The goals of the ARC are to provide recreation along with leisure to the student body along with faculty and staff. They hope to give students everything they wish to have and to do this they survey the students and what they tell the arc they do everything they can to make it happen. The agency is funded through tuition from each and every student along with all the private memberships they have. Along with students must pay fees for any extra classes they wish to participate in. This agency can serve the whole University of Illinois community along with those who live in the area. Anyone who wants a place to workout, or relax at a pool or participate in recreational activities with friends can benefit from the Arc. The Arc can compare to the golf course that Stephen talked about along with LA Fitness who Jim talked about. The golf course because it’s a place in which people can go to relax and enjoy themselves with a group of friends. Also LA fitness because it’s a place where people can go to work out or enjoy themselves. Also The Champaign Park District and the ARC can coincide as the ARC does many outdoor activities such as hiking, and camping just as the Champaign Park District offers. The arc doesn’t really fit with any of the other agencies directly, but leisure they all provide so they all can connect in that manner.
They key program elements that set the ARC apart from all other agencies it how many things it offers for everyone. Almost anyone can find something to do there. Where other people may only offer one area of programs, the ARC offers anything from sports, to aquatics, even cooking classes! The strengths the ARC has, as a leisure service provider is it offers both traditional leisure services along with outdoor leisure activities. The weakness is they don’t really market it all that well, or so I believe. One would really have to try to find out if they offer the program to know they have it. But the fact they offer all of these great things to everyone and give everyone the opportunity to participate and learn. Yes, the agency does fulfill its goals and does all it says it will do. My example for knowing this is no one has ever had a bad thing to say about the ARC besides it can get too crowded. The fact it is too crowded shows that they are successful in all they do.
Nathan Minarich, minaric1
LA Fitness is a private-membership agency that was created for the betterment of all people. Their main goal is to enable people to live a healthy lifestyle. LA Fitness gives all people the opportunity to exercise in a variety of ways. LA Fitness pushes fitness as a way of life. Being fit allows a person to be healthier, live longer, and live a better quality of life while living. LA Fitness is private-membership, which means it is funded by the monthly fees and dues that each member pays. Along with the membership fees, LA Fitness offers a wide variety of personal training and different programs and classes. This variety of activities bring in a good chunk of LA Fitness' profit. LA Fitness has a very diverse customer base. It is a nation wide chain with over 100 locations, so it is safe to assume that LA Fitness caters to an age range of highschool kids all the way to grandparents. And there is definitely no discrimination between different races and ethnicity's.
There are many different workout facilities throughout the United States and LA Fitness is just a small blip on the radar. So in order to attract big numbers LA Fitness must make itself unique and an attractive possibility. LA Fitness goes about doing this by offering personal training memberships, fitness classes, yoga, pilates, martial arts, swimming, and various leagues for their members to participate in. I think this variety of activities that LA Fitness has to offer serves as a key strength in setting it apart from local and national competitors. As I mentioned earlier LA Fitness is a national chain. As a national chain, they have superior facilities than the local smaller gyms have to offer. They also offer low and affordable prices. Being able to have superior equipment than local gyms is a great recruiting tool for future membership. Along with that comes a glaring weakness, LA Fitness is spread across the nation and always looking to open another location which causes them to be understaffed. They try and keep their budget as much in the positive's as possible and you can definitely tell during peak hours at the gym. The maintenance staff was short and that caused for the bathrooms to dirty easier and allows for equipment to be left out of place. This is a weakness because it makes LA Fitness look unattractive to future possible members and becomes and inconvenience to current members who are trying to get an efficient workout in.
LA Fitness fits into the leisure-service delivery system as a private-membership organization. It provides people with recreational and social activities. The book provides six different views of leisure and LA Fitness definitely promotes many of these forms of leisure. Some of the activities are performed for their own sake. I think it is also a symbol of social class but a different interpretation than the book. Joining a fitness club and being active show others that you care about your body and health. While exercising at LA Fitness is an activity that takes place during unobligated free time because you choose to go there. And working out at LA Fitness can give a person a sense of personal fulfillment and self-enrichment. I can speak from personal experience when I work out I have a better outlook on life, I feel better about myself and I have more energy. LA Fitness provides the capability to live a leisure filled life and definitely fulfills it position in the leisure-service delivery system.
