I don't know about you, but on occasion I find myself feeling stuck in the "stuff" that surrounds me. Especially at the end of winter, a little bit of the blues can set in. At those times it’s good to get shots of others’ enthusiasm—and to catch the energy of colleagues who are excited about a shared mission.

During the month of March and the first week of April, I had the good fortune to travel to Houston, Texas; Long Beach, California; Washington, D.C.—and, finally, New Orleans.

In Texas and California I toured parks and visited with the leadership of the Texas Recreation and Park Association and the California Recreation and Park Society.

Both states are key to the future of American parks. Both have growing, diverse populations. And both are navigating enormous—and well-publicized—budget challenges.

Such great challenges, in fact, that you might expect the leaders of those organizations to show signs of stress or flagging optimism. Not so. Texas and California have dynamic, enthusiastic leaders—people who are meeting the daunting challenges head-on, and making a difference in their communities.

We talked about NRPA, about what the Association is doing, and about what we can do to help. I mentioned our new Premier Agency membership model. If you haven't heard details about it yet, you soon will. With the Premier Package you will be able to sign up all of your full-time employees for all the benefits of NRPA, offering them full access to continuing-education webinars, the online edition of Parks & Recreation, and numerous discounts on products and services.

This new membership package comes as a direct response to your requests and feedback—especially your concerns that younger professionals entering the field be included. We heard you, and we acted.

We talked about advocacy. We have been examining our messaging carefully, and we will continue to tell the story—and assert the value—of parks and rec. And as long as I’m on the subject of NRPA’s advocacy efforts, I have a question for you. Have you completed your PRORAGIS profile online so that your agency’s data can be a part of the first-ever national database for parks and public lands? We have great plans for that data. It will provide the foundation upon which NRPA can create specific, numbers-based, messages about the impact of parks in our nation. Not to mention the value of the many social services you provide and the millions of acres you steward.

In each of my conversations I came away feeling positive and excited about our future. I heard nothing but optimism about how we can accomplish our mission, together.

My next stop was Washington, D.C., where the NRPA Legislative Forum was held during the last week of March. (Six years I have gone to D.C.—and not once have I seen the cherry blossoms!)

I was involved in conversations with two departments that we have not previously had relationships with: the Department of Justice and the Environmental Protection Agency. Both saw the value of partnering with parks and rec. Both were excited about the possibilities. And both invited us to continue the conversations.

I was part of the Kansas delegation led by our executive director, Doug Vance. I thought our message was well delivered and, for the first time, well received.

I left Washington excited. We are making progress on the Hill; our voice is being heard. In fact, our CEO Barbara Tulipane was invited to testify before a Congressional committee in regard to the Land and Water Conservation Fund. Kudos to Barbara and our Public Policy staff. Job well done!

March was busy, but I really enjoyed my travels and the people I spent time with. I enjoyed hearing about the issues, challenges, and successes agencies are having.

My second best experience was with John Keisler of Long Beach, California. John picked me up at the airport. He is a young, energetic man. He told me of growing up in parks and recreation. He told me about the needs his community faced. He told me that Long Beach Parks, Recreation, and Marina was looking at its 10th straight budget cut.

Then John looked at me, smiled, and said, "...I think our best years are ahead of us."

I have ended my remarks recently with an old African saying:  “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.”

After a month on the road, I, like John, believe that, if we face our challenges together, our best is yet to come.

P.S. My best experience? New Orleans for the Final Four, with my wife, daughter, and a lot of Jayhawk fans.