NSA Foot Golf Social

GOTOMEETING

by Todd Brown

Division Director, Park Operations

Fairfax County Park Authority

VRPS Northern Service Area 2016 Chair

Oh great.  Another meeting.  I have to get all my stuff together, find a county vehicle, and look up the directions to the place the meeting is this time.  Let me check my calendar one last time to make sure the meeting is at 10 and not 9:30.  

Wait ... what?  The meeting is at my desk?  I don’t have to leave my office?  How can this be (over-exaggerating for affect)?

VRPS Central Office helped the Northern Service Area Board setup a virtual "GoToMeeting" on October 12 and it was great!

Now if this sounds like at commercial for GoToMeeting, well it kind of is, but it is more of a thank you to VRPS for supporting us once again in our efforts in improving communication among different agencies over different counties.  Virtual meetings don't replace the great face-to-face interaction you get in the traditional meeting atmosphere.  However, you also don’t see the frustrated faces when traffic delays prompt start and, maybe more importantly, end times.

A few more benefits of our electronic meeting was that we didn’t need to worry about forgetting a needed document, as we simply had to search our desk or computers.  Now, that efficiency or lack thereof is based on one’s personal filing system or non-system.  The best thing was that during our meeting we found ourselves repeating “we need to ask VRPS for that information” or “we need to find out from VRPS when that is due”.  At the end of our meeting, Nancy Turnage from the VRPS office popped back up on our screen and asked if she could answer any questions.  Now, I am not saying I was as excited to see her as a kid is to see Santa Claus, but it sure was very timely and helpful.

The meeting concluded in under an hour and clear assignments were handed out, notes taken, and decisions made, one of which is that the Northern Service Area will make GoToMeeting available for our upcoming NSA meetings.

Please make sure you give it a try on October 26th at 10am.  Even if you have never attend an NSA meeting before, please join us at our year-ending-and-next-year-planning meeting.  Of course, we would love to see your smiling faces at the Stacy Sherwood Center in Fairfax on October 26th at 10am as well!

And, consider making a day of it by attending "Training to Evaluate:  Improve your Evaluation Skills" at the same location, 1-3:30pm, .2 CEUs eligible.

NSA Bi-Monthly Meeting 
Wed, Oct 26, 2016 10:00 AM - 11:30 AM Eastern Daylight Time 

Please join my meeting from your computer, tablet or smartphone. 
https://global.gotomeeting.com/join/533956093 

You can also dial in using your phone. 
United States +1 (571) 317-3122 

Access Code: 533-956-093 


First GoToMeeting? Try a test session:   http://help.citrix.com/getready 

Develop, Engage, and Retain: November 18, Herndon

Training to Evaluate, October 26, Fairfax

Spring Plowing

by Todd Brown

Site Operations Manager, Resource Management Division

Fairfax County Park Authority

VRPS Northern Service Area 2016 Chair

One of a farmer’s favorite chores is spring plowing.  A farmer looks forward to the day he can hook up his tractor to the plow and spend that day traveling back and forth at ten miles per hour turning over the soil. It gives the farmer a chance to reflect, evaluate, plan, organize, and appreciate what he has.  As the farmer checks the tractor’s fluids, drops the hitch pin between the tractor and the plow, and makes adjustments to the plow, he is filled with anticipation and excitement for a new year.

The spring planting is really the farmer’s New Year. It is the time when he puts the past year away and begins his plans for the next year. Plowing is the first step in getting this year’s crops in the ground.  Although the farmer has been working on the crop fields since fall by spreading manure, planting a cover crop to prevent erosion, and taking soil samples to determine the quality and amount of nutrients in the soil, plowing is actually when his plans begin to take root.

As the farmer pulls his tractor out of the farmyard with the plow squeaking behind him, he sees the newborn calves, lambs, and other offspring from the winter’s months playing and grazing in the pastures and paddocks.  The pride he has from the animal production is quickly replaced with the worry, “How am I going to feed all of these little mouths?”  He knows he needs a good crop of corn, small grains, or hay to offset rising farm costs.  He puts those thoughts aside as he approaches the crop field. He knows he has all day to think about all that stuff.

Plowing is a fairly simple task. Well, if it is done right, it is simple. All the farmer has to do is set the plow at the correct depth and at the correct angle for the type of soil.  That insures that the soil will be turned at the correct depth to put weeds and unwanted growth underground while keeping the valuable topsoil towards the top.  Once the settings are correct, he has to make sure the tractor travels at the correct speed. He wants the dirt to be thrown into the previous furrow (ditch) and not back into the furrow the plow just cut. But the most important thing about plowing is to make sure the first row is plowed straight. You will never see a farmer concentrate more than he does when plowing that first row. He picks a point at the far end and stares at it until he gets there.

After the first row is plowed, he picks up the plow, turns the rig around, puts his tractor front tire in the empty furrow, drops the plow, and returns back to where he started. Depending on the size of the plow, he continues this procedure many, many, many times. This is when all the good thinking comes in. He reflects on last year and plans for the upcoming year. Yes, those plans have been made, but now is the time to make critical adjustments. As he turns around periodically to make sure the plow is still performing correctly, he realizes that all of his incredible plans are only one drought, animal illness, or drop in market price away from possible disaster. Still, the farmer and the tractor move on.

