Seven WE Play! trainings.  Seven consecutive months.  Seven great days of learning, laughs, and inspiration. 

The KaBOOM! team just finished our last WE Play! of the year in Portland, OR.  Woohoo!  On to 2008 right?  Well, not quite yet.  Hold your horses.  Let's recap a few memorable moments from a great year of WE Play!

1. April - Salt Lake City  We confirmed that YES it does snow in April and YES people here are laid-back, friendly, and eager to learn about building playgrounds.  We added two new sesssions called "Asset-Based Community Development" and "Forming Your Planning Committee."

2. May - Atlanta  Georgia was definitely on our minds when we brought our training to Atlanta.  Mixing things up, we added a break-out session to teach participants about all the different side projects you can build with your playground.  We also invited two incredible speakers - Cynthia Gentry from Art Heals, and Donna Williams from the Meadowdale Learning Center.  Both women planned their own community build playground projects.

3. June - Pittsburgh   Heading back up north, we trained over 50 playspace planners in Pittsburgh, PA.  Hedda Sharapan from Mister Rogers' Neighborhood spoke to us about why play is so important for both children and adults.  Then, Lisa Russo from the I CARE House shared her personal experience in planning her own project for a community center in Slippery Rock, PA.  AND, how could I forget?  Kevin Jenkins from the Pittsburgh Foundation gave tips and tricks in putting together grant applications.  Both the Pittsburgh Foundation AND Grable Foundation sponsored this one.

4. July - Los Angeles   The land of movie stars, sunny beaches, and playground planners!  Sadly, Arnold couldn't come.  BUT, seven KaBOOM! staff and two guest speakers joined over 50 participants ready to start and finish their own projects.  Big thanks to Tiffany Harris, Executive Director from Shane's Inspiration who gave us tremendous insight into planning accessible playspaces.

5. August - Manchester   Green, green, green.  Surrounded by the beautiful forests of New England, KaBOOM! trained close to 40 participants on our community-build model AND we added a break-out session called, "The Great Outdoors: Natural Play Environments."  Thanks to the five KaBOOM! presenters and our guest speaker, Michelle Casale, playground chair from the Town of Bedford Playground Project. 

6. September - Milwaukee   Sponsored by Safe & Sound Inc. and the Faye McBeath Foundation, this WE Play! was one of our biggest trainings bringing over 60 people from Wisconsin, Illinois, and across the country.  Scott Gelzer, Executive Director of Faye McBeath, led a question and answer session on grants.  And, the playground committees from Richards Elementary School and Montini Elementary School shared their experiences planning amazing volunteer playground projects for hundreds of their students. 

7. October - Portland   Last but not least.  Five KaBOOM! staff flew over to Oregon to finish up the year with some of the most enthusiastic participants we've had at a training.  We joined our guest speaker, Donna Wax from Buckman Elementary School, who gave us the ins and outs of getting volunteers motivated to fundraise AND build a playground for 480 children.  We also held our second KaBOOM! Happy Hour MeetUp of the year.

...and there you have it.  Seven great trainings in one year.  If you attended any of the WE Play! trainings in 2007, give us some of YOUR most memorable moments. 

ALSO: Check my next forum thread to give me your ideas for WE Play! trainings in 2008!  Thanks everyone!