conference speaker information

Conference Overview

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.

Attendees

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 500+ attendees, 70+ booths in the exhibit hall, and nearly 70 volunteers. Know your audience!

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.

Who Should Consider Submitting Proposals? 

• Park and recreation professionals, educators and students
• Park and recreation vendors, contractors and related groups*
• Speakers and educators aligned with APRA's mission 
• Planners, landscape architects, public health administrators, city and county managers
• Presenters should have experience speaking at state, regional or national conferences; schools; or seminars

Proposal Review

All education session proposals are reviewed by the Conference Program Committee. Sessions are assessed using the following criteria:

Originality: At the Annual Conference it is essential that we continue to present unique and exciting programs that reflect our dynamic community.

Relevance: APRA seeks sessions that are of great interest to prospective attendees and clearly benefit the professional needs of the designated audience.

Overall Quality: APRA is dedicated to ensuring that the learning programs at its Annual Conference meet the highest standards of excellence.

On-Site Education Sessions Room Set and Equipment

APRA will provide each room with a projector and screen. Speakers are required to bring their own laptop, cords to connect to the projector, speakers if needed for video presentations and clickers. Please ensure you have the proper cords/adapter to connect your laptop to the projector, there will not be any available on-site. 

Because of space constraints and Covid-19 requirements in the meeting rooms, we will set the rooms in a manner that will allow us to seat the maximum number of attendees, while providing a comfortable seating arrangement for participants and following all CDC and facility protocols. Rooms are set for all courses in that space for the day, so please do not plan on rearranging your room as it will affect other courses in the room that day. Each room will have a head table for your materials.

Be sure to check in at the Speaker Registration desk a minimum of 30 minutes prior to your scheduled session time. 

Requirements

Speakers are required to submit the form complete with all information requested before proposal will be accepted.  Please ensure you have the proper cords/adapter to connect your laptop to the projector, there will not be any available on-site. 

Please read our PROPOSAL TIPS page 

Speaker Registration

Conference presenters are eligible to receive a discount for a one-day registration package. The discounted registration is only available available for the speaker/presenter and is not transferrable. A special code can be obtained directly from the Education Chair. Registration is required before the registration deadline. 

Honorarium / Travel Reimbursement Policies

APRA has a small budget to pay for speaker honorariums and speaker travel reimbursement. If the speaker requires an honorarium and/or travel reimbursement to present this proposed session, please send the appropriate documentation on the proposal form to the Education Chair. The proposals requiring speaker honorariums and/or travel reimbursement will be reviewed separately from the other proposals and decisions will be made based on proposal quality, session needs and budget requirements.

Hotel Accommodations and Travel

All travel arrangements are the responsibility of the speaker. APRA has secured a block of rooms at a special negotiated price for attendees, vendors, and speakers. To receive the discounted room rates, use the direct link to book located on the APRA website conference page. 

Deadline to Submit

March 31, 2021

Commercial / Promotional Presentations

Your presentation may NOT sell, raffle, or otherwise promote a product, service, or organization in which you have a financial interest.