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· M.S. in Public Parks and Recreation Administration

Indian University, Bloomington, IN (1973)

· B.S. in Recreation, graduated with high honors

University of Florida, Gainesville, FL (1972)

Ronald Secrist is a Senior Consultant for Leisure Vision. Ron has culminated 25 years of unique administrative experience in both the areas of city management and parks & recreation. Ron is renown and highly decorated for his masterful ability in administration and oversight. Ron’s ability to communicate, mediate, and motivate lend largely to his long and significant track record in both fields.

With over 10 years of administrative experience in various city governments, Ron has successfully united citizens, staff, and boards under one common vision. Ron recently retired as the City Manager of Boulder Colorado, where he was responsible for the oversight of over 1300 employees and helps direct the comprehensive strategy for the city’s annual $200 million budget. Ron’s hard work and dedication to city government has resulted in numerous awards including the “2001 Public Administrator of the Year” by Colorado Graduate School of Public Affairs, and he was also the recipient of the “2000 Community Service Award” from Downtown Boulder Incorporated. Boulder was a finalist in the 2002 All America City Award program.

Ron’s ability to lead and execute is also exemplified by his achievements in the area of parks and recreation. With over 10 years of experience, Ron has worked, directed, and administered significant developments and strategies in the parks and recreation arena. From 1973-1978 Ron was the Director of Recreation for Champaign, Illinios – Park District. During his tenure as Director, six recreation centers were constructed, and the Park District was selected twice as a finalist in the National Gold Medal Awards Program. As the Director of Parks and Recreation for Chapel Hill, North Carolina, Ron administered a $3 million bond program to develop new park and recreation facilities. Ron also worked with a ten-member advisory Park and Recreation Commission during his time as the Director of Parks and Recreation in Chapel Hill.

Ron has extensive experience in fostering the public involvement processes towards consensus and resolution, and creating community visions that are dynamic, lofty, responsive to community needs, and achievable. Ron’s community involvement extends into numerous organizations and boards, included but not limited to: YMCA Board of Directors, Board of Trustees for Montgomery Regiaonal Hospital, President of Virginia Mountain Housing, and the Kiwanis Club. Ron is presently active in the Boulder Rotary Club. Ron truly values the essential nature of interconnectedness between citizen, government, and community.

“ Technology and Its Effect on Business and the Economy in the New Information Age”, Virginia Association of Government Purchasing, Roanoke, VA, October 1997.

“ Leading Practices in Information Technology Leadership in Government”, IBM Institute for Electronic Government, Washington, D.C., October 1996.

“ Rightsizing Government Services”, North Carolina Municipal and County Recreation Directors Conference, February 1995.

“ The Importance of Productivity in the 90s”, Parks and Recreation ’ 90, Sponsored by Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation and Virginia Commonwealth University, Williamsburg, VA, February, 1990.

“ Influences at the Local Level”, Keynote Address, 37^th Annual North Carolina Municipal and County Recreation Directors Conference, Chapel Hill, NC, February 1985.

“ Do’s and Dont's – Working with Community Groups”, Great Lakes Park Training Institute, Pokagon, IN, February 1978.

“ Is Your Public Aware?” North Carolina Recreation and Park Review, Winter 1983, pp. 12-14

“ Booster and Affiliate Group Fund Management”, Illinios Park and Recreation, September/October 1977, pp. 12-13.

...helping organizations make better decisions since 1982.

ETC Institute

Ronald Secrist, Senior Parks and Recreation Consultant

Education

Professional Experience