Most people involved in park and recreation have varying thoughts and data on what contributes to making their facility successful and profitable, so we asked them. Lessons learned from this survey show that you don't have to be a mega facility in size to be successful, although today's tendency is to think that bigger is better. One of the key ingredients is the park district's partnership with a local hospital. Improvements are needed on the frequency of conducting surveys to ask the community and members what their interests and needs are to aid recreation professional. Staying ahead of the curve is one key to success.
Men comprise the largest membership group, closely followed by female memberships at second.
Family memberships were identified as the number three membership category. Corporate, junior, and youth memberships reported the lowest of all the membership categories. Although men represent the highest membership group today, our aging population may change this trend and affect the programs we know today. Tom Mammoser, director of the Dundee Township Park District, says that gymnasiums can be very profitable, especially when used by pre-school children during the school day for active classes. And, as we know, if the children are happy so are the parents which equals a satisfied patron.