Assignment 3

Frog-bloggers defintion of Leisure: (snipets from our own defintions) Leisure is free time spent doing an activity that one enjoys and can positively benefit from. Leisure is a way to relieve oneself from a hectic job, society, or economy and is the balance between body and mind. Leisure is free time that is spent doing something that you enjoy or have fun doing. Leisure as being an extremely, broad concept and is something that gives us meaning to our lives. Overall,
Leisure is free time an individual spends participating in an activity for personal enjoyment and for the relief from ones hectic schedule, which can result in a positive and healthy lifestyle.

From our definition, we discuss the different leisure services we discover in RST 110:

Therapeutic Recreation Service
The goals of the Therapeutic Recreation Service, such as the Pujols Family Foundation, is to provide a program that gives those with disabilities great opportunities to participate in activities and sports that wouldn’t normally be offered to them. Therapeutic recreation services are funded by two things and these two things are sponsors and donations. Without contribution from outside sources these organizations wouldn’t be in existence. These particular organizations are created with a focus on a group in which it is helping. In the case of the Pujols Family Foundation the focus is primarily on kids that have Down syndrome. Therefore, with the funds that are donated and gained through sponsorship they then provide events and activities for these children and families.

The strengths that are involved with theses therapeutic recreation services are that it gives everyone a chance to come together and better a child’s and or a family’s quality of life. They provide extraordinary opportunities that wouldn’t normally be available. This is a strength because these opportunities bring happiness to people’s lives that are full of stress and adversity. A weakness is that many of these programs are run off of donated funds and therefore if donations are minimal then the outcome could be less activities provided. Also, if the funds come to a complete halt that would put an end to most organizations. So, the weakness is that it is relying on commitment outside of the management staff.

Comparable to the other services, therapeutic recreation is intended to provide some sort of leisure to those who participate. The Pujols Family Foundation provides leisure by getting people together and doing fun-filled activities in which many enjoy. The foundations fulfills the purpose it is intending to. This is because it gets a lot of publicity through Albert Pujols and his baseball team, the St. Louis Cardinals. A lot of the funds are generated and sponsored through the Cardinals. They then put on large scale activities and events, which are available to the families and children in need. This is how they fulfill and successfully meet their goals. -snipes2

Commercial
The goals of the commercial recreation business Joe’s Brewery are to provide their customers with a safe and fun environment to socialize and meet new people. The agency is funded by the money the customers put into it, such as cover charge and the cost of food and drinks. The largest group of people this organization serves would be the college population of the University of Illinois, but anyone can go there as long as they are 19 years old. One thing that sets a commercial recreation business apart from other agencies is that there is no special membership or club needed to enter, anyone can go there. The greatest strength of Joe’s as a leisure service provider is that they are so close to campus and offer so many activities that are appealing to college age students, their business is almost guaranteed to have success because the college will never leave. The biggest weakness is that, while it is open to people of all ages, almost no one comes there who is not of college age, or extremely close to it. This fact does not hurt the business, but it is unfortunate that not everyone in the population goes there. Joe’s Brewery does fulfill its purpose as a commercial recreation business by keeping their patrons safe and providing an enjoyable atmosphere full of people their own age to mingle with.

The greatest difference between a commercial recreation business and a private membership group or a campus recreation program is that there is no membership that needs to be purchased or any paperwork to be filled out to enter. It is very easy to get into this organization, one can just walk right in.

Joe’s Brewery is one of the most popular places for night time entertainment in Champaign, which is of course a college town. Joe’s provides an outlet for students to get away from their studies and have some fun with other people who are experiencing the same thing. Joe’s competes with many other commercial recreation businesses such as restaurants and other bars as well as some other night time entertainment options. -argo1

Public
The goal of a public recreation programs (public agency), similar to the Palatine Park District, is to provide safe, pleasant and affordable parks and recreation facilities. Similar to the other leisure services, the public recreation systems are in the quality of life business, helping to improve health or providing a community with parks, recreation facilities and programs. A public recreation programs is funded mainly by state and federal governments. The individuals served by the agency are members of communities and individuals who take part in the recreation programs that the agency has to offer. Examples of public agency are outdoor recreation including state parks, state natural areas, county and regional park districts, fitness programming, fee-based programs and human service functions. Compared to the other agencies in the leisure delivery system, the public agency offers programs that are community and state direct instead of university related like campus recreation or private agencies, which are only open to certified members.

