Photo Credit: © Can Stock Photo Inc. / dinhhang
This column, “LBWA” (Leadership By Wandering Around), is based on the premise that, in order to find out what’s going on in the field, a parks and rec leader has to leave his or her desk and “wander around” the area of operations, talk to people, ask questions and kick around ideas with the individuals in the thick of delivering services to the public. So the author will bring up issues that may be common to many PRB readers and ask the leaders who are the readers to weigh in and share their knowledge and experiences.
One of the surprising things I learned soon after getting into the field of parks and recreation was that many departments were responsible for the maintenance and/or operations of local cemeteries.
At first, I had trouble making the connection. In my naïve, new-guy world, parks and rec took care of activities for the living; cemeteries—well, they just didn’t fit into the picture, except in movies such as Beetlejuice where the deceased were very active.