Mark your calendars for the 2024 VRPS Annual Conference from September 14 to 17! This event is set to be an opportunity for growth, featuring a wide range of educational sessions designed to provide valuable insights for you and your parks and recreation team. 

To ensure you make the most of your time, we've selected 15 must-attend sessions that we believe will offer the most benefit for you and your team at the conference.

• Skip to Day 1 of 2024 VRPS Educational Sessions (Sunday, September 15)
• Skip to Day 2 of 2024 VRPS Educational Sessions (Monday, September 16)
• Skip to Day 3 of 2024 VRPS Educational Sessions (Tuesday, September 17)

2024 VRPS Sessions-Workshops: Day 1 (Sunday, September 15)

1. The Director’s Cut II: Ideas, Challenges, and Outcomes From the Director’s Perspective (Part 1 of 2)

Topic Category: Leadership
Date: Sunday, September 15
Time: 10:45 am to 12:45 pm
Speakers: Jai Cole, Steve Torpy, Jane Rudolph, Michael Kirshman

2. Water Safety for Open Water Events

Topic Category: Aquatics
Date: Sunday, September 15
Time: 10:45 am to 11:45 am
Speaker: Dan Jones

3. Virginia Young Professionals Network Meeting

Topic Category: Networking
Date: Sunday, September 15
Time: 10:45 am to 11:45 am
Speakers: Emmy Richards, AJ McCage

4. Small Departments with Big Dreams

Topic Category: Leadership
Date: Sunday, September 15
Time: 3:00 pm to 4:00 pm
Speakers: Jerry West, Justin Bullock 

5. You're NOT Alone! How to Utilize 'ALL' Parks and Recreation Departments to Create Recreational Therapy Programs

Topic Category: Recreational Therapy
Date: Sunday, September 15
Time: 4:15 pm to 4:45 pm
Speakers: Cathy Orletsky, Melody Beck, Kathy Williams

2024 VRPS Sessions-Workshops: Day 2 (Monday, September 16)

6. Partnerships: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly 

Topic Category: Partnerships
Date: Monday, September 16
Time: 8:30 am to 9:30 am
Speaker: Michael Kirschman

7. Science in the Park: Utilizing Your Parks as Outdoor Science Classrooms Through Collaborative School Partnerships 

Topic Category: Programming
Date: Monday, September 16
Time: 9:45 am to 10:45 am
Speakers: Christy Mory, Chris Eckart

8. Leading with Resilience Before, During and after the Storm: Navigating Emergency Action Plans and Post-Crisis Recovery

Topic Category: Leadership
Date: Monday, September 16
Time: 9:45 am to 11:45 am
Speakers: Jamie Orrison, Kathleen Fish, Robert Belcourt, Kathryn Nestler

9. ROUND TABLE SESSION: Aquatics at a Glance

Topic Category: Aquatics
Date: Monday, September 16
Time: 1:00 pm to 1:30 pm
Speaker: Dan Jones

10. I Play Too: The Value of Time

Topic Category: Programming
Date: Monday, September 16
Time: 2:15 pm to 3:15 pm
Speakers: Jason Bookheimer, Michael Clark

2024 VRPS Sessions-Workshops: Day 3 (Tuesday, September 17)

11. DEI & Me

Topic Category: DEI
Date: Tuesday, September 17
Time: 9:15 am to 10:15 am
Speaker: Gabe Diaz

12. Great Things Rarely Come From Comfort Zones

Topic Category: Leadership
Date: Tuesday, September 17
Time: 9:15 am to 10:15 am
Speakers: Jai Cole, Chris Matthews

13. Building Youth Sports Into The Future

Topic Category: Sports
Date: Tuesday, September 17
Time: 9:15 am to 10:15 am
Speaker: Robert Ramos

14. Teaching Senior Fitness: Balancing The Extremes

Topic Category: Health and Wellbeing
Date: Tuesday, September 17
Time: 9:15 am to 10:15 am
Speaker: Katherina Conner

15. Charting the Course to Enrich Lives Through Recreation

Topic Category: Programming
Date: Tuesday, September 17
Time: 11:00 am to 11:30 am
Speaker: Dr. Gale Gorke

Wrapping it up:

We hope you have a fantastic time at the event and leave with valuable insights and ideas to put into practice at your agency!

While at the conference, be sure to come visit the Xplor Recreation team at Booth #43!

Here are a few reasons to stop by:

🎁 Enter in a draw to win a free iPad Air. 

🔍 See our all-in-one recreation management software in action.

📱 Get a hands-on demo of our NEW Client Mobile App.

🎉 Snag yourself some swag to take home.

📸 Capture memories with your team at our photobooth!