Dustin Stern-Glenview Public Park Center

I chose to look into the Glenview Park Center, partly because I used to work there. I wanted to find out what kind of public leisure this agency offered. This state of the art facility offers some of the best public recreation in the state of Illinois. It was the winner of the 2001 Illinois Park and Recreation Association’s award for Outstanding Multiple Use Facility. The Glenview Park Center offers many kinds of recreation for the community.

History:
The Park Center opened in 2001, in the same place that the Glenview Naval Air Academy used to be. The state of the art building was made possible through major donations and tax dollars from the citizens of Glenview. It was made because there had never really been a public recreation site in Glenview big enough to offer leisure to everyone in the Glenview community. It was also developed to make Glenview a more attractive place for visitors and more specifically, tourism.

What Employment Opportunities Are There?
You may be asking yourself, “How can I work at this fine facility and what different jobs are there?” As a former employee, I only have the best things to say about it. I was a lifeguard at the indoor water park, but there are many more jobs available. You can be a physical trainer, a camp counselor, a secretary, a concession manager. For careers, there are management and supervisory positions for each wing in the park center such as aquatics, fitness, camps and classes. For more information, visit http://www.applitrack.com/glenviewparks/onlineapp/ .

Current Trends and Issues:
Although the last eight years have been running smoothly, the local government is doing what it can to improve the park center. There had been a problem that the indoor pool was not senior friendly. Just recently, the park center installed a warm water therapy pool. This is for people who are going through muscular therapy, or the elderly who use it to help them exercise. The local government is always listening to suggestions to make the park center a better place for leisure for the whole community.


The Agency’s Definition of Leisure:
I was fortunate enough to talk to Mitch Forney, the head of aquatics at the Glenview Park Center. I asked him what his view on leisure was. He said, “Leisure - for an individual, is any activity that allows a person an outlet to do something in their free time that they enjoy and can relieve stress and bring a level of happiness to their life. Leisure in the family setting offers a family an escape from the "everyday" and an opportunity to improve their bond and bring their family closer together through a variety of activities and settings (whether physical or mental).” As the book said, they are determined to offer socially useful or constructive programs. He also told me that due to the size of the park center, they get to offer many different leisure activities to a variety of populations. Whether it is foreign languages, senior tap dance classes, adult pottery, special events, swim lessons, sports camps, or anything else you can think of, the Park Center offers it. “Glenview does not just settle with average activities one at a time, but strives to bring something unique to the table for everyone, no matter what stage they are at in their lives.” He said.
Here are some of the different features of the park center:

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The Glenview Park Center’s award winning indoor pool facility, Splash Landings, offers year round swimming. For a small fee, patrons can take swim lessons, swim laps, swim for recreation, partake in warm water therapy and even have birthday parties. Funded heavily by tax dollars, Splash Landings is one of the most popular attractions at the Glenview Park Center.



The Park Center also offers a full court, 8 hoop basketball gym as well as a state of the art work out facility. These help maintain the physical health of the community by offering multiple ways of exercise. The basketball courts and workout facility charge a fee of five dollars a session, or there is the option of buying a year long pass.



The Lakeview room has something different happening in it every day. It is a room that looks over Lake Glenview and holds many different events. It holds anything from birthday parties to wedding receptions to important business meetings.



My Experience:
I was able to find out what is like to have a career in this agency. Some of the pros were that it is a consistently changing field and you don’t stay at a stationary desk. An employee has the ability to network and work with some of the leaders in the industry. I found that some of the cons were that part of the profit you get is out of your control and solely dependent on the weather. You also have to work with an extremely demanding clientele due to the area that the park center is located in. I believe that a career at the Glenview Park Center would be a rewarding experience. Being a part of people’s happiness and recreation would be very satisfying for me. This park center is extremely important to the well being of Glenview and it was a pleasure to be a part of it when I worked there. The park center offers public leisure. The reason that it falls under this category is because it aims to serve the entire public. The programs it offers are also socially useful in many ways and it is funded by tax dollars and fees to the public. The Glenview Park Center is a place that offers public leisure in many forms and is extremely important to the town of Glenview and its citizens.