Annual Conference & Expo
Presented by Dave Bang Associates
The APRA Annual Conference is the only annual meeting of the parks and recreation community in the state of Arizona. Held annually, the beloved APRA Conference and Expo hosts professionals, students and those with business interests in the areas of parks, recreation, conservation, and open spaces, for three days of discovery and industry innovation.
The Conference experience offers education sessions covering broad range of topics and presented by prominent speakers on local, state and national levels; a state-of-the-art Exhibit Hall.
The conference includes a wide variety of educational sessions covering a broad range of issues on a local, state and national level. We will host prominent speakers, state-of-the-art related exhibit hall, informative and interactive workshops, tours, socials, golf tournament and much more.
APRA has pricing for Early Bird, Member and Non-Member, and discounts available to volunteers and speakers.
Schedule of Events
Sunday
APRA X D'Backs Baseball Game
Shade N' Net & Play it Safe Playgrounds Happy Hour
Monday
Maintenance Rodeo
Golf Tournament
TEAM Roundtables
Awards Banquet
Pre-Conference Social
Tuesday
Education Sessions
General Session w/ Plated Lunch | Keynote
Expo Hall
Future Professionals Mingle
Dave Bang Director's Social
presented by Willmeng
Dave Bang Member Social
Wednesday
Rise and Shine
Education Sessions
Boxed Lunch Option
Expo Hall
Annual Awards
Our Annual Awards honor communities throughout the State of Arizona that demonstrate excellence in long-range planning, resource management and innovative approaches to delivering superb park and recreation services with fiscally sound business practices.
The APRA Award Program includes twenty-one categories. At the beginning of each October, agencies are invited to submit applications for consideration. Award winning recipients are announced at the ARPA Annual Conference.
A committee of park and recreation professionals reviews and scores all application materials. Committee members are chosen for their considerable experience and knowledge in the field parks and recreation on both local and national levels.
Looking for past winners? Browse through winners going back to 2006. Should you find an error or have documentation prior to 2006 please email jsullivan@apachejunctionaz.gov.
Speaker Information
Conference sessions are meant to provide information for industry professionals, not to make a sales pitch for services or products. Attendees will be dissatisfied if they sense a presenter is providing promotional material for his or her own benefit.
Once a proposal is accepted, APRA asks the speaker of the session for a copy of the session PowerPoint presentations and other handouts to be emailed to admin@azpra.org before July 1 to be included in the Conference App to be accessed by the delegates before and after the session.
Conference attendees are often seeking CEU’s for certification purposes. APRA encourages all sessions to qualify for CEU’s. Continuing Education Units qualified speakers will be asked to provide their credentials, experience speaking on the subject, an outline of the presentation and method of ascertaining that attendees met the session learning outcomes. To comply with CEU standards, all speakers are required to submit these details with their session proposal form.
Attendees consist of parks, recreation and open space professionals, volunteers, board and commission members, government officials, managers, administrators, trails and park users, company/industry representative, athletic directors, and anyone interested in our profession. Our conference draws 575+ attendees, 100+ booths in the exhibit hall, and nearly 70 volunteers. Know your audience!
Education Session Proposal Form
Terms
Policies and Terms of Registration
All APRA Policies and Terms of Registration are put in place in consideration of and, in the best interest of attendees, the Arizona Parks and Recreation Association and the conference host facilities. Please take the time to review the details below as each person will be required to sign off they have read and understand these terms as part of their conference registration.
Statement of Liability
APRA and sponsors of the Annual Conference claim no liability for the acts of any exhibitors at or for this meeting or for the safety of any attendee while in transit to or from this event. APRA and sponsors of this function shall not be liable for any delays or failure in performance or interruptions of services resulting directly or indirectly from any cause or circumstance beyond the reasonable control of the organization, including but not limited to acts of God, acts of public enemy, war, accidents, fires, electrical, mechanical, or structural failures or breakdowns, strikes, labor disputes, postal delays, explosions, governmental order or regulations, and curtailment of airline services.
