TEXAS TOUR
In 1984, Prof Brenda Robertson, Director of the Centre of Leisure Studies, attended the National Parks and Recreation Association Congress (NRPA) in the USA, along with thousands of other academics and practitioners. She returned with cases full of resources, and armed with masses of information about exciting initiatives and the interesting practises occurring throughout North America, to share with her colleagues and students. As she was making plans to attend the 1985 Congress to be held in Dallas Texas, she was contacted by Sheila Backman, a fellow Acadia Recreation Graduate and the former Director of the Centre of Leisure Studies. Sheila was pursuing her PhD at Texas A&M University in College Station at the time. A fellow student of hers by the name of Ian Reid, who was also pursuing his PhD, was a professor in the Recreation program at Red Deer College in Alberta. Between them they developed an idea that Ian would take some of his students, and that Brenda would take a group of Acadia students, to Texas to attend the NRPA Congress and visit the Texas A&M campus. Given that it was summer and the Congress only a few months away, calls were made to as many students as possible to see if anyone would be interested and 10 responded positively: Robin Norrie, Laura Dickson, Cindy Burke, Norma McLeod, Sue Ross, Angie Singer, Donna Hendy, Carol Schurman, and Helen Green. A St FX student named Debra Pyne got wind of these plans and requested to be included. Heather MacLellan, the head of Visitors Services at Kejimkujik National Park, who was pursuing her Master degree also expressed a desire to attend and so the concept of the 1985 Texas Tour became a reality. During the summer and early Fall, the students scrambled to raise funds, negotiate time away from classes with their professors, and prepare for an adventure that for most, would be their first time travelling such a distance from home.
The trip would consist of 3 distinctive parts: attendance at the Congress, tour of various parks and recreation venues in Texas, and a weekend spent at Texas A&M University. Travelling with the Red Deer group, it was intended that there would be considerable exchange of information and ideas between the students, as well as new friendships being forged.
The trip would consist of 3 distinctive parts: attendance at the Congress, tour of various parks and recreation venues in Texas, and a weekend spent at Texas A&M University. Travelling with the Red Deer group, it was intended that there would be considerable exchange of information and ideas between the students, as well as new friendships being forged.
The NRPA Congress is the largest annual parks and recreation conference in the world often attracting in the vicinity of 8000 participants. The congress includes the following: keynote and plenary presentations by leaders in the field; over 200 educational sessions and workshops; tours to related sites of interest within the vicinity; an exhibit hall featuring 400 organizations and companies unveiling their latest products and services; a career fair where individuals can apply and be interviewed for existing positions in the field; an education fair where universities promote their respective academic programs; and social events where networking can occur. The students certainly had plenty to experience during the Congress. In addition, a series of meetings take place during the Congress of both the NRPA Board and membership, as well as affiliated organizations such as the Society of Parks and Recreation Educators, Therapeutic Recreation Professionals, Facility Managers, Military Recreation Personnel, Parks Administrators, etc. during which students would gain insight into current issues be discussed, initiatives being undertaken, and policies being enacted. It was 1985 when the USA first adopted the July in Recreation Month campaign which has been in existence for the past 35 years. During the Congress, students attended different sessions and were able to compare notes and collect resource materials for each other as it would have been impossible to attend every session of interest. One of the common threads that ran through a number of the educational offerings at the congress was discussion around what role microcomputer might play within the recreation field, and what managers needed to consider if thinking about adopting the latest technology into the workplace. It was being suggested that the minimum configuration for a Central Processing Unit (CPU) should be 64 K RAM memory with a 16 bit processor! An announcement that was favourably received and being widely discussed by delegates was that President Reagan's recent appointment of a commission on parks and recreation, considered to be a key step toward establishing a long-range national policy for preserving, improving, and expanding natural assets in the United States, such as national parks and wilderness areas.
Following the Congress, the group visited a number of local sights of interest which included the following: Randolph Airforce Base, which is a flight training facility, where they learned about recreation related services and careers in the US military; Austin, Texas which is the state capital and the live music capital of the world; San Antonio, home of the Alamo and the Riverwalk, an urban renewal project that has led to the development of one of the premier tourism areas in Texas; Waterpark USA, which had opened that summer and was the largest waterpark of its kind in the USA; and Billy Bob’s which opened 4 years previous, the largest honky tonk bar in the world featuring 100,000 square feet of space that can host 6000 at a time including 30 bars, a pro bull riding arena, a stage where country music’s biggest stars perform, numerous dance floors, and a store selling crested merchandize. During these site visits, the students were exposed to aspects of the recreation field that they had not previously known existed.
The final phase of the trip was a visit to the Texas A&M campus. The Recreation, Parks and Tourism program had been in existence there since 1965, and was one of the first in the country to offer a PhD. A number of Acadia Recreation graduates went on to pursue graduate work at the university, including Shelia Backman, who arranged the visit of the Acadia and Red Deer groups. At the time, Texas A&M was home to a number of the leading academics and scholars in the field. Dr. John Crompton in particular was a very familiar name to the Acadia students who had studied from his text books and read many of his articles related to tourism and recreation marketing. During the visit to campus, the group got to meet Dr. Crompton and sit in on a talk he had prepared about his current work. During the campus visit, the Canadian students were billeted with the Texas students. The university is steeped in tradition, and the Canadians were exposed to such unique experiences as midnight yell practise the night before a football game, a tradition started in 1913, where people would attend a prep rally to learn or practise the yells to be used during the game the following day. Another tradition is that all “Aggie” fans stand during the football games as a sign that they are ready to jump in and help the team if need be. Participating with their hosts made the visitors feel like honorary ‘Aggies”. The Acadia students got to experience first hand the ways that a sense of community is developed in an institution that caters to more than 60,000 students.
Following the Texas tour, and the graduation of a number of students who had provided leadership to ARC, there was a period during which there was not an active Student Society. In the early 90s, there was a resurgence of interest and the Acadia Recreation Management Society (ARMS) was established.
The final phase of the trip was a visit to the Texas A&M campus. The Recreation, Parks and Tourism program had been in existence there since 1965, and was one of the first in the country to offer a PhD. A number of Acadia Recreation graduates went on to pursue graduate work at the university, including Shelia Backman, who arranged the visit of the Acadia and Red Deer groups. At the time, Texas A&M was home to a number of the leading academics and scholars in the field. Dr. John Crompton in particular was a very familiar name to the Acadia students who had studied from his text books and read many of his articles related to tourism and recreation marketing. During the visit to campus, the group got to meet Dr. Crompton and sit in on a talk he had prepared about his current work. During the campus visit, the Canadian students were billeted with the Texas students. The university is steeped in tradition, and the Canadians were exposed to such unique experiences as midnight yell practise the night before a football game, a tradition started in 1913, where people would attend a prep rally to learn or practise the yells to be used during the game the following day. Another tradition is that all “Aggie” fans stand during the football games as a sign that they are ready to jump in and help the team if need be. Participating with their hosts made the visitors feel like honorary ‘Aggies”. The Acadia students got to experience first hand the ways that a sense of community is developed in an institution that caters to more than 60,000 students.
Following the Texas tour, and the graduation of a number of students who had provided leadership to ARC, there was a period during which there was not an active Student Society. In the early 90s, there was a resurgence of interest and the Acadia Recreation Management Society (ARMS) was established.