Passion in advocacy.

As the 110th Congress takes office, it is inspiring to know that park and recreation advocates are marching through Capitol Hill, making legislators aware of important community issues.

Every year I attend NRPA's National Legislative Forum, and I am always moved by the passion our members display to those who hold the national purse strings. They admirably fight for not just a cause they believe in, but for a park and recreation movement whose importance should be evident to all.

My favorite visits are those where our members have special relationships with a legislator. I remember vividly the group from Louisiana, who were meeting with their Congressman for the first time since Hurricane Katrina struck. He sincerely wanted to hear about how parks and recreation had been affected, but also wanted to know how our members' families had been affected. It was an earnest conversation that probably meant more to both sides than a typical Capitol Hill visit (especially since the NRPA members brought pralines for him to enjoy afterward!).

Take a look at the Advocacy Update column on page 16. Author Michael Phillips stresses the importance of that personal relationship in politics. I think it is something every park and recreation professional or citizen advocate probably knows a good deal about, working with the people of their own communities on a daily basis.

I hope you take the time to not only become involved in advocacy through the articles on the pages of the magazine, but through NRPA's Web site and Public Policy action alerts. And if you can, attend the Legislative Forum--I guarantee you'll be inspired.

For daily updates from NRPA's National Legislative Forum, visit the Web site at www.nrpa.org from Feb. 14 through Feb. 16.

Rachel Roberts 

Editor, Parks & Recreation magazine