THE IPARKS BOARD
The IPARKS Board of Directors exists to direct and guide the overall operations and strategies of the pool.
Board Members are dedicated to quality coverage and services for Member Park & Forest Preserve Districts and Conservation Agencies. Their ongoing objective is to hold true to IPARKS' founding principle of providing stability of pricing and availability for Illinois Park & Forest Preserve Districts and Conservation Agencies.
Mr. Mark Badasch, Chair
Collinsville Area Recreation Director
mark4park@aol.com
Mark Badasch has been the Executive Director of the Collinsville Area Recreation District since 1994. Previously, he has held positions as Director of Parks and Recreation at the Roxana Community Park District and Recreation Department, Roxana, IL; Director of the Clark County Park District, Marshall, IL; Youth Program Director at Neighborhood House Association, Peoria, IL; and Assistant Superintendent of Recreation/Arena Manager at the Pekin Park District, Pekin, Illinois.
Mr. Badasch is a 1973 graduate of Indiana State University with a Bachelor of Science in Recreation and is on the ISU Department of Recreation And Sport Management Alumni Advisory Council.
Mr. Badasch and his wife, Ann, have been married 29 years and live in Maryville, Illinois. They have three children: Michael, Joshuah, and Megan.
Mr. Larry A. DeGraaf, Vice Chair
larrybear1@aol.com
Larry DeGraaf was the Executive Director of the Vernon Hills Park District (97-09). Prior to that, he was the Executive Director of the Golf-Maine Park District (92-97); Executive Director of the Morale, Welfare and Recreation Department at the Naval Training Center at Great Lakes, Illinois (78-91); Director of the New Albany-Floyd County (Indiana) Department of Parks and Recreation (75-78); and Director of the West Lafayette (Indiana) Department of Parks and Recreation (71-75).
He is also a retired Naval Reserve Officer with a specialty in Cryptology. Mr. DeGraaf is a 1970 graduate of Purdue University with a Bachelor of Physical Education and a 1971 Purdue graduate with a Masters in Education Administration.
Mr. Peter M. Murphy, Secretary
IAPD President & CEO
pmurphy@ilparks.org
Peter M. Murphy joined the Illinois Association of Park Districts in 1980 and serves as the Association's President & CEO. He received his Bachelor of Science Degree from the University of Michigan and his Juris Doctorate from the New England School of Law in Boston, Massachusetts.
Mr. Murphy has more than 28 years of experience with State and Local Government. Prior to joining the IAPD he served as staff attorney for the Illinois General Assembly's Legislative Reference Bureau.
Dr. Bruce Larson, Board Member
Urbana Park District Foundation
bllarso@illinois.edu
Dr. Larson has been a member of the IPARKS Board of Directors since its inception in 1991 and has the distinct honor of being IPARKS founding Chairman. He was first elected as an Urbana Park District commissioner in 1967 and recently retired from the Board President position, which he held from 1970 until 2010. Dr. Larson received a B.S. degree in 1948 from the University of Minnesota majoring in biochemistry and physics and a Ph.D. degree from the same institution in 1951, majoring in biochemistry and microbiology.
Mr. Ken Collin, Board Member
Freeport Park District
jkcollin@aol.com
Mr. Ken Collin contributes expertise garnered by a 40-year career in computer systems and programming, and more than a decade of experience working with a property and casualty insurance company. Mr. Collin was elected to the IPARKS Board in January 2010. His specialty is analyzing multiple requests and providing leadership for budgetary concerns.
Freeport Park District has experienced success under Mr. Collin's leadership. Since 2003, Mr. Collin has served as a Commissioner, Vice President and President with the Freeport Board of Directors. In that time, the Board has implemented a Park Master Plan to completely renovate two of their parks, Krape Park and Read Park. Krape Park is the recipient of the Outstanding Multi-use Facility Award given by Illinois Parks and Recreation Association.
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