Recreation and parks in West Virginia

West Virginia Recreation and Parks Association (WVRPA) and the West Virginia Therapeutic Recreation Association (WVTRA) had a join-conference in Charleston, West Virginia last week.

John Perdue (West Virginia State Treasurer) was a key note speaker on Nov. 2nd.

Here is some information that Perdue shared:

West Virginia is fortunate to have natural beauty. The state has beautiful parks: state, national, and community. These parks are possible because of people in the recreation and parks field who’ve had the backbone to crate them.

Parks provide so much for the people in our communities: exercise, interaction, unites the community. Parks can be used as educational tool. They can open doors of opportunity for children in the state.

Leaders in the recreation and parks field make a difference. They allow for kids to come participate and play in parks. These kids could easily grow-up and become something because of their park experience. They may become environmentalists, biologists, or even recreation service providers.

Parks are a legacy. One generation of leaders retires and the next generations of leaders continue the tradition.

John Perdue shares the importance of recreation and parks in his own life. As a young boy, he learned how to play sports at parks.
As an adult, John, asked his wife to marry him at Coonskin Park (in Charleston, West Virginia). They went on their honeymoon at Pipestem Resort State Park (in Mercer County, West Virginia. They go visit the place where he proposed every year at Coonskin Park.

Of course, Mr. Perdue and his wife aren’t the only two people who’ve had wonderful and life-changing experiences at parks. Many other people have had experiences, too.

There have been many great parks built by the past generations. Naturally, leaders in parks and recreation today must bridge that to our current generation. Perdue says that we shouldn’t just maintain our parks, but let them strive. He goes on to advocate for more community involvement and partnerships to create a lasting legacy.

Park and recreation professionals are fortunate because they love what they’re doing. They have passion for doing their work or they wouldn’t be doing it.

Mr. Perdue finishes up his key note speech with an interesting story, which I feel is wroth repeating here. Please note that I, [Danny Pettrty] am not advocating for any religious view. I remain neutral on religious view in my blog. Here is the story Perdue shares:
Statue of Christ once stood in front of a church in Europe. It was hit by a stray bomb during World War II. The statue was broken into many pieces. After the war, the church members decided to rebuild their statue of Christ. They did their very best to put him together, but part could not be done. The hands on the statue of Christ had been so torn apart that it could not be put back. The congregation asked the Priest what to do and he replied, “We are the ‘Hands’ of our community.” It is through our hands that we make things possible.

Mr. Perdue explains that it is also the hands of the recreation and park professionals who go out and make parks possible for the people in our communities.

I regret to say that I wasn’t able to attend the full conference. I did notice a shelf with tons of brochures for parks and recreation in the state of West Virginia at the Holiday Inn (where the conference was held).

Here, are several places that I think you may want to put on your list of places to see in West Virginia:

a.) Tamarak: The Best of West Virginia
http://www.tamarackwv.com
b.) Clay Center
http://www.theclaycenter.org
c.) New River Gorge
http://www.nps.gov/neri/index.htm
d.) Winter Place Ski (and snowboarding) Resort
http://www.winterplace.com/
e.) Pipestem State Resort
http://www.pipestemresort.com
f.) The Greenbrier Resort
http://greenbrier1-px.trvlclick.com/site/
g.) West Virginia Cass Scenic Railroad
http://www.cassrailroad.com
h.) Mountain Creek Cabins
http://mountaincreekcabins.com/