There are several strengths that come with being a part of a public recreation program including the active community and the involvement that is inscribed it. The outdoor recreation facilities promote natural aspects, along with cultural resources. Programs in the public recreation field are for ALL residents, for those with disabilities or aging. The public recreation programs are expanding rapidly and becoming more of a “hot item.” The weaknesses of a public recreation program is that there can be so many facilities and programs, that the upkeep can be difficult along with finding a decent amount of funding to expand the programs. I believe that public recreation programs do fulfill its purpose since the majority of them are well managed, well kept and produced for a meaningful leisure purpose. The Tenth Amendment to the Constitution states, “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people” (pg. 206). The recreation programs are for the people, just as the leisure delivery system as a whole is. -lbriggs2

Non-Profit
Non-profit agencies are very important and influential on their local communities. A non-profit organization, such as the YMCA, strives to make leisure an affordable comfort for anyone in the community. Youth programs are provided through non-profit organizations. When these agencies are formed it is volunteer-based. The governing board of directors are usually citizens who are very involved with the community. Funding is obtained through community donations and in the YMCA's case additional funds are added through membership fees. What sets non-profit agencies apart from others is this type of agency is volunteer based and is designed so people with all levels of income can have a place to enjoy their leisure time.

One strength of being involved in non-profit organizations is the rewarding feeling employees experience while volunteering. It is always a good feeling when an individual can help out their community or people less fortunate than them. Another strength is becoming a member or becoming involved in these organizations is less expensive than for example joining a health club. If you are looking to start a job where you receive loads of money then you should shy away from non-profit agencies. This organization is committed to serving the people of a specific community with fair pricing and fun activities. The YMCA, for example, is a great place where members of all ages can come enjoy their leisure time for a low price.

Unlike other agencies, non-profit agencies focus on using leisure to "enrich one's life". They provide places for young kids and adults to enjoy their leisure in a family-friendly environment for a reasonable price. However, non-profit organizations and all other agencies share the common goal of making sure people have the choice to do whatever pleases them during their personal free time. -mckenna5

The Tourism and Hospitality Industry
This industry involves airlines, cruise ships, destination resorts, conference and resort centers, amusement parks (for example, Cedar Point), hotels, restaurants, and festivals. The goals and objectives of this agency are to provide for the customer great service, of course some relaxation, and hopefully provide some lasting memories. Tourism has become the world’s largest industry and touches every corner of the United States. Many communities and counties have tourism bureaus, states have state tourism offices, and advertising for tourism has grown at an exponential rate. Employment in the tourism industry is significant in every state. Practically everything that you see, touch, hear, and taste has something to do with tourism. The strength of this industry is they provide the tourist or guest a chance to get away from all their hardships of real life. The weakness of this industry is the money factor and some tourists will not be able to afford some things they would want to do. Bigger companies who are worth billions and some smaller companies worth millions help fund the attractions and sites for this industry.

The overall structure of the basic tourism industry consists of five key elements. Firstly, the tourist, who is motivated by a variety of motivations and needs, ranges from the search for novelty or excitement to aesthetic or cultural involvement. Secondly, the businesses that provide the bulk of transportation services, as well as the attractions that entertain visitors, along with other nonprofit cultural and environmental groups that maintain zoos, aquariums, botanical gardens, and events. Thirdly, governments of host communities encourage and facilitate tourism programs and attractions, often sponsoring them jointly with other agencies. Fourthly, accommodations, consisting of lodging, food and beverage services, camping sites, and other amenities facilitate tourist visits. Lastly, the locals of host communities provide cultural identity to the destination through their lifestyles, customs, and traditions.

In general, I believe that the tourism industry does meet their main goal of providing for the customer or tourist with their leisure service. The economy, as we all know, has been down and so has the tourist industry because of the money issue. However, the industry has lowered prices so it is now cheaper than usual to travel. For example, at Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio you can get a hotel room for $79 and it’s only $25 for a ticket to the park which is a lot cheaper than usual. To connect to other industries, some hotels and cruise ships provide therapeutic recreation service in providing massage parlors. Also, commercial recreation includes theme parks, hotels, and casinos. Yet, you can say those three could be under the tourist and hospitality industry. In conclusion, there are ten different types of leisure-service organizations in modern society, but they all work together with each other to deliver leisure service to their guests. -nagle4

Sports Management Organizations:
The sport management agencies are agencies that are very unique and have their own responsibilities for the public. It can be very similar yet somewhat different to the rest of the variety of agencies. Like Therapeutic Recreation Services, Sports Management get a lot of their money from sponsors and donations. Most of their money of course comes from for example a stadium, from tickets sales that they earn. The Memorial Stadium in Champaign was funded by donations from staff, students and alumni. Like commercial, sports management gets people together whether rivals in teams or fans of the same team, it's a great way to meet people or just simply have fun with the people around you. This agency serves the public, more specifically, the athletes/players and the fans etc.