APRA reserves the right to cancel this function without penalty. Attendees, vendors and speakers who purchase non-refundable airline tickets do so at their own risk. The total amount of any liability of APRA will be limited to a refund of the attendance fee.
Recognizing the nature of socials and other receptions and the potential for alcohol abuse at conferences, all APRA sponsored events will offer non-alcoholic drinks. No alcohol will be served to anyone under the age of 21. Conference participants are responsible for their own well being and neither APRA nor sponsors will be held accountable for any events or occurrences resulting from excessive drinking, recklessness or negligence on the part of any conference participant.
APRA and attendees of this function, under the terms of registration, agree to defend, indemnify and hold harmless each other, including officers, employees and agents, from and against any and all liabilities, loss, claims, expenses, actions, or causes of action, arising out of or resulting from any act taken or committed by the attendees or organizers of this function or any third party except for the willful misconduct or gross negligence of the other party. Furthermore, attendees and guests participating in optional tours or off-site activities, tours or sessions that may include/allow participation in physical, strenuous or dangerous activities that could create the potential for serious injury or death acknowledge that participation is voluntary and is done at the participants own risk.
Attendees are asked to present a Photo ID at registration to collect registration materials. You may only collect your own individual registration packet. This procedure is in place to protect your registration materials from getting lost and to allow APRA to monitor accurate attendance. Registration materials will not be provided without a photo ID. Furthermore, you agree not to allow any other individual to participate in your place either at the conference, during the registration process, or any other conference-related activity including acceptance of these terms of registration.
Conference Host Facility Rules and Regulations
Attendees, under the terms of registration, agree to abide by and follow all rules, regulations, policies and procedures, as well as direction and guidance given by officials of the host facility. This includes any and all COVID or other protocols in place at the time of the event. If you do not abide by these guidelines, you will be asked to leave the premises and will not receive a refund.
Volunteers
APRA Volunteers receive a discounted registration based on the number of hours they volunteer. If a volunteer does not complete all of their assigned hours, they will be held accountable and post-conference, will be billed the remainder of the registration fee.
Payment Policy
All event registrations must be paid in full with a credit card at the time of registration. Any registration without a valid method of payment at time of registration is considered incomplete and will be automatically removed from the event.
Refunds/Cancellations/Transfers
A refund for half of the amount of the delegate registration fee will be granted to cancellations made in writing on or before the date noted on the registration page. Regrettably, no refunds will be given on cancellations after the date noted in the registration.
Registrations may be transferred to another representative from your agency at no charge by the dated noted in the registration link. Fee difference will be assessed if necessary due to membership status.
Written cancellations or registration transfers must be sent by email to admin@azpra.org
Commercially Impracticable
APRA will not be held liable for its failure to perform obligations under this Agreement if such failure is due to any event or condition not existing as of the date of this Agreement, not reasonably foreseeable as of such date, and not within is reasonable control (each, Commercially Impracticable), which prevents such Party from performing any obligation hereunder, but only to the extent and only for the period that such performance is so prevented by the Force Majeure Event. Commercially Impracticable Events may include, but not limited to: riot; war; acts of terror; fire; flood; hurricane; typhoon; earthquake; epidemic embargo; acts of God; or acts of government. Refunds will not be available for any reason that is not covered under the Association’s insurance policy.
Payment Methods
All registrations are required to be paid in full at the time of sign up. APRA accepts VISA, MasterCard, Discover, American Express or ACH as valid forms of payment.
Guests and Spouses
Guest and spouse are able to accompany individuals who are registered for the APRA annual conference. A registration for additional tickets will be available for pre-purchase as "add-ons". All events and activities require at ticket and/or name badge, optional events include but not limited to; award banquet, socials, and admission into the exhibit hall. Guests and spouses are not permitted to attend educational sessions, special workshops, socials, awards or to assist at a booth in the exhibit hall. Tickets will not be available for purchase on-site.
