Leadership Summit

When:

June 22 - 23, 2022

Where:

Saxony Hall

13362 Pennington Rd, Fishers, IN 46037

Opportunity to earn up to 0.825 CEU credits.

Cost:

IPRA Members | $75/person

Non-IPRA Members | $125/person

**$65/person for three or more from same agency (Member)

As a reminder, IPRF provides Professional Development Grants to assist in the attendance of professional development schools or events which will enhance professional growth and contribute to the overall knowledge base of the parks and recreation profession.

Topics will include:

• Ethical Leadership
• Mission Based Decision Making
• Building A Well-Defined Organizational Culture
• Planning for an Innovative and Inclusive Future

Agenda

Session Descriptions

Planning for an Innovative and Inclusive Future (Approved for 0.3 CEU credits)

Speaker: Neelay Bhatt, Vice President, PROS Consulting Inc.

As agencies in Indiana plan for the next decade, this interactive workshop will help identify trends and next practices as they plan for future shifts in an increasingly unpredictable post-pandemic time. The communities we serve today are increasingly more diverse and the millennial and Gen Z staff entering the workforce are focused on meaning not just money. it is critical that organizations lead with values to build a truly innovative and inclusive culture that will sustain and excel. At the same time, technology is changing rapidly and reshaping the way we do things.

We will discuss insights for building an agency culture and mindset that can thrive in a changing landscape as parks and recreation agencies look to changes in community demographics, park and facility designs, program and service delivery, financial sustainability, marketing and storytelling and innovation in general.

Mission-Based Decision Making: What Business Are You In? (Approved for 0.2 CEU credits)

Speaker: Michael Kirschman, CPRP, Director of Parks and Recreation for the City of Virginia Beach

When you are asked “What do you do for a living?” what is your response? If you respond with your position title and a brief overview of your responsibilities, you’ve missed the boat! For instance, if you ask a Wal-Mart employee what they do, they may respond “I help people save money so they can live better.” We need to learn from companies that ensure their vision is connected to every employee and agency decision. Being a Park & Recreation employee is not about “maintaining parks” or “providing recreational programs”, but rather improving the lives of our residents, creating community, increasing property values, improving health and lowering health care costs, decreasing crime, improving air and water quality, boosting tourism, and any number of other positive social outcomes. We don’t exist “Just for the fun of it” - we are an essential community service. Learn just how important your agency mission and vision statement is, and how every employee – especially supervisors – need to make decisions with mission and vision outcomes in mind.

Organizational Culture & Staff Retention in a Post Covid World (Approved for 0.125 CEU credits)

Speaker: Michael Kirschman, CPRP, Director of Parks and Recreation for the City of Virginia Beach

In a post-covid, great resignation, staffing shortage world, never before has organizational culture been more important. But what is Organizational Culture? And how do you define it, measure it, and improve it? This session will dive into these questions while offering real world examples of organizational culture change initiatives.

Ethical Leadership (Approved for 0.2 CEU credits)

Speaker: Michael Kirschman, CPRP, Director of Parks and Recreation for the City of Virginia Beach

Ethical decisions are not always clear nor are they easy to resolve. In this interactive session, you will learn to recognize the implications of ethical problems when they arise. Through the utilization of real-life examples encountered in the Parks and Recreation field, you will learn steps to objectively resolve personal and professional ethical issues and dilemmas.

About the Speakers

Michael Kirschman, CPRP, Director of Parks and Recreation for the City of Virginia Beach

Director of Parks and Recreation for the City of Virginia Beach. The department manages 293 parks, 7,000+ acres, seven large recreation centers, provides childcare at 56 elementary schools, and maintains all city properties and schools with 1,400 employees and a $71M budget. Prior to Virginia Beach, Michael spent 12 years at Mecklenburg County Park & Recreation, serving the City of Charlotte and six towns. He also worked for park districts in Illinois and Ohio, the American Samoa EPA, consulted for the National Park Service, and started his career as a Soil & Water Conservation District educator.

Neelay Bhatt, Vice President, PROS Consulting Inc.

Neelay’s career on five continents includes Disney, The Super Bowl, The Olympics, besides several years of consulting, public speaking and training. TEDx, the global platform for ideas, describes him as a business and communications visionary and in his role as the President of the Immigrant Welcome Center Board aspires to make Indy the most welcoming city in America.

He champions “Ideas Worth Spreading” as the curator and coorganizer for TEDxIndianapolis, TEDxIndianapolisWomen, and the NCAA’s signature event Final Four Talks. In addition, he’s led a TED Global workshop in Canada, presented multiple TEDx talks and continues to coachTEDx presenters.

As an alumnus of the Harvard Kennedy School and #1 ranked Sports Management Program at Ohio University, his keynotes and talks on magical customer service, trends, empathetic leadership and the art of storytelling have benefited executives, professionals, startups and students from Charlotte to China and from Switzerland to New Zealand.

As the Principal at PROS Consulting INC. (based in Indianapolis), he has led organizational culture change processes for Los Angeles County serving 12 million people, Olympic Governing bodies including US Sailing and the world’s largest municipal customer service and leadership training project for Chicago Park District for 3000 employees. In addition, his work on Master and Strategic Planning with agencies including Atlanta, Indianapolis, Carmel-Clay, San Diego, Broward County, Charlotte-Mecklenburg County, Las Vegas etc.) has recommended facility development and infrastructure improvements totaling over $2 billion USD and are shaping a better vision for equity, health and wellness and conservation globally.

Interested in sponsoring this event? Contact Courtnie and view the sponsorship opportunities here.