\u201cThe event went off without a hitch,\u201d said Kathleen Finlayson<\/strong>, parks and recreation management instructor. \u201cSure, it\u2019s stressful and chaotic, but all large events are. And the important thing is that everyone\u2014students and parade-viewers alike\u2014had fun and enjoyed themselves. It\u2019s a great learning experience.\u201d<\/p>\n The students get to practice communication\u2014both between themselves and the clients with which they work\u2014planning, coordinating, organizing and executing, all while working on a tight timeline set by\u00a0the Sedona parks and recreation department manager.<\/p>\n The real-world experience the students receive from getting to work on such an elaborate event is priceless, said Finlayson.<\/p>\n \u201cThis class is designed to be experiential in nature for students, where they learn customer service, traffic control, troubleshooting and leadership skills, not to mention how to plan, coordinate and implement large community events,\u201d she said. \u201cIt can be frustrating for students at times as there are a lot of moving parts with coordinating events this large, but we try to teach them\u00a0how to move past fear and frustration and\u00a0concentrate on the task at hand; it\u2019s a life skill that they can use throughout their working career.\u201d<\/p>\n To help further student understanding of parade and event\u00a0safety and\u00a0risk management, students\u00a0are required to obtain two FEMA certifications: Special Event Contingency Planning for Public Safety Agencies and Safety Orientation. Students use information from these online courses to create and implement an emergency action plan, should an emergency happen during the parade.<\/p>\n Luckily, Finlayson said, the students didn\u2019t need to use their newly-acquired FEMA background\u2014this parade was disaster-free.<\/p>\n Carly Banks | NAU Communications![\"NAU](\"http:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wordpresst\/uploads\/sites\/153\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/IMG_0746-212x300.jpg\")
<\/a>To plan the community\u00a0event, the class was separated into teams\u2014grandstand, registration and streets\u2014and went to work. Students created and\u00a0designed awards, banners, event\u00a0shirts and\u00a0flyers that were used in the parade and\u00a0to promote it beforehand, and coordinated rental equipment deliveries, pick-up and billing. They also\u00a0were required to create and send\u00a0letters to search for entrants and potential sponsors and took field excursions to Sedona to hand deliver flyers and letters to local businesses and residents. This year, 47 entrants participated in the parade, up from last year\u2019s 42.<\/p>\n![\"NAU](\"http:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wordpresst\/uploads\/sites\/153\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/IMG_8993-800x600.jpg\")
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\n(928) 523-5582 | carly.banks@nau.edu<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"