17 Wing Winnipeg hosts CFPSA Community Recreation Conference
By Kristin Wood, Communications Assistant, CFPSA, Ottawa, 613-996-2062, wood.kristin@cfpsa.com
From October 11 to 12, the CFPSA Community Recreation Conference was held at 17 Wing Winnipeg.
The conference presented an opportunity to review, discuss and seek solutions to issues and challenges facing recreation staff. Conference objectives included an update on CFPSA recreation policy, and a chance to network and share ideas and success stories.
What the conference attendees didn’t know was that Winnipeg had a little surprise in store for their visit. “We woke up to snow on the ground!” says Stephanie Webster, National Youth and Recreation Manager. “The wind was blowing, it was freezing cold! Totally unprepared for this, we layered the clothing we had available in our suitcases, dashed through the cold to the Mess for breakfast, then over to the brand new Training and Education Centre.”
The conference agenda included guest presentations from Football Canada, and the Lifesaving Society. Mr. Roger Gauthier, St-Jean Community Recreation Director, presented a solid business model for the Pontoon Boat Project. The Pontoon Boat Project enables St-Jean’s Community Recreation to rent out a Pontoon Boat for day trips on the river. Roger captured everyone’s interest with this creative way to provide a non-traditional morale and welfare program.
Petawawa’s Ms. Karen Donovan and Ms. Trish Burke kept everyone’s attention during their presentation with flying Frisbees and other gadgets. They spoke about all the organizations they partner with in Petawawa, discussed the advantages of partnering, and drove home their message on the importance of community partnerships for youth programs and services.
“The community recreation conference was a success,” Stephanie declares. “There were updates in a number of areas from contracting policy, to the National Youth Model, to the Customer Relationship Management program and its impact on community recreation.”
Conference attendees were treated to some wonderful Manitoba hospitality, courtesy of Melissa Horbas, Community Recreation Director at 17 Wing, and her team.
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| The Community Recreation folks enjoy an evening at the Old Spaghetti Factory in Winnipeg, Manitoba. |
