Late 1990s America saw a great deal of transition as its inhabitants began settling comfortably into the Internet age and prepared for the coming of the new millennium. 1998, specifically, enjoyed a not insignificant share of controversy and innovation: then-President Bill Clinton’s extramarital affair was revealed to the world, the Kosovo War began, Google Inc. was founded and the United States launched its first contribution to the International Space Station, among other happenings.

And while all these events and many more were noteworthy, one particular natural occurrence captured the full attention of NRPA and its members. That fall, final preparations were underway for the 1998 Congress & Exposition in Miami Beach, Florida. As is the case to this day, organizers, educators and volunteers spent months preparing to host the 33rd annual event, scheduled for the end of September. While these capable professionals planned well for an influx of 4,000 attendees to the Miami Beach Convention Center, they could not have prepared for their most intrusive visitor: Hurricane Georges. 

The Category 2 hurricane made seven landfalls during its almost month-long reign of destruction and was the second most damaging storm of the season. Georges killed more than 600 people and caused approximately $10 million worth of damage — a figure that in today’s currency would be more like $14 billion. 

It also forced then-Miami-Dade County Mayor Alex Penelas to declare a state of emergency Wednesday, September 23, 1998, resulting in the mandatory closing of the Miami Beach Convention Center and the effective cancellation of the 1998 NRPA Congress, which was scheduled to begin in the space that very day. In the October 1998, edition of Parks & Recreation magazine, then-NRPA Executive Director Dean Tice penned a letter expressing his apologies and regret. “It is with great dismay that I look back upon ‘what could have been,’” Tice wrote. “The amount of planning and preparation — on the part of our hosts, delegates, exhibitors and staff — that went virtually for naught is devastating to all who were involved in the Congress,” he continued.

This year, hurricanes are unlikely to disrupt our activities in Las Vegas. As we celebrate our 50-year anniversary, earn CEUs, meet our colleagues and wander in awe through the extensive exhibit hall, let’s also pause to reflect on the concept of resiliency. Not just as it relates to NRPA’s ability to roll with Mother Nature’s sucker punches, but also as it relates to our entire field. Park and recreation professionals are tough, creative, passionate and eager to improve — that’s why, once a year, we stock up on business cards and ready ourselves for three days of education, networking and site visits during NRPA’s Annual Conference. It’s what brings us together, and most years, it would take a spontaneous natural disaster to keep us apart. 

Samantha Bartram is the Executive Editor of Parks & Recreation magazine.