Virtual Education: Why Reinvent the Wheel
March 10, 2026 | 1:00 - 2:30 PM ET | 0.1 CEUs
Why Reinvent the Wheel
LaToya Artis, Recreation Manager, Ocala Recreation and Parks
Jacob Baker, Recreation Manager, Ocala Recreation and Parks
This session is designed to assist recreation professionals increase community engagement through programs tailored to their community. We will walk through a sample program evaluation that will demonstrate ways to determine if a program is a good fit for a community and organization. Understanding the specific needs of our community alongside an agency’s vision will help foster community connection and contributes to the overall well-being of residents.
- Learn how to evaluate and design programs.
- Identify the needs and desires of their communities.
- Discuss program specificity and purpose.
About LaToya: LaToya L. Artis is a Recreation Manager with the City of Ocala responsible for the oversight of indoor programming for youth, adults, seniors, therapeutic recreation, outreach, and the departments transportation. LaToya fell in love with recreation 29 years ago as a recreation summer camp counselor in Linden, NJ during her college years. In 1999, LaToya graduated with her BS degree in Physical and Health education with a minor in Sports Management from Methodist College. After working for five years in the local school system, LaToya decided to seek employment working from home to raise her three children. In 2015, started working with Fayetteville Cumberland Parks and Recreation as Therapeutic Recreation Supervisor. LaToya moved to Florida in 2019 and started working with Ocala Recreation and Parks as Therapeutic and Senior Recreation Supervisor, quickly into her current position as Recreation Manager. LaToya is a line dance instructor and certified Xtreme Hip Hop Aerobics instructor.
About Jacob: Formerly in education and childcare, Jacob fell in love with recreation in 2012 for what he thought was a temporary job at a municipal aquatic center. He has worked in every area of recreation including aquatics, athletics, community events and outreach. Currently, Jacob is a Recreation Manager for the City of Ocala supervising the operations of the Mary Sue Rich Community Center. As someone who’s directly benefited from a culturally rich and multifaceted background, he’s aware of the challenges and opportunities faced by parks and recreation professionals as well as our clients.
All FRPA Virtual Education Sessions are live and encourage you to stay engaged so that discussion can take place during and after the presentation. Each session has been scheduled for the time of the presentation but please keep in mind that we will have around seven to ten minutes of introductory announcements and possibly words from our sponsor during the session. These may cause the session to run over the allotted time by 10-15 minutes.
Please make sure your first and last name appear as your profile name so that the moderator will know to let you into the meeting. If are not able to make this change, it is your responsibility to inform FRPA what device name you will be signing in under.