WEDNESDAY
March 17
8:15 - 10:00 am
KEYNOTE
Freedom to Lead: How Systems Turn Burnout into Breakthrough
Municipal leaders are carrying more than ever — chronic understaffing, constant change, and the emotional weight of serving their communities. Burnout isn't a personal failure; it's a systems problem. This keynote introduces a practical, repeatable approach to leadership sustainability, showing how the right systems create clarity, capacity, and freedom.
Participants will learn the Collaboration Conduit, a communication-to-collaboration model that reduces friction and accelerates decisions, and H3: Health, Heart, Habits, a personal sustainability framework that strengthens readiness without adding more to the workload. Through real examples and actionable tools, leaders will discover how to protect their energy, improve team alignment, and build structures that support high-quality service.
They'll leave with strategies they can use immediately — not to work harder, but to lead with more clarity, confidence, and freedom.
Speaker: Jason Chadock, CEO – The Chadock Group, LLC
WEDNESDAY March 17
10:15 - 11:15 am
Strong Foundations: Planning, Purchasing & Protecting Play and Recreational Surfacing
Choosing an appropriate playground surfacing is one of the most important factors in developing a safe outdoor play environment. This useful resource was created to raise awareness about some considerations to make when planning, purchasing, and protecting your playground surfacing investment. Case examples are highlighted to provide a comprehensive overview on the features and benefits of the variety of types of safety surfaces available. Considerations are also explored that can further enhance play value at your parks and playgrounds. The guide offers planning checklists, resources, and inspection tools to help assist in simplifying the selection, installation, and maintenance process to ensure the safety and enjoyment of users
Speaker: Erin Wern, Educational & Outreach Professional - MRC Recreation
WEDNESDAY
March 17
1:15 - 2:15 pm
Lighting for sports facilities, Protecting communities with DarkSky International
Learning the principles necessary to lessen the environmental impact when lighting your parks and sports facilities while maintaining safe play
Speaker: James Brigagliano, Lighting Program Manager - DarkSky International
WEDNESDAY
March 17
2:30 - 3:45 pm
Mastering Social Media: Using your staff as influencers to market your message.
Tell your story. Creating a space on social media for your department can be challenging and fun. Discover what succeeds in a fluid, fast moving marketplace. Learn what works well and what does not thrive. Reach your community and beyond by producing low cost, homegrown, self-created content usable on multiple platforms. Track your success in real time.
Speaker: John Conlow, Park Ranger - Chester County Department of Parks and Preservation
Bridging Gaps: Recreation’s Hidden Operational Risks
Parks and recreation facilities are designed to create welcoming community spaces, yet even well-managed systems can contain hidden operational risks. Drawing on experience with recreation agencies nationwide, this session explores common blind spots that can emerge while operating, renovating, expanding, or creating facilities. Through real-world examples, attendees will learn how facility layout, supervision, staffing, and operational policies intersect—and how to identify and address these risks before they lead to incidents, claims, or litigation.
Speaker: Jenise Jensen, Senior Associate - Ballard*King & Associates
Difficult Conversations Don't Have to be Difficult
More details to follow.
Speaker: Jason Chadock
Facilitating Inclusion and Belonging in Outdoor Recreation
Third places are social spaces that are neither your home (“first place”) nor your workplace (“second place”), but rather a neutral, welcoming environment where people can gather, connect, and build relationships. These spaces build community and foster belonging, social interaction, and civic engagement among folks from various lived experiences. However, changing demographics have brought unexpected challenges to Parks and other recreational spaces. Join this session to share lessons learned and practical applications of best practices in addressing these emerging concerns.
Speaker: Winnie Okello, Parks and Recreation Equity Program Specialist - DCNR Bureau of Recreation and Conservation
Service Excellence: Essential Customer Service for Recreation & Parks
In an era of rising public expectations and instant digital feedback, delivering consistent, high-quality customer service is crucial for recreation and parks agencies. Designed specifically for a focused session, this insightful presentation delivers key principles, mindsets, and practical techniques needed to represent your agency with excellence.
