Recreation Conference Planned for Nov. 6 and 7

CORTLAND, NY (10/24/2014)(readMedia)-- Valeria J. Freysinger, a nationally recognized leader in leisure and aging, will deliver the prestigious Metcalf Endowment Lecture at this year's 64th annual SUNY Cortland Recreation Conference, which takes place Thursday, Nov. 6, and Friday, Nov. 7, at the College.

Freysinger, an associate professor of leisure studies and lifespan development in Miami University's (of Ohio) Kinesiology and Health Department, will discuss "Acting our Age: Re-imagining Recreation and Leisure Across the Life Course" at 1:15 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 7, in Corey Union Function Room. The keynote lecture is free and open to the public.

"Most recently, my focus has been the notion that leisure is a context of life that not only constructs and perpetuates social and global inequity but also a space/place within which social and global inequality may be resisted, challenged and transformed," said Freysinger, who also is a faculty associate with the Scripps Gerontology Center.

"Dive into Recreation" is the theme of the two-day gathering, the nation's oldest continuous collegiate-sponsored recreation education conference.

Presented by the College's Recreation, Parks and Leisure Studies Department and students in its Special Events Planning class, the conference receives additional support for its Metcalf Keynote Address from the Metcalf Endowment Fund and the Campus Artist and Lecture Series.

This year's theme will encourages participants to immerse themselves, swim through the varied recreation professions and dip their toes in the sea of networking opportunities with the conference's annual internship fair and exhibit.

"Students can dive headfirst into the field, and professionals can plunge to unexplored depths," said conference coordinator and student Daniel Spector of Yonkers, N.Y. "Come on in. Make a splash. The water is just fine."

To find out more about conference registration, fees and Continuing Education Unit (CEU) credits, visit the conference website at cortland.edu/recconf, where the brochure and registration form may be viewed or printed. The information also will be available via Facebook.

Walk-in registration takes place at 7 a.m. on both Thursday and Friday in Corey Union. Additional information may be obtained by calling 607-753-4939 or by emailing recconf@cortland.edu.

More than 200 students and professionals are expected to attend the conference, which will offer approximately 50 educational sessions and practical workshops on recreation management, therapeutic recreation, outdoor recreation, environmental education, and leisure and society. A research symposium, internship fair and networking social also are planned.

The conference is planned and directed by SUNY Cortland students enrolled in the Special Events Planning class taught by conference advisor Susan Wilson, a professor of recreation, parks and leisure studies.

In addition to the conference coordinator Spector, the conference committee members include:

• Joseph Artuso of Syracuse, N.Y., program;

• Ashley Gray of Rochester, N.Y., alumni;

• Christopher Grisolia of Commack, N.Y., hospitality;

• Elizabeth Kahen of Wheatley Heights, N.Y., graphics and printing

• Ashley McLean of Alpine, N.Y., special program coordinator;

• Alyssa Meyer of Hauppauge, N.Y., sponsorship and fundraising;

• Gideon Raucci of Germantown, N.Y., marketing; and,

• Stephanie Sobolewski of Clay, N.Y., sponsorship and fundraising.

The keynote speaker worked five years in community recreation/social services before returning to school to receive her doctorate from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. Her research interests include gendered experiences of leisure across adulthood; leisure as a context for and practice of aging; and leisure, aging and social (in)equity.

Her latest co-edited book, with Shaw, Henderson, and Bialeschki, is titled Leisure, Women and Gender. The text pulls together the thinking of some of the top recreation and leisure researchers in this area. An active participant in the World Leisure Organization, Freysinger chaired the Commission on Leisure in Later Life for four years.

This year's conference also will feature an opening session with Bill Zimmerman '76, the parks and recreation commissioner for the City of New Rochelle, N.Y., and Joseph Archino, superintendent of the Recreation and Parks Department in the Village of Irvington, N.Y. The recipient of the prestigious Michael B. Berman Special Fellow Citation Award, Zimmerman is a longtime member of the SUNY Cortland Recreation, Parks and Leisure Studies Advisory Committee and is a past-president for New York State Parks and Recreation Society (NYSPRS). Archino has co-chaired the annual NYSRPS Conference and served as a speaker at numerous conferences.

Conference sponsors also include the New York State Recreation and Parks Society, Playground Medic, and Peggy Payne & Associates Inc.

For more information, contact Raucci at 607-753-4939 or recconf@cortland.edu.

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