G. Randolph "Randy" Worls to be Crawford Lecturer at Denver Congress.

The Crawford Lecturer for this year's NRPA Congress and Exposition will be G. Randolph "Randy" Worls, a charter member of NRPA, and for 27 years the General Manager/CEO of the Wheeling Park Commission, Wheeling, West Virginia. Many NRPA members are familiar with Oglebay, the flagship park of the Wheeling Park Commission. Oglebay has hosted a number of NRPA Professional Development Schools for over 35 years, and reflects the Commission's strong philosophy of self-generated revenue and private sector assistance. This operating philosophy has allowed the Wheeling Park Commission to enjoy a $25 million operating budget with an annual tax allocation of $250,000, or one per cent. In addition, the Commission has established a number of trust funds to support capital projects, park maintenance, and recreation programs.

Randy Worls was instrumental in this process, and currently serves as CEP of the Oglebay Foundation and the Parks System Trust Fund of Wheeling. His topic, Beyond Tax Dollars -- Private Sector Support for Parks, will provide insight into the successful revenue ventures that Worls has been involved with over his long, successful career as a park administrator.

The Board of Trustees of the National Recreation and Park Association established the Robert W. Crawford Lecture Series as a tribute to one of the nation's most respected leaders of the recreation and parks movement. Robert W. Crawford began his career as a playground leader in Des Moines, Iowa in 1927. Upon graduating from college, he worked as a high school coach and teacher for five years before enrolling in the National Recreation School. Following this, he was Director of Recreation for the town of Hastings-oh-Hudson, New York; Superintendent of Recreation for Montclair, New Jersey; and Director of Recreation for Oakland, California. He was recruited to Philadelphia in 1952, where he served as Commissioner of Recreation for 29 years. Bob Crawford was a former president of the American Recreation Foundation, former president of the American Recreation Society and served as NRPA's first professional president. He continued his service as a Life Trustee of NRPA and Executive Director of the National Recreation Foundation until he passed away in 1995.

The Cross-Country Appeal of Mountain Biking 

Mountain biking is not just for those who live in the hills or near mountains. That's one of many findings by the Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association (SGMA) following the recent analysis of its Superstudy[R] of Sports Participation, conducted by American Sports Data, Inc.

Since 1987, overall interest in mountain biking has grown from 1.5 million participants in 1987 to 7.9 million in 2000, an increase of more than 400%.

Roughly 70% of all mountain bikers, most of whom are males, are 18 years of age or older. More than 30% are over 35.

There are 1,314,000 mountain biking participants who consider that sport their favorite activity.

Nearly 35% of all mountain bikers live in the West.

Overall female participation in mountain biking grew by 15% in the last year -- from 2,378,000 in 1999 to 2,735,000 in 2000.

In the areas of cross-participation, many mountain bikers also engage in mountain/rock climbing and tent camping.