renowned speaker, for a full day of sessions to include 10 Questions Leaders Should Stop Asking, Amping Up Your Customer Experience, What Your Customers Want but Won't Tell You, and Do More with Your Data.
Keynote Speaker - Peter Kageyama

#Mustsee! Peter Kageyama, author of, " For the Love of Cities, the Love Affair Between People and Their Places," will keynote the annual conference on Sunday, September 8 at the Tysons Sheraton.

Why do we connect emotionally with some places and not others? And why does that matter? Author and consultant Peter Kageyama loves cities - big cities, small cities, villages and small towns. Former President of Creative Tampa Bay, a grassroots community change organization and the co-founder of the Creative Cities Summit, an interdisciplinary conference that brings citizens and practitioners together around the big idea of 'the city,' Peter is a Senior Fellow with the Alliance for Innovation, a national network of city leaders that is dedicated to improving the practice of local government. As cities begin thinking of themselves as engaged in a relationship with their citizens, and citizens begin to consider their emotional connections with their places, we open up new possibilities in community, social and economic development by including the most powerful of motivators-the human heart-in our toolkit of city-making. Love of place matters. Peter refers to himself as a "recovering attorney," and he loves to play board games! Don't miss his presentation on Sunday afternoon starting at 2:30 p.m. Many thanks to our keynote sponsor, Reston Community Center.

Volunteers Needed!  

Volunteers are essential in making the conference successful. Volunteering is a great first step into getting involved with VRPS. Helping for a few hours can make a big difference.   Get started and sign-up today.
Conference Registration Fees -  What a deal! 

Full Delegate -
Member Fee: $440 ||
Non-Member Fee: $520
Sunday ONLY -
Member Fee: $180 ||
Non-Member Fee: $260
Monday ONLY -
Member Fee: $205 ||
Non-Member Fee: $285
Tuesday ONLY -
Member Fee: $110 ||
Non-Member Fee: $190
 
   REGISTER ONLINE TODAY
  Fees Go Up July 1
Virginia Recreation & Park Society's Annual Conference provides access to a field of leaders and financial decision makers throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia.