On February 2, 2012 joyful Center participants, Board Member Donors, and Staff shared in a glorious celebration of the new playground structure on a bright sunny day in the often foggy outer Sunset. The original wooden play structure had a “full life” and had been on borrowed time for several years. Restoration was no loner and option, and new a new play structure was desperately needed. To begin, the State of California granted us funds to purchase a swing set and we were off to a good start. The Bay Area Knights of Columbus Foundation fueled the momentum and generously offered to support a new playground on the condition that the Center secure matching funds. The Sam Mazza Foundation accepted this incentive with a substantial donation, and the project was a go! Additional gifts also came from The Olympic Club Foundation, Banner of Love Auxiliary, and the Carano Family in honor of Ricki Serbin and his beloved dog “Stella”. Still short of funds to complete the project, The Bay Area Knight of Columbus Foundation came to the rescue and provided the funding needed to complete the brand new play structure for the children and teens.

Now it was time for demolition and playground design. The men of Pi Kappa Phi fraternity from San Francisco State University arrived with sledgehammers, crowbars, and brute strength to finish the job when the wind, rain and fog had begun. The children and teen’s department staff poured over catalogs looking at various playground equipment that would interest our kids and withstand the inherent challenges of being on the coast.

The playground equipment arrived in boxes, crates and pallets, and then assembly would be required. Not one of the staff had ever assembled a playground before, but many volunteered to help. A had experience putting together book shelves, but this did not compare. Building a commercial playground is a rather complicated process. The first order of business was to dig holes, mix and pour cement, place pole in cement, dig more holes, then hold up heavy metal decks while someone drills the structure together. As construction was progressing, the noses and eyes of curious children and staff peaked over the wall, a subtle motivation to hurry us along.

Building the playground reflects what is best about The Janet Pomeroy Center. It was a team effort involving almost every level of our organization. It also was supported by a cooperative community that saw our need and helped meet it. In a way, building the playground is a tangible symbolic example of what we do at the Janet Pomeroy Center, that is: create an environment where people with disabilities can explore, challenge themselves, and of course, have fun.

Long Beach Convention Center, Hall A
300 E OCEAN BLVD
LONG BEACH, CA  90802-4825
Booth # 251

Show dates and hours:
Wed., Mar. 21, 2012 - 12:00 p.m.- 5:00 p.m.;
Thurs. Mar. 22, 2012 - 9:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.

We will be featuring our all new 20'x20' Two Tier Offset Hexagon Shade with waterproof fabric along with our premium PlayGuard safety surfacing and much more!

Xccent Play! News

Xccent Play! Achieves ISO 9001:2008 Certification

Wyoming, Minnesota, March 14, 2012 – Xccent Play corporate headquarters in Wyoming, Minnesota announced that the company has achieved its ISO 9001:2008 certification. This independent certification validates Xccent Play’s commitment to quality and affirms that Xccent Play has thoroughly documented its quality processes while meeting the stringent qualifications for the global ISO 9001:2008 standard. Xccent Play’s Quality Management System (QMS) was assessed by an accredited registrar, TUV SUD of North America, Inc., that performs independent assessments against the requirements of national and international standards for quality. On March 2, 2012 Xccent Play received formal registration approval and is now officially recognized as an ISO 9001:2008 certified company.

ISO 9001:2008 is globally regarded as the most comprehensive body of standards on quality management systems and practices. It was established by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), an organization of national standards institutes of 175 countries and the foremost authority on quality standards and is designed to provide companies with a set of principles that ensure a systematic approach to achieving customer satisfaction.

“This is an important milestone for Xccent Play. Our customers rely on us for support services and this certification demonstrates our rigorous quality standards and commitment to continually improving our corporate and manufacturing processes. Customers can be confident that we have a systematic approach for achieving customer satisfaction that delivers results for our clients. I’m very proud of how well our employees and management has responded to the challenge and implementation of processes set in our standards of quality.” said John Mathiesen, President and CEO at Xccent Play.

About Xccent Play!
Xccent Play, based in Wyoming, Minnesota (USA), is a premier manufacturer of Commercial Playground Equipment, Commercial Outdoor Site Furnishings, Commercial Outdoor Fitness Equipment, and Commercial Marina Decking.

Poured in Place Playground Surfacing is no longer limited in colors choices! The Vitriturf System, offere unlimited color selections. Choose a color from RAL or Panton color chart and we can provide the color you need for you unique playground.

Find more products like this here:

http://www.creativesystems.com/new_site_furnish.htm

Wainwright Collection

Clean City has designed a uniquely attractive option in environmentally conscious site furnishings. Featuring all the advantages of recycled plastic site furnishings so you never need to worry about saggin or staining. Steel components are shielded by FusionGuard to prevent fading and maintain extreme rust-resistance.

Xccent Play Playgrounds:

Creative Recreational Systems, Inc. is proud to introduce its newest line of commercial playground equipment for outdoor use - Xccent Play. Xccent was founded in 1976 with a core focus on plastisol coated products for the medical industry. Xccent later became the first manufacturer to coat steel fabricated commercial playground components like decks and stairs. In 2006 Xccent Play was created and the first X-Wave was developed with a patented polymer hinge technology that eliminated crush and sheer points. Xccent Play has quickly established itself as an industry leader in innovation and quality manufacturing. All products are American made at the state of the art factory in Wyoming Minnesota. They are also IMEPA certified and meet all current Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC) standards. This new alliance with Xccent Play opens the door to an abundance of new products including: commercial playground equipment for ages 2-5,5-12, outdoor fitness equipment and much more. Read more here…

Lowering Project Costs:

We understand that times are tight and it’s important to make every dollar count so thats why we’ve been working on new ways to maximize the play value of your project without blowing the budget. We now have a new safety surfacing base preparation technique that allows us to utilize existing material and can save as much as 70% on an average sized playground installation. Contact your local office to find out more.

Making Shade More Affordable:

Creative Recreational Systems, Inc. introduces a new line of modular shades that can attach onto nearly any existing play structure. We can now create a custom modular shade for about half the price of standalone shades with four posts. Attaching a modular shade eliminates the need for a building permit and therefore independent engineering work which can also take as much as 3 weeks to produce. Now, we can design, manufacture and deliver these custom modular attached shades in as little as 2 weeks. Sizes range from a 10’x15’ rectangle to as large as a 18’ square. Read more here…

PlayGuard 1 Inch Tile:

Ecore International introduces its newest addition to the PlayGuard product line – a 1” tile that is tested and certified for a 2’ drop height. This sleek new tile is available in all of the standard colors as well as custom colors. We feal confident that this tile will be popular among child care centers that require little or no fall height while saving a significant amount of money on not only materials but freight and installation as well.

Improving Customer Service and Support:

Our team is dedicated to constant improvement and quality customer service. Without our loyal customers we wouldn’t be able to grow into the great company we are today. That is why we will be focusing additional energy this year on how we interact with and service you. We plan to conduct a series of surveys which we expect will provide us with vital feedback about where we can improve. If you are chosen to participate in a survey please take some time to tell us what you think and what we can do to help you and your organization.

Our 40^th Birthday:

Lastly – We will be celebrating our 40^th Birthday this year. Paul Stanfel started Creative Recreational Systems, Inc. (CRS) back in 1972. Since then, it has flourished into one of the leading distributors and installers of commercial recreation equipment in the nation.

We are truly excited about 2012 and expect that it will be our most successful year ever. We invite you to join us as a customer, distributor, installer or partner.

Written by:

Austin Stanfel

Marketing Director

The 64th Annual California & Pacific Southwest Recreation & Park Training Conference is the second largest park & recreation conference in the nation and the largest in the Pacific Southwest.

ATTENDEE DEMOGRAPHICS:
In our recent membership survey, this conference and exhibit
show were two of the most highly rated programs CPRS
produces both in value and effectiveness. Attendees include:
• park and recreation administrators, directors and
superintendents
• park operations and maintenance personnel
• recreation supervisors
• aquatics personnel
• aging population professionals
• commercial recreation professionals
• educators & students
• therapeutic recreation professionals
• park & recreation commissioners & board members
• city, county, state & special district representatives
• school district personnel (small but growing number)

The Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) is a major target. H.R. 1 proposes to cut $532.6 million out of the Obama administration request of $619 million, leaving just $86.4 million for the program. Of the reduction $329 million would come from federal land acquisition and $50 million would come from Stateside, zeroing out the program.

In order to save the LWCF State Assistance Program, every member of Congress needs to hear from advocates immediately.

What’s at stake:

LWCF State Assistance Program is the only program that provides dollar-for-dollar matching grants to states and local governments specifically for the acquisition and development of public outdoor recreation sites and facilities (fields for youth sports, pedestrian trails, parks, wildlife habitats, etc).

The Republican reductions will have particularly severe impacts because of their timing. By the time the FY11 Appropriations bills are completed there will be only about six months left in the fiscal year to absorb the cuts, effectively doubling their impact.

Most community outdoor recreation projects will not proceed without federal aid through LWCF Stateside.

Take action to save LWCF Stateside:

• Call your U.S. Representative NOW and tell them NOT to eliminate funding for the LWCF State Assistance Program.

• Stateside should share 40%, same as allocation to federal acquisition, of remaining LWCF FY11 funding. Call the Capitol Switchboard at 202.225.3121 and ask to be connected to your Representative and Senator. Once connected, ask to speak to the staff person handling Interior Appropriations.

Article Written by: Jessica Lytle http://www.nrpa.org