The Skate Park Lady

Stephanie Murdock

"I get to meet the most interesting people at my job."  My friends have gotten used to hearing this statement from me regularly by now.  And sure, phone interviews may not quite count as "meeting people"--but there is something wonderful and inspiring about having a conversation with someone whose passion and energy practically leap out of the phone receiver.

This was certainly the case with Stephanie Murdock, whose efforts to build a skate park in the city of Baltimore reflect both her love of her sport and her commitment to the city's teens.  The 28-year-old boarder with a master's degree in Political Management exudes confidence and conviction--and she has so much to say about her skate park plans that she barely stops for breath once she gets going.

As I listened to Stephanie talk about Skatepark of Baltimore, I admired her fundraising smarts and dedication.  Hard not to.  This woman just managed to win a $50,000 fellowship grant, which she is using to apply herself full-time to achieving her million-dollar fundraising goal.  But there was something I liked even more about Murdock than her sheer competence--and that was her willingness to be a role model.  Her desire to mentor teenagers in not just the ins and outs of half-pipes and concrete...but in leadership.

As a mother of four (two of whom are in college and two of whom are in their pre-adolescent years) I know how rare it is for a busy twenty-something to come alongside teenagers in a mentoring role. And even rarer to see them do it with skill and patience.  And yet it is exactly that age group that most teens long to connect with.

And so, as Stephanie Murdock outlined her plans for me on the phone last January--and as she told her stories of street festival sales pitches and after-school design powwows--I realized I was talking with one of those rare people who has combined dedication to a cause with a teacher's mindset.  Stephanie's going to get that skate park built, and she's going to impact a lot of kids' lives in the process.  

As I said, I do get to meet the most interesting people....

Maureen Hannan

Senior Editor

PARKS & RECREATION

Magic on Macomb Street

The Macomb St. rec center in Washington, DC

As it continues ramping up its public partner initiative, America’s Backyard, NRPA conducted a brief survey on a number of topics relating to our early memories of parks and recreation. As check-the-dot, pull-down questionnaires go, it was good—with one maddening exception. How in the space of one line to describe my first exposure to parks and recreation? Impossible. In the short year or so we lived in Washington, D.C., the Macomb Street, N.W., park and its rec center became my after-school haven. With its ball field and activities room there was nothing my friends and I lacked. Unorganized activities included board games, ping pong, pick-up softball games, and other decidedly low-tech stuff. Periodically, there were structured short-term activities that I believe shaped who I am today—drama classes and competitions, archery and other competitions, art lessons (wasted on me, but what the heck), and plenty more. While I can’t remember where my keys are in the morning, I do remember the two kind and gentle staff members, Ron and Harriet, as if it was just yesterday. How they so smoothly inveigled goofy pre-teens to sample so many different activities is a marvel to me today.

What brings Macomb Street to mind today is the cover story of the March issue of Parks & Recreation which features what to an 11-year-old in 1961 can only seem otherworldly. This feature on the leading-edge recreation facilities showcases amazing architectural accomplishments. Form doesn’t just follow function in these facilities, it does so in great style. Still, I can’t help but contrast them with the two-room brick activities center and correspondingly small ball field on Macomb Street. Several years ago, I drove by Macomb Street, and what was a national park to me as a kid is as small and modest as a facility comes.    

And this is good. Because it points up the importance of the spirit and good intentions behind a parks and recreation program. The magic that goes into a facility is what counts. My hunch is that my Macomb Street experience isn’t unique. It would be good to know what you, the readers of P&R Now, think. And you’ve got more than one line to describe your exposure to parks and recreation.

Keeping the Gates Open at RedGate



Managing Editor Beth Beard (at another public course)


Despite my having lived in Rockville, Maryland, for 15 years, last week was the first time I ever attended a city council meeting. What would drag me out on a cold, dark February night at my normal (admittedly early) bedtime? Golf, of course.

RedGate is Rockville’s only municipal golf course, set in a forest surrounding two 1970s Cold War era reservoirs. Although officially built for flood control, the local mythology is that the reservoirs were built to serve as Washington’s back-up water supply in case of catastrophe. Like most muni courses, RedGate is nothing fancy – the club house is really just a snack bar, and the air is filled with the humble scritch-scritch-scritch sound of fellow trunk slammers shuffling to and from the parking lot in their soft spikes. But the fairways and greens are remarkably well maintained and it’s comfortable playing golf somewhere no one is going to notice the brand of your clubs or demand that you wear a collared shirt in the sweltering Washington summers. As we documented in our January issue, this sort of casual, inclusive course is a vital recruiting ground for the sport if golf is to thrive in the future.

My husband and I have taught our three teenage sons a number of crucial life lessons at RedGate—adults ride in the cart while kids walk, please just pick up your ball and carry it around the lake before we lose them all, and most importantly, life is too short to keep score. And we’ve had our more contemplative moments too, on summer evenings when cool, misty air rolls out of the trees and onto the fairways, bringing along with it the tentative steps of deer. So it was with some alarm that I noticed a brief Facebook post from the golf course announcing the city council meeting to discuss “the future of RedGate.”

Given that the city council recently had to bail out the golf course from a debt of $2.4 million, it wasn’t a complete surprise. RedGate is a microcosm of the budget struggles found in public recreation facilities across the nation, and determining its future path means balancing the need for green space and affordable, healthy outdoor recreation with long-term fiscal sustainability. Fortunately, the city council had earlier contracted with the National Golf Foundation to perform an analysis, which included a suite of well-researched options. In my next blog, I’ll discuss some of these options (including outsourcing management of the course), what the city council and the citizens group called the RedGate Advisory Committee thought of them, and how this all relates to national trends and NRPA’s Golf Coalition.

Elizabeth Beard
Managing Editor
Parks & Recreation

The Stories Behind the Stories

Phil Hayward, Editor

With this missive, Parks & Recreation magazine opens up a new venue for communicating ideas, issues, and trends. Now in its 45^th year, the print edition of the magazine has brought NRPA members a wide range of information on a monthly basis. Yet, any editor will tell you: But, wait, there’s so much more that we want to say. In a digital, 24X7 society a publisher shouldn’t have to feel limited by the constraints of printers, paper, and time.

So, beginning this week the editors of the magazine and occasional guest contributors will be writing blogs on just about anything to do with the field of parks and recreation. Much of it will look behind the scenes of producing the issues of the magazine—not just the cutting room floor, but the stories behind the stories. We’ll be sharing our encounters with other sources of news and information in an effort to broaden your understanding and appreciation of the field. As we learn, you learn. Hopefully, we won’t be approaching this so seriously as not to have fun.

We view blogging as a key component in our three-part social media program that also includes the electronic flagship—the digital edition of Parks & Recreation—Facebook, and Twitter. Expect tweets throughout each week alerting you to every kind of news and information, much of it to be found in the blog and in the magazine along with day-to-day observations.

We believe we’ve got the social media bases covered. But all will be for naught without your participation. Blogs are conversation starters, so feel free to join in and share your thoughts and opinions. We’ll all be the better for it.

Phil Hayward

Editor

Parks & Recreation