In the Spring of 2009, after a new Park District Board was selected and approximately six months after hiring Executive Director Ray McGury, the Naperville Park District leadership realized the culmination of these events presented the perfect opportunity to design and commit to a long-term direction for the Park District. This led to a decision to undertake a structured strategic planning process with the stated goal to have a plan in place by the end of 2009. Executive Partners, Rob Oberwise, was selected to manage and facilitate the process and plan development.

In order to create a breadth of thinking and ideas for the Park District’s long-term direction, the Naperville Park District chose to involve community partners and stakeholders in the process. In addition, the full Board of the Naperville Park District, department heads, and the Executive Director all participated and provided leadership.

The process began with the staff identifying critical issues and opportunities which needed to be addressed as a part of the strategic plan. Further, the staff developed important pieces of data about the Park District and its operation which were utilized as a foundational point for the planning effort.

In July, August, and September 2009, the whole strategic planning committee came together in three workshops designed to develop the direction of the strategic plan.

Naperville Park District Strategic Planning Workshops:

• July 23, 2009                Where Are We?
• August 20, 2009            Where Do We Want to Go?
• September 15, 2009       Priorities, Goals, and Objectives To Get Us There

The vision, mission, and values were also reviewed as a part of these sessions.

Subsequent to these workshops, the staff participated in an all day planning session on October 5, 2009 creating action plans for implementation of the strategic plan. The Board approved the final strategic plan direction in December 2009. The content of the strategic plan follows.