For 67 years, the Great Lakes Park Training Institute (GLPTI) has informed park and recreation professionals about new trends and ideas in the field. The February 2012 iteration of the institute featured a wide range of topics, from larger issues like the role of parks and recreation in the field of public health to hands-on topics like artificial turf maintenance and how to deal with invasive species.

The Eppley Institute is proud of its association with GLPTI, which is held at Pokagon State Park in Angola, Indiana, every February. Eppley staff help to plan and operate the institute every year.

With summer in full swing, it is now time to plan for the 2013 Great Lakes Park Training Institute. This year, one of the institute's initiatives is to attract new participants and speakers. As a result, for the first time in institute history, we are issuing a call for presenters. With this call we are seeking individuals who are knowledgeable about the park and recreation field and have information to share with others. Whether you've presented at dozens of conferences, or never done so before, we are interested in what you have to say.

The audience at the institute is wide-ranging, from maintenance technicians to administrators. Our conference-goers enjoy interactive sessions in which their feedback is an important part of the learning experience.

If you are interested in presenting at the 2013 Great Lakes Park Training Institute, please fill out the Call for Proposals form at the end of this blog. Once you have completed the form, please email a copy to glpti@eppley.org or mail the form to the GLPTI office at

Great Lakes Park Training Institute
501 N. Morton Street, Suite 101
Bloomington, IN 47404

For more information about GLPTI, please visit glpti.org, where you can learn about the conference's history and review sessions from previous years.

The deadline for proposals is August 24, 2012. Those who submit proposals will be notified if they have been selected in September.

Call for Proposals Form