Don Bresnan and Champaign make things happen.

Communities across the country benefit every day from the volunteer efforts of citizen boards dedicated to the principals of parks and recreation. In fact, there are hundreds of success stories involving the work of citizen boards. Parks & Recreation magazine wants to share these success stories with others in the field and offer tips and ideas from the best and the brightest of citizen boards and their leaders.

The first in our series of Citizen Boards in Action focuses on Don Bresnan, representing the citizen board of Champaign, Illinois. Mr. Bresnan has been active in citizen board activities for 33 years. He also has served on the NRPA Board of Trustees since 1978. A widely published author, Mr Bresnan is retired from his position as vice president/marketing of the Universal Bleacher Division of the American Seating Company.

Mr Bresnan was interviewed recently by Parks & Recreation staff, and he talked about how his group has survived and thrived over the years.

P&R: What was your initial motivation or goal?

Bresnan: Our main objective was to encourage community pride. And we've continued working with this goal in mind every year.

P&R: How did you outline your approach? What steps did you plan to follow?

Bresnan: We worked on gaining recognition by applying for awards and other types of acknowledgment Pretty soon, the newspapers started referring to us as "award-winning."

We didn't have a set plan of action. No one talked about "strategic planning" in those days. We came up with good ideas and implemented them. if something worked, we kept it. If something didn't work, we tried something else.

P&R. What obstacles were in your way?

Bresnan: Attitudes of staff and community. We needed to get them to be proud of our programs and take ownership of them.

We changed the attitudes of staff by getting everyone to work together and by giving them the opportunity to take on responsibility and come up with ideas. Staff can be your best resource if you give them responsibility and give them the opportunity to try and even fail.

Once the staff felt pride, their enthusiasm spread to the community through word of mouth and through top-notch programs and activities.

P&R: How did you work with your director and his/her staff to accomplish your goals?

Bresnan: We didn't micro-manage the park district. We let the majority rule in board decisions, and we let the director do his or her job. This way, everyone knows what to expect -- there are no surprises.

P&R. How did you galvanize citizen support? Did you enlist the support of other community groups or individuals?

Bresnan: We talked to other groups such as school boards to find out what they were doing and what they wanted from parks and recreation. We found out that government grants were offering lots of good money for projects, but we needed some way to find out about these grants and how we could obtain them. We established the Champaign County Development Council to obtain federal funding. Through the Council, we were able to buy a 200-acre site and give half of it to a community college. Of course, today grants are much smaller and harder to get a hold of. But you have to be creative and willing to try new things.

P&R: Did you try to gain the support of the local media?

Bresnan: This was never a problem. For a long time, we had competing daily papers; and they were always eager to get a hold of a good story. Besides, as I said earlier, we were known as "award-winning," and our reputation as such got the attention for us.

P&R: What was the most unusual or unexpected thing that you found yourself doing to accomplish your goal?

Bresnan: We obtained an agreement with our local school district to use each other's facilities free of charge. For example, we use school gyms in the summer and on weekends when kids aren't in school, and they use our playing fields.

P&R: To what do you attribute your success?

Bresnan: My background in business was helpful, particularly in helping me understand government issues and how to deal with the government. Being a team player also helps--in fact, it's essential.

For more information about the activites described above, contact Don Bresnan at 401 N. Prairie St, #3C, Champaign, IL 61820-3443; [phone].