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Recreation
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City of Roswell
P.O. Drawer 1838
Roswell, NM 88202-1838
(505) 624-6700
Fax: 624-6889 |
THE LEISURE INCIDENT
"Planning and Preparation"
November 16, 2025
Kim Elliott, CPRP
Recreation Director
City of Roswell
Having a successful Leisure Incident requires
planning and preparation. This is true of large group special events as well as
individual leisure incidents. They require this same planning and preparation!
When you go for a walk, which is a leisure
incident, you plan your route, how long you plan to be gone, your walking
attire, whether to take the dog along and other considerations. When you go
fishing, you plan to catch certain types of fish, how to get to your favorite
fishing hole, whether or not to take the spouse, what lures to use among others.
You might even plan to stop at the fish market on the way back for various
reasons!
You plan and prepare for success! Why? Because
you desire to have an enjoyable leisure incident! You know that if you do not
plan, the odds are that you will not be happy with your experience, which may
keep you from doing the activity all together! At the very least, you may
postpone your leisure incident until later when you have had the opportunity to
plan it better!
When your local recreation department plans an
event, they also desire for you to have an enjoyable experience. However, this
planning usually takes place as a group to take advantage of various peoples
creativity, knowledge and expertise.
What types of knowledge does it take to plan
for a successful leisure incident? Event organizers, which in this case is your
local recreation department, need to have knowledge in event specifics. This
knowledge is needed in areas such as pedestrian and vehicular traffic patterns,
methods of communication, marketing and advertising, people management, customer
service, pricing, risk management, basic first aid, turf care, time management,
fiscal management, construction management and evaluation techniques just to
name a few!
WOW! That is a lot of information needed. Most
people have no idea as to the knowledge and expertise needed to prepare for a
special event! Yet, your local leisure incident provider has to prepare in all
of these areas. They do it just for you so your experience will be positive!
How does your local recreation department get
to be so diversified? In most cases, they receive training that is specific to
activities and events! The lions share of this training comes from outside
professional organizations and schools.
Your local recreation professionals have
attended schools and workshop sessions on all of the above topics. They have
networked with professionals from other communities and states. Some have worked
hard to receive professional certification which requires continual renewal and
contact instructional hours by other professionals throughout the year. Some
have studied under the best in the nation at schools like the National Executive
Development School, the Recreation Facility Design School and the Revenue
Management School!
Yes, for you to have a successful leisure
incident, planning and preparation is required!
People used to think that those employed in the
leisure industry were all minimum wage earners with little experience and no
education! Today, that could not be further from the truth! They may still be
low wage earners, but they have experience and education!
Society has changed tremendously in the last
several years. Even though economists still try to ignore this fact, society
places a huge value on the leisure incident which in many instances drive entire
local economies. That value relates to trust in leisure service providers. One
of these providers is your local recreation department! They plan and prepare
for your future successful leisure incidents.
Roswell Recreation is no different! We exist to
serve the public by providing enjoyable leisure experiences. These experiences
are not only for the individual. They are for the entire family! Our mission
statement says, "Roswell
Recreation strives to meet the community's recreational needs and interests by
providing a wide variety of quality and wholesome leisure activities…"
Think about the planning needed and the people
making the preparation the next time you participate in one of your leisure
incidents!
Parks and Recreation! The Benefits Are Endless...TM