This agency like is have said is unique. It is different because it creates an atmosphere of community and appeals to the competitive nature. People pay to participate in this agency, to be a part of the teams in the stadium or separate team fans. Of course everybody can enter in a stadium up to age issues, but when there are handicaps, they have space for them. What sets this agency apart from others as well is the obvious, sports and athleticism!

Strengths of this agency is uniting people together to watch a game or watch your kid play in their team from your local park. Like public, This agent helps get a community for the people to enjoy only difference is the money. This can be a weakness in the agency. Money from ticket sales would be a problem, advertisement is needed to get people to go to the games. Another issue can be parking in stadiums. Very limited parking is often the issue especially in big games. Weaknesses the agency also has is the lack of great security. There is always going to be fights or accidents in the stadium that security is going to need to be there. To conclude, security is very tough to have in every spot of the stadium, but other than that, Memorial Stadium fulfills its goals and objectives because they allow the public to have a great time sitting back and enjoying a game while providing sufficient needs to the public, i.e. food stands. -avila7

Campus Recreation
The goals of the Arc, the campus recreation agency here at the University of Illinois are simple they are to provide a way for the students of this university to have a way to meet all of there recreation needs. It gives us somewhere where we can work out and play some sports that we would not be able to play otherwise. The agency is funded through the tuition that we as students pay and it does not cost any extra for us students to use it. The groups that are served by this are the students, faculty, and residents of the area(for a fee). It is available to all of those groups on demand. The ARC is special because it provides so many opportunities for students to get involved, there is a rock climbing wall, a kitchen where you can learn to cook, there are a couple pools for those people who want to swim. Its strengths are that it is very diverse and that there is a place for everyone who wants to participate in campus recreation. There really are no visible weaknesses to the industry because of the reasons mentioned earlier. I think that the arc most definitely fulfills its promises of providing recreation to the campus and the greater area. I think that they perform this in every way that they possibly can they have everything that you can imagine doing for recreation I think that it is a great place to go.

It compares to the other agencies as follows. It compares most closely to the Y. It is a place where you can go to work out, play some sports, or just hang out with your friends. It does however diverge from the Y because there is a fee involved in it so that’s one of the major differences between that and the level of equipment that is available to the people that use each agency. The one that it is most different to would most likely be the Commercial Recreation, Joe's Brewery because it does not have anything to do with food, drink, and the activities that go on in a bar or club. That is most likely the one with the biggest difference. As for how this fits into the leisure service delivery system I think that it is essential to the delivery system in that without it the college kids would have no way to get the recreation that we need and deserve and it provides kids an extra option besides the shenanigans that normally go on within a college campus. -crist2

Private
The goals of a private organization, such as Five Seasons Sports Club, is to provide a leisure setting for their members, while making a profit. Most of the time the private organizations have a wider variety of activities for their members, and provide optimum service so that they can attract as many members as possible, leading to a better profit. Five Seasons Sports Club, like many of the other country clubs in Chicago-land area, runs off of the money that their members pay, such as a monthly fee. So, if the club does not have enough members or income, than their sales are going to be down and a lot of the time difficult to increase. The club also uses their income to provide their members with more activities, or better service, if they have the money to do so.

Private organizations often attract more of the middle to upper-class in society, because there is a monthly or annual fee that the member must pay in order to be a part of that organization. Private organizations either have a wide variety of services that they offer, or focus on one specific activity, such as a tennis club. The strength to belonging to a private organization is that you are most likely going to get the best. For example, Five Seasons Sports Club has so many different sports and leisure activities, but all of their staff is professionally trained and experts in their area. They have around 10-12 different tennis pros on staff, and they all have the skills to work with every age group and level of player. Working with the best, is always a plus, but a possible negative side to belonging to a private organization, is that it can be expensive, and not everyone can afford to belong to one.

Private organizations provide the necessary facilities for one to participate in leisure activities. They fulfill their goals because one is able to spend their free time doing fun or healthy activities that they enjoy. Private organizations offers similar things that other organizations do, except that it is in a more enclosed and controlled setting. Five Seasons Sports Club is an enjoyable place to belong to, that one can spend their free time and enjoy leisurely activities in a healthy setting. They keep their customers happy, while still making a profit of off them. -white46

Summary:
As you can tell from all of our posts, we all took positive elements from our leisure services and in a way felt that the specific service we chose was to some extent the most beneficial. We mentioned differences and similarities along with more positive traits in certain leisure service systems. From commercial to tourism, non-profit to public, all the differences are evident, but the leisure aspect stays constant throughout. We concluded that all have positive and negative benefits, but overall have the same goal to serve communities and individuals in a way that will help their health and provide activities for free time. Even though our group, Frog-bloggers, may have some specific leisure service systems we like more than others, we feel that each and every system is important to specific individuals and groups while providing a selection of available leisure activities.