Advocacy -- it is everyone’s responsibility. Being an advocate, or asking someone else to advocate on an issue of relevance to you or the profession, is critical to advancing the profession of parks and recreation. Our story must be told, and who better to tell that story than professionals and citizens working in tandem to promote the benefits of parks and recreation.
PERSONAL INVOLVEMENT PLAN
You Must be Involved in the Action! No one in the parks and recreation profession today can afford to stand by and not be involved in the political process. Our very livelihoods depend on our meeting head-on attempts to categorize the services we provide as "non-essential", or the unawareness of the value and benefits of the services we provide. Here are some steps that you should take individually. If every professional follows every step, we have a good chance to increase our success!
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STEP 1
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Let the FRPA Executive Office know who you know, and what you know. This allows us to call on you to contact a specific legislator, or call on you to provide data and information on a specific topic
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STEP 2
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Become familiar with the issues and concerns published in the FRPA Legislative Platform, and others that are important to parks and recreation.
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STEP 3
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Write a personal letter, now, to each of your state representatives and senators, encouraging them to remember parks and recreation during the legislative session. Don't stop here! Make plans to personally visit your state Representative or Senator. If you can't see them, make it a point to visit and educate their staff.
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STEP 4
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Regularly check the FRPA Web Site at www.frpa.org to get the latest information on bills being monitored.
Be sure your eConnect digest is set on real time during session so you can get the action alerts as they are sent.
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STEP 5
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Encourage your fellow professionals and your local parks and recreation boards to get involved as well. Who better to speak your message than those who know the benefits!
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STEP 6
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Be on the lookout for communications from FRPA requesting your immediate action. During committee meetings or during floor debate, we may need you to act quickly.
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STEP 7
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Enlist support from anyone who is committed to our cause, our issues and our concerns. Citizen support strengthens our stance. Spokespersons should be able to articulately communicate our message in a brief, concise, and educated manner.
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STEP 8
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Always call the FRPA Executive Office with any questions you may have.
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OPPORTUNITIES FOR LOCAL PARTICIPATION AND INVOLVEMENT
There are many opportunities at the local level for you to gain more information and knowledge about legislative proposals and your individual legislators.
Local Delegations
Each county has a delegation of legislative members. Those delegations meet on a regular basis outside of session to formulate their priorities. This is often where proposals for legislation begin. You can find information on those meetings and contact information on the delegation staff at www.leg.state.fl.us and select the Information Center.
In addition, many cities and counties partner with local business organizations such as the Chamber of Commerce to help develop the local issues “platform”. Legislators stay in tune with the local business and educational community as they represent a large portion of a community’s constituency.
Coalition Building
There are many organizations in your local area that may share interest in proposed legislation. It is always helpful for FRPA to be advised of that, so that we can increase our advocacy reach. Whether the organization shares the opinion of FRPA on an issue or not, is equally important.
FRPA members serve on a plethora of commissions, boards, and, study or work groups, for other organizations and in many cases state agencies. Always let FRPA know if you are participating in a group that may provide additional information on our advocacy efforts. Keep in mind that a portion of our advocacy work is not related to legislative. Those coalitions being built at local levels or by our members’ participation is important. There are many times that we may ask an FRPA member to be our official representative on panels and to coalitions as it is not possible for our staff to be at every meeting at which FRPA should have a voice and presence.
Local Events and Activities
Communicating the benefits of parks and recreation should be a part of the every day activities of our professionals. You can assist in that communication by assuring you participate in local events and activities such as
- Local “politics in the parks” events where elected officials gather to gain information on issues of concern to their communities.
- Town hall meetings where you can hear the concerns of others on issues of importance to you, and you can share your perspective and provide information that may help advance our message.
- Host a “park tour” for elected officials. When they can feel, see, smell, touch, and experience what our programs and parks have to offer, the message is much more impactful.
- Don’t limit your activities to elected officials. What better advocates than real estate agents, hotel clerks and staff, convention and visitor bureau staff. If they experience what you have to offer, they will become parks and recreation promoters as what you do directly impacts their business.
It Isn’t Just Legislation – Stay in Touch with Regulatory Agencies
It is just as important to monitor regulatory agencies as it is to monitor state and federal legislative bodies. Monitoring and influencing regulatory activities demands great vigilance since few issues are publicized to the degree that proposed legislation is.
Many legislative bills will result in a state regulatory body creating rules that will serve as policy implementation guides, and these often have “unintended consequences” that are not uncovered until implementation of the rule begins. FRPA depends on our professionals to alert us when this occurs so that we can attempt to influence the rule-making process, and in some cases create a priority to amend the legislation in the next regular legislative session.
While FRPA rarely becomes involved in local regulatory issues, we do monitor those as needed. What begins in one area of the State often expands into others. Knowing what is happening in our members’ local areas, allows us to monitor that for any statewide impact which may indicate that a legislative proposal is in order.
