Clark County seeking outdoor ambassadors

Clark County Parks and Recreation Parks Ambassador Malery Malloy, left, shakes hands with Clark County Commissioner Susan Brager while county employee Della Boyd watches. Special to View Advertisement

By AMANDA LLEWELLYN

VIEW STAFF WRITER

Las Vegas residents don't have to travel to a foreign nation to become an ambassador of good will.

Clark County Parks and Recreation recently launched a completely volunteer-based Park Ambassador Program, designed to aid in breeding a sense of community and to bring a friendly face to the forefront of the county park programs.

The program was started in Desert Breeze Park and is being expanded to Whitney and Sunset parks.

Ambassadors work closely with community members and county officials to bridge the gap of communication and allow patrons the opportunity to ask questions about park amenities or programs.

"It's a hands-on program, but not nearly as aggressive as that makes it sound," principal management analyst Della Boyd said. "Desert Breeze Park is the first in the county to embrace the program, and so far, it's been a success."

After being instituted in early March, six valley citizens graduated from the required training classes with a dedication to making the community a more pleasant and safe place.

For Las Vegas resident Barbara Girard, the opportunity to make a difference in the community while aiding in her daily goals to maintain an active lifestyle was just too good to pass up, so she signed on.

"As a senior citizen, it's very important to stay fit, and once I met Della, and she told me about the program, I wanted to join up immediately," Girard said. "It's easy to walk around the park and help people who seem to have questions, or ask them to fill out a survey about what needs improvement or what they like. Occasionally, you come across something that needs to be fixed that perhaps nobody else would notice and report it. It's been a real pleasure."

Volunteers are subjected to a background check and complete five and a half hours of training, including classes in conflict resolution, effective communication and park familiarization.

"Our ambassadors aren't enforcers in any way," Boyd said. "We ask our volunteers to be a welcoming face for park visitors, answer any questions they might have. They are essentially our eyes and ears."

According to Boyd, some of the other responsibilities delegated to ambassadors include taking public surveys in regards to community needs and facility improvement, spotting suspicious activity and reporting it to the proper authority and reporting maintenance problems, such as a faulty sprinkler head or broken gate hinge.

"Since March, we have tracked more than 3,000 people here at Desert Breeze (Park)," Boyd said. "That includes the skate and dog park. We believe that these numbers are significant and warrant attention."

Boyd said that according to data gathered by ambassadors, that number is expected to increase by the end of May, mainly because more people use park facilities when the weather grows warm, and even into the hotter days of mid-summer.

"With more people using the county's park and recreation programs, activities and services, it becomes necessary to stay one step ahead of even the smallest problems that can pop up," Boyd said. "More action in any area will require more maintenance."

Emile Girard was drafted into the program's first graduating class through his wife's enthusiasm, but said that once on board, he found the overall volunteer experience very fulfilling.

"We have special shirts that we wear, they say ambassador or something like that on them," he said. "We're easily spotted. I've had the opportunity to speak with a few patrons about what this park means to them, and I've learned a lot. I never really understood how valuable a park is as a community resource, but from what I have gathered, people love it. They need it."

There have been two classes of graduates since the program's conception, with 14 volunteers dedicating at least four hours each month to ambassador duties.

"We require them to sign on for at least a year, and commit to a minimum of four hours service per week," Boyd said. "More if they choose. We really want to send a message to the public that we care about our communities, and we want to work together to make them safer, more enjoyable and livable networks."

For more information, call 455-6877 or visit www.accessclarkcounty.com/parks.