More than 80,000 service men and women have returned from Afghanistan and Iraq with severe head, neck, back, or limb injuries. Many stay in the Armed Forces (Army, Air Force, Marines, Navy, National Guard) but many choose to return home. The Illinois Park and Recreation Association believes that the benefits of recreation should be available to these men and women who have defended our nation.

“We will address this important issue. No resident of Illinois who is injured while a member of the Services should go without access to recreation in our state” said IPRA Board Chair Tracey Crawford when she appointed the IPRA Support for Service Members task force. Crawford is the Superintendent of Development at the Northern Suburban Special Recreation Association (NSSRA) in Northbrook, IL.

Crawford appointed as co-chairs John McGovern, Executive Director of NSSRA and Carolyn Nagle, Executive Director of the Fox Valley Special Recreation Association (FVSRA) in Aurora, IL. McGovern and Nagle are closely watching the progress of a similar task force appointed by the National Recreation and Park Association. The goal of the task force is to make certain that a service member leaving the Armed Forces, with or without an injury, will know how to connect to his or her local park district or recreation department.

The task force welcomes IPRA members interested in this critical issue. Task force preliminary objectives include:

• What is the demand in Illinois for support for service members?
• How can the task force meet that demand?
• Who is on the task force and who else should be invited to participate?

Nagle said “If we follow NRPA, we’ll address four areas: programs and practices, training and education, funding at the local, state, and federal level, as well as with nonprofits, and legislation and policy.” However, the task force will have a chance to discuss those objectives and establish its own direction.

We’ll also involve other organizations already serving service members, such as the Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs, VA Hospitals, and staff at military installations. And, veterans groups like the Paralyzed Veterans of America have for decades been involved in this type of initiative.

Interested in joining the task force? Contact Carolyn at cnagle@fvsra.org or John at jmcgovern@nssra.org.