Fellow Park professional Leslie Knope once said, “you only get one chance to make a second impression,” so here it goes. 😊

Hello everyone, it is a pleasure to write for you again and since this is communicator is coming to you digitally, you can take it with you everywhere you go.

Summer has come to an end, and our holiday events are starting to take shape. Many of our communities rely on our Districts for celebrations and we have an opportunity to make new friends or form friendly partnerships. Recently, we have seen an interest from our local congresspeople and local businesses in sponsoring some of our events. This allows us to continue to provide quality community events while keeping costs down, it is a win for all involved, so don’t be afraid to ask.

One of the most difficult things we are all facing is information overload, with frequent world events and local updates making it difficult to stay informed about changes that affect our Districts. In the last Communicator, I mentioned the Board Member Roundtable and how beneficial it is for our elected officials. For this Communicator message, I want to mention our GM Roundtable. This is a great place to not only share ideas, but to catch up, learn and do a mini deep-dives on topics that directly impact our parks in real time. On a recent Zoom meeting, we discussed Senate Bill 499 (recognizing park facilities as essential services and critical community public safety infrastructure), as well as QUIMBY and our local LAFCO commissions.

Not all Districts have the resources to follow these issues closely, but together we can help each other stay focused on what matters. Collaboration is the “old school” Intelligence (nothing artificial about it). CARPD focuses on the people in our profession, and we will all go far, if we go together.

Thank you for being a member of CARPD and I look forward to our next time together.

Dean Wetter

Valley-Wide Recreation and Park District

President, CARPD