Whether onboarding new staff or offering a quick, energizing refresher for seasoned professionals, this session covers the essential anatomy of great customer care. Attendees will gain actionable insights into managing challenging interactions, maintaining calm under pressure, and fostering a supportive internal team culture. Participants will leave with a clear framework of best practices and strategies they can immediately apply and teach when they return home.
Speaker: Molly Hetrick
WEDNESDAY
March 17
4:00 pm - 5:15 pm
Serving Up Success: Enhancing Revenue Through Tennis
As tennis surges in popularity, public parks are vital to sustaining community growth. However, Parks and Rec staff frequently struggle with limited staffing, coaching shortages, and court maintenance costs. This session introduces the USTA Parks Guide and actionable solutions: low-cost equipment, scalable program models, sourcing coaches, requiring minimal staff expertise, and local training. Attendees will learn how Pennsylvania’s Area Community Managers offer hands-on support, alongside Tennis Venue Services funding options to revitalize park facilities.
Speakers: Debra Loggia, Debra Loggia, Tennis Advocacy and Parks, Renee Lentz, Senior Director of Community Development - USTA Middle States
They see us Rollin’, We Skatin’: Building Community Through Roller Rinks
This session will go over how Harrisburg Parks and Rec constructs and runs its annual roller rink. We will be discussing the event logistics, including equipment and spacing needed, pricing, marketing, staffing, as well as how the rink has been utilized by the community to increase recreational opportunities.
Speaker: Emma Simpson, Community Events Coordinator - City of Harrisburg Parks and Recreation
The Panic-Proof Plan: We Don't Wing It, We P.L.A.N. It
Speaker: Jason Chadock
Civility at Work: Building Respectful Teams and Stronger Workplace Culture
Every day, parks and recreation professionals balance competing priorities, challenging conversations, and the realities of working with people under stress. In that environment, small moments of disrespect can affect team morale, workplace relationships, and the culture we all depend on to do our best work.
Civility is about more than being polite. It’s how we communicate, handle disagreements, respond when tensions rise, and show respect—even when we don’t see eye to eye. And it doesn’t happen by accident.
In this engaging, practical session, we’ll explore today’s common workplace civility challenges and their impact on individuals, teams, and organizational culture. Participants will discover ways to model respectful behavior, establish clear expectations, address incivility constructively, and help create a workplace where people feel respected and can work together effectively.
Leave with fresh ideas, practical strategies, and actionable steps you can bring back to your department to strengthen workplace relationships, support a healthier work environment, and positively influence the culture of your organization.
Speaker: Molly Hetrick
From Parks to Partnerships: Bridging Lifesaving Gaps
Outdoor AED placement can reveal gaps in funding, coordination, emergency response, and community engagement. Using The Aliver Foundation’s rapidly expanding national impact and far-reaching Pennsylvania work, including Bryson’s Bundles and Monroe County partnerships, this interactive session will explore how parks, municipalities, first responders, 911 call centers, businesses, organizations, and residents can partner to overcome barriers and move from identifying a need to taking action. Attendees will leave with a practical, replicable framework they can adapt in their own communities.
Speaker: Jill Pall, Founder & President - The Aliver Foundation
From Mowed to Meadow: Transforming Park Landscapes
Parks are an integral part of public health due to the mental health benefits gained by immersive experiences in nature. If you are seeking ways to integrate more natural areas into your parks, this session is for you! Presenters will share steps to begin transitioning turfgrass to pollinator meadows including site assessments, design considerations, and conversations with local residents and leaders. They will also detail various installation methods and management practices, funding available to support these projects, and training for staff to learn more about the long-term care. Speakers will share examples of meadows established in Pennsylvania parks, and the lessons learned from those early projects.
Speaker: Kelly Rossiter, Section Chief, Landscape Partnerships & Education Services - PA DCNR