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In less than 40 days, thousands of park and recreation professionals from across the country will gather in Atlanta for the 2024 NRPA Annual Conference. This is, without a doubt, the best park and recreation conference you can attend —  it’s filled with tons of amazing opportunities to learn, build your network, and of course, have a little fun with your peers. 

As we get closer to the conference, we know there are probably some professionals out there who are attending for the first time and have a lot of questions. Cort recently posted on LinkedIn asking for previous attendees to share their best tips for first-timers, and the comments did not disappoint. So, we decided to turn them into today’s episode of Open Space Radio! 

Every single tip shared was super valuable, and if you’re attending the 2024 NRPA Annual Conference this October 8-10 for the first time, we encourage you to listen and keep some of these nuggets in mind while you’re in Atlanta — and while you’re packing!

Tune in to the full episode below to hear all the tips and our reactions to each of them. If you prefer to read instead of listen, we’ve listed them below, as well.

And, if you haven’t already registered, there’s still time. Visit conference.nrpa.org to register today and we hope to see you in Atlanta!

Nichole Bohner, Aquatics Division Manager, City of Round Rock, Texas 

• “Talk to everyone! When you’re seated in the conference sessions, get to know those around you and exchange contacts.” 

• Nichole went on to say, “If you’re lucky enough to travel to conference with coworkers, don’t be afraid to broaden your horizons. Take every opportunity to broaden your network. You never know who you’ll meet who is struggling with the same issues or has ideas that would help your operation.” 

Sarah Olson, CPRP, Public Works Deputy Director of Engineering, Planning, and Development Servies, City of Kirkland, Washington 

• “Go to a pre-conference event. It’s a smaller crowd, a great way to get through registration when things are way less busy and a great way to start making new friends.  

Eric Lopez, CPRE, District Superintendent of Parks and Recreation, City of Fort Worth, Texas 

• “Don’t underestimate the power of night socials and lunchtime. A lot of great connections happen over informal conversations.” 

• “Take notes, review them later and plan to execute the things that resonated more. Going back to your leadership with actionable things you learned and takeaways will aid in enhancing their commitment in sending staff in future years.”  

Lisa Shore, CPRP, CPSI, Anne Arundel County, Maryland 

• “Leave room in your suitcase for all the cool stuff you’ll bring home!” 

Jeanette Aiello, CPRE, Project and Operations Supervisor, Charter Township of Canton, Michigan 

• “Attend at least one session in a topic area that is different than what you regularly work in. It can spark some interesting thoughts or possibly open you up to a new aspect of the field. Also, be willing to talk to the person sitting next to you. You'll likely want to get into your session 15 minutes prior and that opens you up to meeting some incredible professionals.” 

Trista Taylor, CPRP, CPO, Deputy Parks and Recreation Director, Village of Cottage Grove, Wisconsin 

• “Check out the schedule and try to have a backup plan for the sessions you want in case the room is full! If you arrive early, visit the app to get an idea of the layout. Last year was my first time and the experience was a shock to my system in a great way but can be overwhelming!” 

Anthony Iracki, MS, CPRP, CORE Professional Development Manager, PlayCore 

• “Ask for business cards and take ownership of the connection. Send a LinkedIn request or a friendly email within a week of getting back from the conference.” 

• “Take advantage of the network meetings.” 

Tom Venniro, CPRP, Director of Hilton-Parma Parks and Recreation, New York, and co-host of RecLess Podcast 

• “Just show up. A lot of times, the introvert in me (and the fact that I feel I’m always go, go, go at home), tells me to go to conference and then get to that room and relax. Instead, seek out the social or if you are asked to join people at one or for a meal, say yes. You never know how any connection or conversation can impact you/others.” 

• “Don’t sleep on the exhibit hall. For starters, it is huge! Plan in at least 4-5 hours over two days if you want to cover it all. The vendors are amazing and want to talk to you, but be intentional on stopping with limited times. Another fun tip, they all have swag and some years back I started looking for items my team back home might like and I bring them all back a swag care package and some candy as a thank you for holding it all down while I was away. I have also borrowed many ideas for our own swag.”