NOVA Parks News
Throwback Thursday - NOVA Parks – A Force for Innovation
The growth and health of NOVA Parks (Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority) over 60 years has a great deal to do with Darrell Winslow. Where Ira Gabrielson contributed the conservation focus, Winslow created the financial model that allowed the regional park system to grow. By introducing park-related business activities, an increasing percentage of funding for the system was generated through enterprises.
At the peak in the late 1970s, there were five regional (multi-jurisdictional) park authorities in Virginia. All but NOVA Parks went out of business because they did not have a financially sustainable model. The diversified system of park-based enterprises is what Darrell Winslow created. By the time he retired as Executive Director in 1995, almost 74% of the operating funds were being generated within the parks, with only a small percentage coming from tax dollars. Today, the entrepreneurial spirit is still alive with 87% of revenues being generated from park operations. The national average for this is less than 30%.
Darrell Winslow was already a seasoned park professional when he joined the Authority in 1966. At that time, 100% of the operating funds came from tax dollars from the member jurisdictions. One of Winslow’s first actions was to create boat rentals and food concessions at Bull Run Marina. They used a cigar box as a cash register. Winslow continued to grow the operations adding camp grounds, golf courses, water parks, mini-golf, conference and overnight accommodations, and more. The chart below shows the trajectory of enterprise funds vs. local tax dollars during Mr. Winslow’s tenure.
Because of this legacy, NOVA Parks is one of the most innovative and entrepreneurial park systems in the nation. In recent years, over 330,000 people went to one of our exciting themed waterparks, nearly 280,000 people attended one of our two award winning holiday light shows, and over 100,000 people attended a reception at one of our four stunning reception venues. Activities like these generate close to $20 million in enterprise revenue, supporting the many elements of our mission that do not generate funds and keeping the regional system of parks sustainable today and in the future.
