banner - teal, coral, blue, announcing conference dates

We invite you to join us at the 2026 Florida Recreation and Park Association Annual Conference, where professionals from across the state will come together around this year’s theme, Field of Possibilities.

This year’s conference focuses on exploring what’s possible for our field—sharing ideas, learning from one another, and building connections that support the work happening in our communities. Through keynote sessions, educational offerings, and time to connect, you’ll gain practical insight and perspective to take back with you.

We look forward to bringing everyone together for a thoughtful and engaging experience centered on the future of parks and recreation.

Download a letter to tell your boss you want to go!

 

Delegate registration is for personnel employed by public or private agencies providing recreation, park, or leisure services; persons employed as educators at universities and colleges; fully retired park and recreation professionals not serving in any commercial capacity; citizens serving on Recreation, Parks, or Leisure Services Advisory Boards; or citizens interested in or involved in the promotion of the parks, recreation, and leisure services profession. Individuals employed by a company offering support services, equipment, consulting, etc. to park and recreation departments are considered commercial vendors.  Commercial vendors must have an exhibit booth or be a major conference sponsor to attend any conference event, education session or social activity.

REGISTER ONLINE

blue box with white letters peach box white letters pink box white letters orange box white letters orange box white letters
green box white letters green box white letters blue box white letters green box white letters green box white letters
blue box white letters blue box white letters blue box white letters blue box white letters blue box white letters

HIGHLIGHTS

NEW VENUE
The FRPA Conference will be held at beautiful Shingle Creek Orlando this year. Rising above the horizon stands Rosen Shingle Creek® Hotel, a sight welcoming you to experience the personal touch of an independent, full service, luxury hotel with all the amenities you expect. The location is prime—on Universal Boulevard, east of the Orange County Convention Center North/South expansion, and 10 minutes from the Orlando International Airport. Rosen Shingle Creek’s third and best-known quality creates the perfect trifecta—
award-winning customer service. With numerous restaurants, golf, a spa, and plenty of activities to participate in, you're going to want to stay after the Conference to enjoy all that the Rosen Shingle Creek has to offer. Read more about this venue: rosenshinglecreek.com/accommodations.

BUDDY PROGRAM
Whether this is your first or twentieth conference, it’s always fun to meet new people! We would like to team you up with a new friend for the 2025 conference. The idea is to meet with your buddy before the Conference via phone, video meeting, or email and then set up a time that you can also meet up during the Conference. Let us know if you want to be involved!

DOWNLOAD A PLANNER
Here is a blank planning sheet to help you organize your Conference Experience! 
You do not have to pre-sign up for any classes. We hope that you will take the time, once you register (new registrations will be added to the App on Fridays), to download the app and select the classes on there that you would like to attend. This will help us keep any eye on which classes will be most popular (and maybe need more seats!). We will also be utilizing a QR code scan technology to record attendance and get your evaluations of the sessions on record. Watch for more information about this in upcoming newsletters. 


CAREER MAP INDICATORS 
The FRPA career map highlights the progression of responsibilities across key competencies in the field. Using the map, you can identify where you are today, where you’d like to go, and the skills and experiences that will help you get there. Scope of Responsibility is used as a way to envision the progression of a park and recreation professional’s career, the result is a resource to assess competency and skill, empowering professionals to see where they are today and envision the possibilities ahead. In the registration brochure, you will notice each session has two sections at the end of the description to help you identify which Scope of Responsibility and Competency the session falls under. The definitions of each of these sections are below. 

Responsibility Level: Progression in the field of parks and recreation Is defined by ‘scope of responsibility’ rather than job title. Titles vary widely across agencies; scope of responsibility provides consistency. 

Competency: For the purposes of the Career Map, a Competency Area is a broad category that groups together related knowledge, skills, abilities, and behaviors required to perform a set of functions effectively. A competency area is usually focused on big-picture, what
someone needs to be successful in a role or field, and often includes multiple skills, knowledge and behaviors. 

To read more about the Career Map, visit: frpa.org/mbr/frpa-career-map