Official Housing Block
Hotel contracts are negotiated for the benefit of housing APRA Conference attendees and their guests/spouse, exhibitors, speakers and volunteers. These contracted rooms are placed in an Official Housing Block and sold ONLY through a special link provided by the host hotel. In order to guarantee APRA Annual Conference attendees, exhibitors and speakers the discounted rates, please use the link located on the APRA website. Room blocks are limited, it is encourage you book rooms as soon as possible to ensure availability.
Photographs/Videos
Any photos or videos taken during APRA-sanctioned events may be used by APRA for promotional use (i.e. brochures, association publications, web-based mediums – blogs, websites, e-newsletters). Please notify staff if you object to being photographed, we appreciate your consent of use.
By registering for myself and/or others, I/we hereby grant APRA its contractors, affiliates and employees permission to the rights of my image, likeness and sound of my voice as recorded by video or photography, without payment or any other consideration. I understand that my image may be edited, copied, exhibited, published or distributed. I waive the right to inspect or approve the finished product wherein my likeness appears. Additionally, I waive any right to royalties or other compensation arising or related to the use of my image or recording. I also understand that this material may be used in diverse settings within an unrestricted geographic area.
Permission to Share Information
I agree to permit APRA to share the following information with registered vendors; name, title, agency, email address. If you wish to have your information removed from the shared list, you must email admin@azpra.org immediately requesting removal from our attendee list.
Smoking
For the comfort and health of all attendees, smoking is not permitted at any APRA sponsored functions. This includes general sessions, concurrent education sessions, workshops, luncheons, receptions, and in the exhibit hall. Attendees should adhere to any signage preventing or authorizing smoking in certain locations.
Badges
Conference attendees are reminded that it is REQUIRED to wear your badge at all times during conference hours, sessions and events. This allows you uncomplicated access to all conference events allowed by your registration package. However, please remember to remove your badge when you are outside of the APRA events. Lost badges can be replaced at the registration desk with ID and for an additional fee with a proper ID and proof of registration.
Conference Etiquette
To make the conference experience an enjoyable event for all attendees, we ask that you please keep the following in mind: As a courtesy to our speakers, please refrain from the use of cell phones during presentations, and keep in mind that participants of this conference are in attendance to learn. Therefore, in consideration of all attendees we ask that you please take any conversations that are unrelated to the program outside session rooms. In order to accommodate environmental sensitivities of some of your peers, if at all possible, please do not wear heavily scented products while attending the conference, especially the sessions.
Code of Conduct Statement
Attendees, Presenters, Vendors and Staff at ARPA events are expected to conduct themselves at all times in a courteous, professional and respectful manner, refraining from language and actions that might bring discredit upon themselves, their agencies and ARPA, and are expected to comply with instructions from ARPA and venue staff members. Such conduct includes, but is not limited to, actions disrupting the businesslike atmosphere, harassment, discrimination, inappropriate language, failing to comply with all local, state, and federal laws, and activities that endanger self and others. Attendees, Presenters and Vendors who do not comply with this code of conduct at any event may be removed from said event and barred from attending all future ARPA sponsored or co-sponsored events.
Conference Accessibility
As a an organization serving an industry that embraces accessibility and full participation in all of our programs, APRA is dedicated to providing access and reasonable accommodations to people of all abilities that meet ADA guidelines. APRA staff will assist attendees of our programs with any reasonable accessibility accommodations to ensure a full experience for all. In order to plan effectively, APRA respectfully asks that individuals needing special accommodations provide us with advance notice and pertinent information during the registration process. You may also indicate your desire for a member of the APRA staff to contact you directly to discuss your individual needs. APRA will continue to make every effort to accommodate requests we receive on site.
Food Allergies & Preferences
While we do our best to be aware of food allergies and preferences, it is not always possible for us to accommodate food allergies and preferences at our receptions and lunches in the exhibit hall due to the large number of people being served. If you have specific needs, you may need to provide your own meals during those times. If you have any questions about provided meals, please contact our office.