Bryan Nipe, MLA, LEED AP
City of Lake Mary Parks and Recreation Director
"Bryan Nipe has 20 years of experience in a management role, 14 of which are in the Parks and Recreation field. Bryan is currently the Parks and Recreation Director for the City of Lake Mary where he and his team oversee facilities, citywide social media marketing, building maintenance, beautification, events, recreation programs and the renowned Lake Mary Events Center. Some of the many honors his team have received include; CAPRA National Accreditation, several CPRP certifications, Tree City USA and named one of the “Top Ten of Best Towns to Live” by Family Circle Magazine. Prior to coming to Lake Mary, Bryan worked for the Seminole County Leisure Services Department as a Division Manager and in South Florida for various consulting engineering firms as an Environmental Specialist. Bryan has served on several volunteer boards including FRPA as Vice President of Finance, The Lake Mary YMCA, Seminole County Sports Hall of Fame and The Lake Mary Heathrow Festival of the Arts. He has a Master’s degree in Landscape Architecture, a Bachelor’s degree in Economics, and is a Certified Arborist and LEED Accredited Professional. He is also a proud member of FRPA and NRPA.
Bryan enjoys outdoor Florida living and spending leisure days on the boat with his daughter Julianna, wife Catalina and their Golden Retriever Kiko."
Why do you want to serve FRPA as President-Elect?
"Having served in many capacities for FRPA and most recently as Vice President of Finance, I am keenly aware of the opportunities we have to put our best foot forward and continue to grow as an association. I will apply this experience to a higher level of leadership within the association as President. We will face the challenges the post pandemic world brings together as the Parks and Recreation industry continues to improve the quality of life in Florida."
What tools/resources do you utilize to stay on the cutting edge in the Parks, Recreation and Leisure profession, and where would you look to gain insight into what lies ahead as far as challenges and changes in the next five years?
"Through alignment with others in the industry through networking and general engagement. Constantly educating myself and empowering my staff to continuing to gain broad knowledge of the industry and industries we partner with. We also hold ourselves accountable to being an accredited agency. Re-accreditation continually challenges myself and my team to bench mark with the best agencies in the nation. I also stay ahead of the curve by reading journals and articles with a keen eye for best management practices."
What do you believe to be the greatest opportunity for revenue growth at the Association?
"Business development through growth in membership, sponsorship recruitment and other innovative ways is critical. This is especially true post COVID-19. Sponsors and partners in the industry should be made aware of the benefits of aligning with FRPA and ensure they receive adequate exposure. Outreach is critical in business development and I believe FRPA has ample opportunity to grow its “fan base”."
One of the greatest challenges facing FRPA is the delivery of innovative and applicable professional development opportunities. What approach would you employ towards identifying potential training opportunities and how would you determine their overall effectiveness in meeting the needs of the membership? What strategy would you utilize for the development and implementation of these development opportunities?
"Outside of the normal consultants and park professionals that lead many seminars, I would contact the chairs of various academic institutions to see what offerings they may have. I would focus on various tracks such as Parks and Recreation management, Landscape Architecture, Planning, etc. Professor seminars and graduate student thesis/dissertation presentations may be a welcome addition to the current excellent FRPA offering."
FRPA recently released the FRPA Impact Calculator. Please describe how you would actively promote the use of the calculator, and the importance of telling the story of parks and recreation to the FRPA membership.
"Being an active member of the committee to develop the impact calculator, I am in the unique position to be able to speak to the extensive capability it brings to FRPA. Professionals in the industry are now able to paint the picture of the positive impacts parks, trails, open spaces, recreational programs and events bring to their communities. We also have a great opportunity to offer the use of the calculator to other professionals such as landscape architects, engineers, realtors, etc. that have a need to showcase the values the calculator provides. I would promote verbally through conversation, marketing campaigns with personal experiences of users and presentation to professional groups."
The diversity of the FRPA membership base is extremely wide, based on geographic location, professional level, area of interest, and many other factors. What strategy(ies) would you utilize to effectively engage in dialogue with the membership? Additionally, how would you go about analyzing the various needs and desires into a manageable and realistic action plan for the Association?
"I believe that personal interaction and engagement through networking not only at the conference, but engaging in regional activities as well will allow me to gauge what the needs are throughout the State. Surveys are useful and will be employed, but do not always receive the response or reach needed. As we are separated into regions, I would tap a board member or other volunteer member for each region that has a close understanding of the needs of their region and ample contacts within. The regional liaisons would be tasked with surveying and reporting back with some of the needs of their specific region."