ACADIA RECREATION MANAGEMENT SOCIETY (ARMS)
The society officially began in 1994. The students who created ARMS were very clear that this was to be a professional association, run in a similar fashion to the associations that graduates would be joining once they entered the professional field. One of the first tasks was to develop a constitution which specified the purpose and how the organization would operate.
The following are excerpts from the constitution:
A.R.M.S. is a professional society committed to developing our membership and our profession as a whole. While having fun the society…
The following are excerpts from the constitution:
A.R.M.S. is a professional society committed to developing our membership and our profession as a whole. While having fun the society…
- Will be aware of, and responsive to, issues which relate to the field
- Will promote the benefits of recreation and leisure within our community through volunteerism and leadership
- Will recognize and reward excellence and leadership within the membership
- Will develop kinship with professionals in the field through networking opportunities
- Will provide educational opportunities for its members
- Will aim to make a difference and promote the visibility of the Recreation Management program at Acadia through its initiatives
Membership was open to all Recreation Management students in the BRM Program, as well as interested staff, professionals, and alumni. An active member was defined as any individual who participates in the initiatives, programs and/or ideas of the society. Fees were set on an annual basis.
The intention of the society was that each of the members was equally responsible for the activities of the organization. Therefore, the executive consisted of a Facilitator, Communications Coordinator, and a Financial Coordinator but it was up to the membership to initiate and carry out initiatives. There was a faculty advisor who served as a conduit between the society and faculty, who provided advice and guidance to members of the executive. Projects would need to be approved by the executive to ensure that they were in keeping with the objectives, but success of the society was dependent upon members stepping up and assuming leadership roles. In addition to initiatives, members of the society would often engage in discussions about current issues in the field. The group was also involved in advocacy work, communicating with the recreation sector on behalf of students. An initial act was to lobby the Recreation Association of Nova Scotia to have a student representative position on their Board of Directors, a cause in which they achieved success. The group also lobbied to have a voice at the table of Recreation Faculty Council, another victory early in its existence. In just its second year of operation, ARMS was named student organization of the year at Acadia.
Over the 2 decades in existence, there were periods of great productivity and prosperity as well as times of low energy when few were invested in the work of the organization. There were annual events which generally took place each year which included a welcome back event in the Fall, a Christmas dinner event, and an end of year banquet with a speaker of note from the profession. On a few occasions, a top person in the recreation field in North America would be brought in to speak such as Dr. Karla Henderson from the University of North Carolina, and Dr. Ron McCarville from the University of Waterloo.
Examples of the types of activities in which ARMS was involved include:
The intention of the society was that each of the members was equally responsible for the activities of the organization. Therefore, the executive consisted of a Facilitator, Communications Coordinator, and a Financial Coordinator but it was up to the membership to initiate and carry out initiatives. There was a faculty advisor who served as a conduit between the society and faculty, who provided advice and guidance to members of the executive. Projects would need to be approved by the executive to ensure that they were in keeping with the objectives, but success of the society was dependent upon members stepping up and assuming leadership roles. In addition to initiatives, members of the society would often engage in discussions about current issues in the field. The group was also involved in advocacy work, communicating with the recreation sector on behalf of students. An initial act was to lobby the Recreation Association of Nova Scotia to have a student representative position on their Board of Directors, a cause in which they achieved success. The group also lobbied to have a voice at the table of Recreation Faculty Council, another victory early in its existence. In just its second year of operation, ARMS was named student organization of the year at Acadia.
Over the 2 decades in existence, there were periods of great productivity and prosperity as well as times of low energy when few were invested in the work of the organization. There were annual events which generally took place each year which included a welcome back event in the Fall, a Christmas dinner event, and an end of year banquet with a speaker of note from the profession. On a few occasions, a top person in the recreation field in North America would be brought in to speak such as Dr. Karla Henderson from the University of North Carolina, and Dr. Ron McCarville from the University of Waterloo.
Examples of the types of activities in which ARMS was involved include:
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In addition to the routine work of the Society, there are three initiatives that stood out in terms of the magnitude of the effort on behalf of members, and the impacts in terms of professional development of both students and participants in the initiatives: the 2001 Live and Learn Conference, the 2008 Rec to Quebec Initiative, and the 2009 Canadian Parks and Recreation Conference Student program. Such initiatives occurred at times when there was a critical mass of highly motivated and skilled students willing to work together to take on extraordinary amounts of work and responsibility.