Full Text of HR0201 103rd General Assembly
HR0201 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | HOUSE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | 3 | | Representatives wish to congratulate Ryan Risinger on the | 4 | | occasion of his retirement from the Buffalo Grove Park | 5 | | District on May 26, 2023; and
| 6 | | WHEREAS, Ryan Risinger was first employed by the Buffalo | 7 | | Grove Park District as an intern in May of 1992 after earning | 8 | | his bachelor's degree in parks and recreation from Illinois | 9 | | State University; he was hired full-time as recreation | 10 | | supervisor in November of that same year; he was then promoted | 11 | | to division manager in 1996, superintendent of recreation in | 12 | | 2001, director of recreation and facilities in 2010, and | 13 | | deputy director in 2013; he was named executive director on | 14 | | November 29, 2014; and
| 15 | | WHEREAS, Ryan Risinger continued his education while | 16 | | working full-time for the Buffalo Grove Park District; he | 17 | | attended Indiana University's Executive Development Program, | 18 | | North Carolina State's School of Sports Management at Oglebay, | 19 | | and Disney Institute's Keys to Success and Customer Loyalty | 20 | | Programs; he is a certified Park and Recreation Executive and | 21 | | earned his master's degree in public administration from | 22 | | Villanova in 2015; and |
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, Ryan Risinger became active in the Illinois Parks | 2 | | and Recreation Association (IPRA) through the recreation | 3 | | section and eventually the administration and finance section; | 4 | | he served on the Mentoring Committee and was recognized by the | 5 | | IPRA for his efforts and contributions as Mentoring Committee | 6 | | Chairman in 2003 and 2004; he has spoken on various | 7 | | educational topics, including The Ups & Downs of Skate Parks | 8 | | and It Takes a Village: Controlling the Crisis, which focused | 9 | | on the importance of community crisis training with local law | 10 | | enforcement; he also co-authored a partnership article titled | 11 | | A Wireless Solution that was featured in the Illinois Park and | 12 | | Recreation magazine; and | 13 | | WHEREAS, Ryan Risinger's advocacy efforts for parks and | 14 | | recreation on a national level led the Buffalo Grove Park | 15 | | District to be named National Recreation and Park | 16 | | Association's Park Champion of the Year in 2015; and | 17 | | WHEREAS, Ryan Risinger, as executive director, was | 18 | | actively involved in the Illinois Association of Park | 19 | | Districts (IAPD) and IPRA's Distinguished Accreditation | 20 | | program committee; he served as co-chair in 2017 and chair in | 21 | | 2018; he remained on the committee in 2019 and 2020 and was | 22 | | co-chair in 2022; the Buffalo Grove Park District was | 23 | | accredited five times over his 30-year career; and |
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, Ryan Risinger was an advocate for professional | 2 | | development and ensured that his district's staff had the | 3 | | opportunity to attend state conferences as well as | 4 | | national/regional professional development programs; he has | 5 | | been a respected and dedicated leader who promoted a positive | 6 | | work culture where people not only wanted to work but wanted to | 7 | | stay throughout their career; and | 8 | | WHEREAS, Ryan Risinger fostered positive relationships | 9 | | with governmental agencies, including the Village of Buffalo | 10 | | Grove, school districts, the Indian Trails Public Library | 11 | | District, sports affiliate groups, and sponsors; he was an | 12 | | active member of the Rotary Club of Buffalo Grove, where he | 13 | | served as president in 2017-18; he served on the Northwest | 14 | | Special Recreation Association Board of Directors from 2015 to | 15 | | 2022, including as chairman in 2020; he was a member of the | 16 | | Special Leisure Services Foundation Board of Trustees in 2021 | 17 | | and 2022 and was a long-standing liaison to the Buffalo Grove | 18 | | Chamber of Commerce; and | 19 | | WHEREAS, Ryan Risinger oversaw the renovation of the | 20 | | Buffalo Grove Park District's Community Arts Center; partially | 21 | | funded with a PARC grant, the 41,000 SF LEED-certified | 22 | | facility was developed with the arts in mind; it has a | 23 | | state-of-the-art, 360 tiered-seat theater with an ADA | 24 | | accessible sound booth, concessions, box office, multipurpose |
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| 1 | | areas, and an art gallery; the center offers over a 100 | 2 | | different classes with more than 852 performers yearly, as | 3 | | well performing arts camps that serve more than 400 campers; | 4 | | it operates as a rental hub year-round for local groups | 5 | | including churches, synagogues, arangetrams, quinceaneras, | 6 | | community outreach groups, non-profits, and other local | 7 | | government agencies; the district was honored to receive the | 8 | | distinction of Outstanding Facility Award: Division II for | 9 | | this facility by the Illinois Parks and Recreation Association | 10 | | in January of 2020; and
| 11 | | WHEREAS, Ryan Risinger's leadership enabled the district | 12 | | to complete many park developments, including the renovation | 13 | | of the district's park gem, Willow Stream Park, which received | 14 | | upgraded pathways, additional trails, a new playground, pool | 15 | | upgrades and slide, permeable paving, and a pavilion; that | 16 | | project was followed by a large renovation of Reiner Park | 17 | | (formerly Green Lake Park) with the addition of a cricket | 18 | | pitch, outdoor exercise equipment, a fishing pier, and a | 19 | | butterfly garden; he also oversaw the development of the | 20 | | Educational Gardens and Classroom at Mike Rylko Community | 21 | | Park, which encourages the community to be curious about the | 22 | | natural world with a focus on food sustainability and native | 23 | | plants; and
| 24 | | WHEREAS, Ryan Risinger also oversaw the Alcott Center |
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| 1 | | pre-school wing renovation, the construction of the Golf Dome, | 2 | | and the proposed Prairie Grove and Parkchester Park | 3 | | renovations, as well as the Spray 'N Play expansion and | 4 | | Amphitheater construction at Mike Rylko Community Park; and
| 5 | | WHEREAS, Ryan Risinger's legacy of service will leave a | 6 | | lasting impact on the State of Illinois parks and recreation | 7 | | field and on the community of Buffalo Grove; therefore, be it
| 8 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | 9 | | HUNDRED THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | 10 | | we congratulate Ryan Risinger on his retirement from the | 11 | | Buffalo Grove Park District, and we wish him well in all his | 12 | | future endeavors; and be it further
| 13 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 14 | | presented to Ryan Risinger as a symbol of our respect and | 15 | | esteem.
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