The 79th Great Lakes Park Training Institute will take place from February 25 to 28, 2025. GLPTI (Great Lakes Park Training Institute) has been held annually at Pokagon State Park since 1947. GLPTI has trained over 23,000 people (about the seating capacity of Madison Square Garden) from 49 states and six countries over its more than 75-year history. Educational sessions are offered in five tracks, Park, and Facility Maintenance; Natural Resource Management; Natural and Cultural Interpretation; Personnel and Career Development; and Park Operations giving attendees and broad but customizable learning experience.
Planning for GLPTI is a year-round process with the first meetings taking place in May and a full Board of Advisors’ retreat in June to set the program and develop the curriculum for the 2025 Institute. GLPTI strives to offer practical and innovative training and is always listening to attendees and park professionals to ensure we are offering the most timely and relevant educational sessions and workshops. If you have ideas for training you would like to be offered, send your suggestion to glpti@eppley.org for consideration.
In 2025, GLPTI will also feature the return with specific leadership training programs presented by accomplished leaders in the parks and recreation field. This training will focus on developing leaders for parks, recreation, and public lands management organizations who will master leadership, understand the characteristics that make for success in leading organizations, and how individual strengths help to successfully adapt leadership style, self-knowledge, and competence to fit the individual and the organization’s needs.
As always, GLPTI celebrates innovative projects and recognizes accomplished professionals with the Great Lakes Park, Facility, or Program Award, the Richard Lawson Award for Professional Excellence, and the Garret G. Eppley Scholarship, awarded to park professionals to assist in attending the Institute. Nominations for these prestigious awards are open to all who wish to recognize their agencies, agency leaders, or community’s accomplishments. All awards and scholarship applications will open in July with a deadline of November 30, 2024.
Registration for the 2025 Great Lakes Park Training Institute will open in August.