WASHINGTON, DC - August 18, 2003 - DC Parks and Recreation, which serves the entire Washington, DC metropolitan area, marks a technology milestone this month with the debut of Internet registration services for its park and recreation programs and services. The agency will use RecWare recreation management software, part of La Jolla, Calif.-based The Active Network, to fully automate and Web-enable operations at 77 recreation centers and facilities. This is the first time DC Parks and Recreation has used software automation to streamline administration and the public's first opportunity to register for DC programs or reserve park space using the Internet.
"We're looking forward to offering greater community access to our recreation resources. Moving to a technology-based system allows us to streamline our internal administration, improve accountability in all areas of our operations and enhance service to the community," said Neil O. Albert, director, DC Parks and Recreation. "We devoted considerable time and resources researching and evaluating technology solutions and we're extremely pleased with our decision to use RecWare. The software not only offered the best value, but RecWare is a solid, U.S.-based company with proven experience with online registration."
Beginning August 29, DC residents and visitors can register online for recreation programs or even reserve a picnic area or ballfield at http://dpr.dc.gov.
Each year, DC Parks and Recreation processes more than 50,000 activity registrations and requests for facility use. Using RecWare software, the agency can automate functions such as activity registration, facility reservation, membership management, point of sale, league scheduling and provide online registration. The agency is also implementing RecWare's 24/7 touch tone telephone registration, offering the option to register by touch tone telephone in English or Spanish.
"We're excited about partnering with a premier, customer-focused organization such as DC Parks and Recreation. The DC team has been highly motivated to make the technology transition quick and efficient. Prior to automating, many sites didn't have computer access, relied on a manual system and couldn't share information efficiently between sites, so it's been great to see the automation benefits for the DC staff and the community," said Cyril Juanitas, RecWare's vice president of sales.
As Sheila Armstrong, quality assurance officer and RecWare project manager for DC Parks and Recreation, explained, "Our reservation and registration system has been a manual process. With RecWare software, we'll be able to track data, and record numbers and demographics. This system will also help with our revenue accounting and usage accountability. With its single application design, the software was one of the more advanced systems we looked at but is still very easy to work with."
DC Parks and Recreation joins a growing list of RecWare customers, including such large agencies as the City of Oakland, Calif.; the City and County of Honolulu, HI, which serves five millions residents and visitors; and the City of Austin, Texas.
DC Parks and Recreation presents quality leisure services to District residents and visitors of the District of Columbia. The agency supervises and maintains area parks, community facilities, and neighborhood recreation centers and provides adaptive programs and facilities for challenged customers. DC Parks and Recreation also coordinates a wide variety of recreational and educational programs. Art classes, child care services, sport leagues, swim lessons, and senior citizen activities challenge citizens to remain active in their community. For more information about DC Parks and Recreation programs and services, visit http://dpr.dc.gov or call 202-673-7647.
RecWare, part of The Active Network, has provided award-winning recreation management software solutions to the city and municipal recreation market for more than a decade. With products such as RecWare Safari, Safari Hosted Internet Registration, RecNet and ProActive, professionals can access the industry's best recreation management technologies to automate activity registration, facility reservation, point of sale management, league scheduling, financial management, and to offer Internet registration. For more information, visit www.recware.com or call 1-888-732-9273. For more information about The Active Network, visit www.theactivenetwork.com .