The Champaign Park District

The Champaign Park District is a local recreation service group serving the community of and surrounding Champaign. Collectively, the park district belongs in the public agency part of the leisure service delivery modes. The park district has a history of providing a variety of programs and services to the public. Currently, the park district offers programs aimed to promote the cultural arts, sportsmanship, competition, nature, and leisure.

Background
Champaign Park District (CPD) was established in 1911 and made a government entity in 1955 to serve the public of Champaign. While the CPD has always looked over the various parks and trails, only in 1967 was CPD given responsibility for recreation services for the community.

Art Exhibit Room Designed by the CPD at one of their facilities. (above)


Upcoming Art Exhibit. (above)

Currently, the CPD consists of five elected commissioners serving uncompensated 6 year terms overseeing approximately 70 full time employees and over 400 part time, seasonal, or temporary employees. Furthermore, the CPD, through reciprocal agreements, now serves over 68,000 residents residing in Champaign, Urbana, Rantoul, the University, as well as school district 4.

Employment Opportunities
CPD uses online applications to screen for potential employees. Prospective employees can use this to apply for different positions by creating an online account and filling out an extensive form. Moreover, the website also has frequent updates of job openings. As of 11/23, the position openings include ballet instructor, adult and sports program leaders, fitness instructors, and event managers. A few positions have deadlines for applications while many do not. One may also apply for jobs that are not currently listed also. The link to this web page can be found here.

A good opportunity for those hoping to eventually work for the CPD may be to take on an internship or volunteering position to gain valuable experience. There are many leadership positions available in the several types of positions. Some of them are designed to give you experience in parks and recreation, cultural arts, and advertising. These may serve as your way to "get a foot in the door" of the CPD.


Current Trends and Issues
Through their 2004 survey, the CPD has identified several trends and issues that requires attention. Specifically, those in the survey responded that their current needs for a "wide range" of services and facilities are not being adequately met. Presumably, the public has desires for more varied services and facilities than they do now. Also, CPD has found that maintaining park paths and bathrooms should be on their list of priorities as results from the survey showed that bike trails, walking paths, bathroom facilities are continuously among the most valued by the public. Finally, much of the public has voiced their desire for the historic Virginia Theater to be renovated in the 2004 survey. As a result, CPD has recently received a major financial contribution for this purpose.

CPD's Recent Efforts for Funding. (above)

CPD's Definition of Leisure and Benefit to Public
The CPD's definition of leisure would most likely be characterized by the view that having inclusive and innovative programming along with a focus on the culture and health of the individual would most serve its purpose. CPD puts much of its attention to hearing what leisure would mean to its community and tries to provide it while being fiscally responsible. As a result, a major benefit the CPD gives to the community it serves is its ability to provide cohesion to the diverse public through its wide range of services.

A career in the CPD would be very nice. Although not as lucrative as others, a job in the CPD does seem to offer stability. In the very least, it would be a good stepping stone for one's future job in a similar field. A negative of a career in this agency is lack opportunities for advancement from within. Moreover, the barriers to mobility within the CPD, such as moving from sports management to parks, is also a negative.

All in all, my experiences with CPD has been extremely positive. Through visiting a few of its facilities along the years and its web site, I've gained an appreciation for the job that the CPD board and its employees have done. Among the various programming that I have attended, I especially enjoy the availability of the Leonhard Recreation Center sponsored by the CPD. A gymnasium that can be used for basketball, volleyball, and many other sports, it offers many sports programming for the public. As can be expected from the CPD, Leonhard always has helpful staff members on hand to ensure that its open gyms are dependable, sports leagues are managed, and its facilities maintained. It certainly fits into the leisure delivery system through the wealth of programming it provides and the vast parks and public lands that it controls.