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Tallahassee, FL 32301

Phone 850.878.3221
Fax 850.942.0712
info@frpa.org
 

Citizen Members
Message from Former Vice President of Advocacy Cathy Santa, CPRP

As the Vice President of Advocacy for the Florida Recreation and Park Association, I am pleased to report that both the professional and citizen efforts to promote the values of recreation and parks to our legislators, citizens and students have been a high priority to our Association this year.

Those of us in the field know the impact we have on the quality of life in our communities, the health of our residents, the creation of memorable experiences, the preservation and management of our environment, and the positive influence on our youth's future leadership skills and their self worth.

To insure the beneficial services of parks and recreation are always funded, supported and given priority in our communities, FRPA has provided the leadership to educate and continuously develop advocates.

This year's legislative platform is very informative and professionally written. The key issues presented to our legislative representatives are:

• conservation and recreation - providing adequate levels of funding
• children and families - issues surrounding the licensing of public parks and recreation programs and the protection of our youth
• recreation as prevention - recognizing recreation and parks programs as a vitally important part of the prevention wheel
• recreation and physical health - funding outdoor space and programming opportunities that allow for the physical activity of citizens and visitors
• protection of staff, volunteers and participants - penalizing those that lash out at the staff of public parks and recreation programs, the appropriate background checks for volunteers in youth sports programs, and the protection against the release of information on youth participating in our programs
• therapeutic recreation - recognizing the role that recreational therapists play in our health care system
• recreational inclusion - assuring that all citizens have a place to recreate
• economy and tourism - recognizing the role parks and recreation plays in attracting tourism to our state, and the economic contributions that occur as a result of local government parks and recreation agencies
• historical and cultural stewardship - properly funding the acquisition, restoration, maintenance and programming of Florida's historical and cultural heritage, and
• properly fund our Florida State Park System.

Education and development of our citizen members is also a priority. Educational workshops will be offered across the state and networking enhanced. Recruitment and mentoring of our students has been initiated to provide the students information and a greater understanding of the future opportunities in this profession.

If you have any suggestions and ideas for improving our efforts of advocacy, please contact me at csanta@largo.com, or FRPA's Executive Director, Eleanor Warmack at eleanor@frpa.org.

Sincerely,

Cathy Santa, CPRP

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