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# Parks & Recreation

Pioneers of the Park: How Leading Professionals Are Transforming Recreation

CivicPlus® is proud to host a virtual roundtable with some of the most influential government parks and recreation industry leaders.

Original Air Date: Tuesday, September 19, 2023

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Our panelists have taken our Recreation Management solution and rigorously tested it in real-world settings.

Optimize your rec management with expert insights and software best practices. Discover distinctive benefits for features that include:

  • Facility and activity management
  • Catalog creation
  • Marketing and program offers
  • Volunteer oversight
  • Membership promotions

Panelists:

Evan Sweet

Community Center Specialist

Community Center Specialist for Canton Township, Evan Sweet, is an experienced parks and recreation professional, managing a 95,000 sq ft center with 8,000+ members in a Township of under 100,000 residents, ranked ninth in Michigan’s population. He also holds a City Council position in Ypsilanti’s Ward 3. Ypsilanti is home to Eastern Michigan University and is celebrating its bicentennial in 2023. Evan holds a Bachelor’s in Public Administration and Recreation & Park Management from Eastern Michigan University.

Meredith Lawrence

Parks and Recreation Manager

Parks and Recreation Manager for the City of Mendota Heights, Minnesota, Meredith Lawrence, is an NRPA Directors School Graduate and is CPRE and CPSI certified. Meredith was the 2022 Academy Externship Recipient and the 2020 NRPA Young Professional Fellowship Recipient. Meredith is the co-host of the podcast “MRPA On the Air,” where she enjoys sharing stories of Minnesota’s professionals, discussing trends within the parks and recreation field, and highlighting incredible projects and accomplishments within Minnesota.

Nate Carlson

Parks and Recreation Manager

Nate Carlson has been with the City of Las Vegas for seven plus years, and has been with the Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs department for five of those years. During those five years he has assisted with the implementation of the CivicRec software for the recreation department and parks maintenance software for the parks department. Nate’s area of expertise is with database systems where he has over 13 years of experience creating reports, analyzing data, and process improvement. Nate earned a Bachelor of Arts in Communications and a Bachelor of Science in Computer Information Systems from California State University Stanislaus.