Jim Keaty jkeaty2
The Shedd Aquarium is a tourism agency that attributes a big part to the leisure service delivery system. The goal of this agency is to provide leisure to the American society and in a different form. It shows that there are other ways to have leisure other than working out, playing games, or playing a sport as some of the other agencies provide (such as the ARC, LA Fitness, and others). That’s what’s great about this whole leisure service delivery system. There are a variety of agencies that pertains to a variety of personalities and preferences for leisure. That’s the beauty of it all! Besides what would leisure be if everything was the same and agencies all had the same definition for leisure? It’ll be pretty boring huh.
What makes the Shedd Aquarium such a great choice for leisure is that it is aimed to serve all individuals and age groups. And that’s one of its strengths, which I will further discuss a little later. Every agency needs to be funded somehow to keep it up and running. Similar to some of the other agencies and organizations such as LA Fitness, Stephen’s Service Organization: Pancakes for Poverty, and others, the Shedd Aquarium gets its funds from a combination of admission charges, fundraisers, and concession and gift sales.
The key element that sets this agency apart from others is that it ties the beauty of nature in with leisure. It gives people the best of both worlds; leisure and the appreciation of nature. As I said before one of the strengths of this agency is that it serves all age groups opposed to fitness and/or sport based agencies like LA Fitness or the ARC or the Champaign Park District. This allows different groups such as families or friends to go out to enjoy leisure together. When it comes to measuring weakness, I can’t really think of any because this agency does its part in the leisure service delivery system and does it well. If I had to pick one I would say it’s not having more Shedd Aquariums! Overall, I would say that this organization fulfills its purpose and goals. My reasons for this are evident throughout this whole blog. In addition, it has more than 2 million visitors a year and is one of Chicago’s top attractions as well as the most visited aquarium. That has to count for something right?! I just wanted to end by saying I really enjoyed this class and blog assignment.
Greg
The Champaign Park District serves the city of Champaign and the surrounding areas and offers so many different ways to spend leisure time that there is something for everybody to do. The CPD supports the definition of leisure as an individual decision. They offer programs for people who want to exercise individually, for those who like to work out with a team and for everybody in between. It is similar to LA Fitness in that it offers a way to promote healthy living to the members of the community. However while LA Fitness offers gym membership as its only recreational means, the CPD offers everything from outdoor parks to a skate park to a boating center, among other things. The CPD revolves around family and community as equally as it revolves around helping individuals find a great environment to exercise in. When compared to Campus Rec, the two are found to have a great amount of similarities. Campus Recreation has two gym facilities as well as outdoor playing fields and "adventure recreation," things like canoeing and rock climbing. The two both offer so many activities, however because Campus Recreation is a campus resource, it is mostly geared toward college students, although it is open to the public. The Champaign Park District caters to families because it provides the community with recreation and the community consists of many families.
The Champaign Park District is a public agency so it obtains most of its money from membership fees, but it also receives funding from money donated to The Champaign Parks Foundation, an organization set up by the park district with the purpose of managing donations that are made to the Champaign Park District.
Abby Haak
The University of Illinois Athletic Department is a sport management agency in the leisure field. The athletic department's mission statement is: "To have the highest quality athletic program in all sports that allows the University of Illinois teams to compete for championships in the Big Ten Conference and the National Collegiate Athletic Association." In other words, the goal is to win. This agency is funded in a couple different ways. First, it is funded by the University. Some of the huge amounts of money we pay to come here goes to the athletic program. The second way the athletic department gets money is from itself. The athletic department brings in tons of money from the big name sports like men's basketball and football. These sports bring in giant revenues that help fund the athletic department and the school itself.
This agency literally serves millions of people. It serves the athletes, the students of the University, and all the fans world wide. This is the major difference between the University Of Illinois athletic department and a Cardinal Fitness. There are so many different people to please and there is so much money going in and out. The strength of this agency is the huge amount of money it pulls in. The athletic department is one of the school's primary sources of income. The University would be so much different without sports, both socially and academically. The school would be short on money and maybe not be able to provide all the top tier programs that we have become accustomed to here at Illinois. Socially, we would not feel as connected with our peers if we did not have the common goal of cheering on our teams and beating our rivals. It is a huge part of the atmosphere here. One weakness of the athletic department is the lack of a personal relationship between it and those it serves. Once again, there are so many people that its impossible to know everyone and have a personal relationship with them. This is something you may be able to get at a Cardinal Fitness; a personal relationship. Every time you go you may be greeted by name at the door. The athletic department just cannot do that.
