NextRec Blog

IAPD/IPRA 2026: 20 Must-Attend Educational Sessions

Steve MacIntyre — Mon, 01 Dec 2025 16:13:48 GMT

The2026 IAPD/IPRA Soaring to New Heights Conference is fast approaching! From Thursday, January 29 to Saturday, January 31 in Chicago, Illinois, our team is looking forward to connecting face-to-face with the inspiring parks and recreation professionals attending this year’s event.

If you’re planning to join us, you already know there’s a robust agenda filled with educational workshops and engaging sessions. To help you make the most of your conference experience, our team has reviewed the schedule and selected our top session recommendations.

The Best of Orlando: Must-Visit Sites, Restaurants, and Bars for NRPA 2025 Attendees

Steve MacIntyre — Mon, 28 Jul 2025 17:59:18 GMT

Parks and recreation professionals nationwide are heading to Orlando for the 2025 NRPA Annual Conference, taking place September 16–18.

Planning to attend? Explore our curated guide to 15 must-see Orlando spots! Perfect for relaxing, dining, and experiencing the best of the city between sessions.

Special thanks to Aaron Dalzot, Program Manager at Lake Forest Parks and Recreation, for lending his insight and helping shape this list. Your input made it better and more relevant to the parks and rec community!

Scroll down for our top picks to make the most of your Orlando stay!

Skip to Orlando Attractions: 5 Must-Visit Sites In and Around Orlando
Skip to Orlando Dining: 5 Must-Visit Restaurants in Orlando
Skip to Orlando Nightlife: 5 Must-Visit Bars in Orlando

How nextRec Protects Your Agency’s Data

kara.sy@xplortechnologies.com (Kara Sy) — Wed, 23 Jul 2025 16:40:59 GMT

FRPA 2025: 35 Must-Attend Educational Sessions

Steve MacIntyre — Fri, 18 Jul 2025 17:31:30 GMT

The 2025 FRPA Annual Conference is almost here—mark your calendar for August 25 to 28! To make it easier for you and your team to find what matters most, we’ve checked out all the sessions and picked 35 we think you’ll really enjoy.

4 Pricing Red Flags for Recreation Management Software

kara.sy@xplortechnologies.com (Kara Sy) — Wed, 09 Jul 2025 17:25:56 GMT

Software pricing can be somewhat of an enigma. Regardless of the industry, extracting exact costs for many software-as-a-service (SaaS) products is often surprisingly difficult.

Unfortunately, this is frequently the case with parks and recreation management software. Even vendors who share pricing models often omit certain details that can skew a customer’s understanding of what it would actually cost to work with that provider.

In this article, we share tips to help your team spot four deceptive pricing tactics in recreation management software—and what questions to ask when you’re evaluating a new system.

Skip ahead to the sections that interest you most:

🚩 Deceptive Pricing: 4 Red Flags to Watch Out For

😕 Red Flag #1: Total Cost Is Unclear

📈 Red Flag #2: Substantial Annual Fee Increases

🔎 Red Flag #3: Hidden Fees Galore

💸 Red Flag #4: Suspiciously Low Pricing

❓ Pricing Questions to Ask About Recreation Management Software

🚀 Pricing with nextRec

NRPA 2025: 30 Must-Attend Educational Sessions

Steve MacIntyre — Wed, 02 Jul 2025 14:26:54 GMT

The eagerly awaited 2025 NRPA Annual Conference is set to offer hundreds of educational sessions from September 16 to 18. To help you in choosing the most relevant ones for you and your team, we've reviewed them all and highlighted 30 sessions we believe you'll find worthwhile!

6 Summer Camp Tips from Parks and Recreation Pros

kara.sy@xplortechnologies.com (Kara Sy) — Wed, 25 Jun 2025 20:53:17 GMT

For many agencies, summer is one of the busiest seasons of the year—especially for those who run camps.

With so much effort and coordination going into running these programs, we wanted to offer a few ideas to help ensure your camps go as smoothly as possible this summer—and for years to come. And so, we reached out to a few parks and recreation professionals from across America and asked them for their top tips on running successful summer camps.

Read on to discover six tips from our group of experts to help your team support your community, motivate your staff, and offer memorable experiences to your campers!

Skip ahead to the sections that interest you most:

👋 Meet Our Panel of Parks and Recreation Pros

☀️ How to Run Successful Summer Camps this Year

💸 Tip 1: Make Camps Affordable and Accessible

👫 Tip 2: Run Camps that Address Your Community’s Needs

✨ Tip 3: Focus on Creating Memorable Experiences

🙌 Tip 4: Motivate and Support Your Staff

💬 Tip 5: Streamline Communication with Families

🗓️ Tip 6: Start Planning for Next Summer Now

5 Key Things to Know About Payments with nextRec

kara.sy@xplortechnologies.com (Kara Sy) — Mon, 16 Jun 2025 21:55:06 GMT

7 Popular Accounting Reports for Parks and Recreation Agencies

kara.sy@xplortechnologies.com (Kara Sy) — Fri, 06 Jun 2025 18:09:34 GMT

How to Get the Most Out of Parks and Recreation Month

kara.sy@xplortechnologies.com (Kara Sy) — Wed, 28 May 2025 17:04:34 GMT

Every summer since 1985, communities nationwide have joined in recognizing Parks and Recreation Month. As an extended celebration that takes place throughout the month of July, it’s a great opportunity for agencies to highlight the essential role parks and recreation organizations and professionals play in building vibrant, healthy neighborhoods.

But with summer being one of the busiest times of year for many agencies, it can be difficult to ensure that you, your staff and your customers get the most out of this month. In this article, we cover four tips to help you maximize your celebrations and effectively engage your community—without putting too much extra work on your team.

Skip ahead to the sections that interest you most:

💭 Why Celebrate Parks and Recreation Month?

🎉 4 Tips to Help You Celebrate with Ease

🗓️ Tip 1: Start Planning as Early as You Can

📣 Tip 2: Build Buzz by Spreading the Word

🙌 Tip 3: Make Time to Celebrate Your Team

📊 Tip 4: Measure Your Success

🚀 Supporting Your Success Year Round