As the day advances, and his head goes around and around in thoughts good and bad, he always comes back to the same thought. He is thankful to still have the opportunity to ride on that tractor. New soil now covers his old field. New beginnings now fill the old farm, and new appreciation fills his old heart.  As he returns to the farmyard with a stiff neck and a sore back, he sees all the animals waiting for him like  lost friends. Actually, they want their dinner.  After evening chores and closing up for the day, he sits down for his dinner. His wife asks, “How was your day?” On plowing day, the farmer always says, “Great.”

See our farmers plowing the crops fields at Frying Pan Farm Park in Herndon, VA. Some crops are already in the ground. Corn, hay, and other small grains will be planted this spring and harvested this summer and fall.  These crops produce grain and hay to feed the park’s farm animals. 

Be A Champion!

by Todd Brown

Site Operations Manager, Resource Management Division

Fairfax County Park Authority

VRPS Northern Service Area 2016 Chair

A champion is a leader, and the Northern Service Area is seeking them.  VRPS provides wonderful services that benefit us as Recreation and Park professionals. VRPS is our best resource to share ideas, benchmark progress among our neighbors, and develop profitable working relationships. The strange thing is that, to some agencies and among many folks, it remains a secret. Why?  I think it is because there needs to be more participation. Once you are involved in a service group or resource group, attend a conference or workshop, and simply converse with other professionals, your eyes open to the benefits of VRPS.  I can honestly say that when I got involved in the NSA, I feel my professional career began moving at a higher level.

Todd Brown, 2016 NSA Chair

The Northern Service Area has developed positions called NSA Champions. They are liaisons among the NSA, VRPS and their agency. They are promoters, communicators and supporters. Mostly, they are leaders.  What is their responsibility?  Very simply, they serve as their agency’s representative to NSA. Each Champion reaches out to their agency’s leadership and ask for news, updates, events, and accomplishments to share with the other agencies in VRPS at the NSA meetings. The Champions also relay NSA and VRPS information back to their agencies.

A Champion is a name and a face through which the NSA can communicate to every agency in the service area. The Champion is a critical part of the service area’s leadership, serving as the contact person to transfer information to his or her agency. That information can be distributed in many ways. The Champion does not have to attend every meeting or event. We realize that plates are full and want to accommodate our Champions’ schedule as much as possible.    Each agency needs to be aware of and participate in all of the wonderful things that the NSA and VRPS provide towards developing us as professionals. It is a benefit to us and a responsibility of each agency.

On behalf of the Northern Service Area of VRPS, I ask for your assistance to help NSA reach its strategic goal of increasing membership and participation.  If you are a VRPS member and want to be a NSA Champion, please let your agency director and the NSA know. If you are that agency director, name your next leader and NSA Champion. The goal is for every park agency in the Northern Service Area to be represented and participate.  Please promote NSA participation to your workforce and be a “NSA Champion.” If you need more information, please contact Membership Committee Chair Todd Brown, Fairfax County Park Authority, at 703-324-8676 or todd.brown@fairfaxcounty.gov. 

Time Traveller

by Todd Brown

Site Operations Manager, Resource Management Division

Fairfax County Park Authority

VRPS Northern Service Area 2016 Chair

Barb Ziman travels through time. Actually the truth be told, she makes it possible for others to travel back in time and see what life was like during different historic periods.  As the Special Event Coordinator with the Resource Management Division at the Fairfax County Park Authority, Barb has organized, coordinated, implemented, evaluated (and whatever other verb you want to throw in) over a hundred special events. From antique car shows to civil war reenactments. From fairs to festivals. From quilt shows to Pirate Fest. She also was part of an event at the Lorton Prison that included one-time only wagon ride tours of the maximum security prison and grounds.

Of course, each event comes with its successes and failures and a great story.  She has dealt with angry quilters asking how to show their masterpieces a day after a hurricane came through the park. She has had Civil War reenactors on horseback dodging ruts in the grounds where the car show took place weeks prior. She has smiled and calmed angry parents that felt their kid got the short end of the program stick. She had to relight candles and campfires during rain/snow showers the night of Sully’s Candlelight Tours, all while in period costume.  Her 20 years of special event experience has provided many special memories for the FCPA and the public.

Barb created success.  Barb’s special events have generated hundreds of thousands of park visitors and special event participants. They have generated hundreds of thousands of dollars in park revenue. Many of her special events have been continuing for decades. New special events are still being created by the area three inches above her contagious smile.  Barb knows the tricks of the trade, what works and what certainly does not, and how to keep your horror stories to a minimum.

Barb Ziman, Fairfax County Park Authority

The Northern Service Area has asked Barb to provide a workshop this spring called “Special Events from Soup to Nuts” on Thursday, May 19^th from  1 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. at Frying Pan Farm Park in Herndon, VA.  This is the last time we can get a chance to learn from Barb’s knowledge and experience as she is retiring in July.  Please visit the VRPS website to register for this workshop. Earlier that same day, the NSA is offering a workshop on "Scout Programming:  Planning and Filling" taught by Tammy Schwab with the FCPA. You may not travel back in time, but you will be better prepared for your future programs and events. 

NSA Workshop: Interpretation as a Management Tool