I believe the agency has fulfilled its goals in the past, but recently it has not done too well. The teams are always competitive, but none of the flagship programs has won a championship in a while. Hopefully, we will be able to reverse that trend this season...Go Illini!
Kevin, hulsebo1
Pancakes for Poverty is part of a new form of leisure where people can find enjoyment in doing something they love, while helping out others. Its something that focuses not only on one particular individual, but encourages people to think of others and their needs as well. Like the Shedd Aquarium, Pancakes for Poverty breaks the mold of the stereotypical forms of leisure and really adds a lot of diversity to leisure delivery systems.
One key aspect about Pancakes is its members’ passion for serving and helping others. Every organization and agency has a way of differentiating itself from the competition and Pancakes’ differentiates itself through its passionate service to others. Their drive to offer a service opportunity as an exciting social outlet and enjoyable experience is one that not every RSO on campus can offer. They have created a great culture within their organization that enables their members to really embrace their work. The Shedd Aquarium similarly has differentiated itself from many other similar agencies such as a zoo or the ARC by keeping its exhibits relevant to their various target audiences.
Surprisingly the Shedd Aquarium and Pancakes have more in common than what you would expect! While the Shedd tends to draw more visitors in a given year, approximately 2 million, than Pancakes they both tend to attract a similar audience. Both attract a lot of volunteers as well as young couples. Interestingly, the Shedd has been a facility that not only promotes education on various aspects of sea life, but has been a place for couples to go on romantic dates. Similarly service agencies, like Pancakes for Poverty, have seen young men and women connect through their work. The fact that these people often have similar interests and spend a considerable amount of time together creates a perfect environment for fostering relationships.
While I don’t really see a whole lot of “weaknesses” in Pancakes for Poverty, if there is one thing they can improve on I would have to say it would be their size. Pancakes is a young and growing organization that aims at having an impact on the national level, but for the time being they are helping out local food banks. Their focus on making everyone’s experience an exciting one coincides with their effectiveness in creating an environmental that makes them a wonderful leisure delivery system.
Stephen Kawasaki (kawasak1)
The Stone Creek Golf Club is a recreation agency that plays a big part in the leisure service delivery system. The main goal of this agency is to provide the general public with an escape from the craziness that goes along with life. There are many other ways to experience leisure, but golf provides peace and tranquility, along with competitiveness and social time. Golf may not be for everyone, that is why there are other places to experience leisure, such as The ARC, LA Fitness, or even Shedd Aquarium. Leisure provides so many outlets for people to enjoy their favorite activities, there is no end to the leisure service delivery system.
Like the Shedd Aquarium, Stone Creek is a place of leisure that anyone can enjoy if they like the outdoors. Although this type of outdoors is different than that of hiking. Many people of all ages and genders enjoy a nice relaxing round of golf. Also, like the other leisure agencies (LA Fitness, Shedd Aquarium, Pancakes for Poverty), Stone Creek receives their funding from memberships, green fees, golf outings, and other special events.
The main asset of Stone Creek as a leisure agency is that is meant for pure enjoyment and relaxation. Men and women all over the world go out and play golf to simply take a break from the rest of their lives, and why not on a beautiful day? People can experience leisure in that of relaxation and also of the enjoyment of nature. Why not spend a day with people you enjoy being around and also the beautiful outdoors. One weakness that I can think of is that if some people do not enjoy playing golf because they are not as good as they believe they should be, they may not enjoy going out and playing for fun. They would then become stressed. That is the only weakness that I could come up with. I believe that the Stone Creek Golf Club does a superb job of portraying a top notch agency in the leisure delivery system. Stone Creek is one of the most popular and highly rated golf courses in Central Illinois. I would like to say that I greatly enjoyed gathering information and learning more about one of my personal favorite golf courses in Illinois. Sidney (overman2)
So in conclusion, some way some how all of our agencies provide leisure to the greater good. People say life flies by and you need to stop and slow every thing down every now and then or life will be gone before you know it. It’s kind of like the Kenny Chesney song "Don’t Blink." Well each and every one of our agencies though different in their own ways gives people that opportunity to slow life down and enjoys the time we have here. Time is precious, especially the free time. So our advice is to use it wisely. How does one use it wisely? We just listed many agencies above that are great starts. So relax, slow life down, and live a life of leisure.
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