Adriane Johnson: Candidate Profile

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Note: Answers provided have not been edited for grammar, misspellings or typos. In some instances, candidate claims that could not be immediately verified have been omitted. Jump to:BioQA Bio City: Buffalo GroveWebsite: Candidate did not respond.Office sought: Buffalo Grove Park Board Age: Candidate did not respond.Family: Husband - Bruce Johnson Daughter - Nia JohnsonOccupation: HR ConsultantEducation: Master of Jurisprudence, Business Law Bachelor of Arts, Columbia College Professional in Human Resources, HR Certification Institute SHRM-CPCivic involvement: Commissioner - Buffalo Grove Park District Commissioner - Village of Buffalo Grove Fire Police Commission Trustee - Illinois Association of Park Districts Pro Bono HR Consultant / Project Manager - TaprootElected offices held: Commissioner, Buffalo Grove Park DistrictQuestions Answers What programs aren't paying for themselves? Would you keep, eliminate or change them? How and why?The Buffalo Grove Park District is fortunate to have dedicated financial and fiscally-responsible stewards of our collective resources. We conduct an annual review of all programs to assess their effectiveness and relevance. And most importantly, we are very concerned about if the programs are in the black or red. Over the years, we have eliminated programs that are no longer effective or self-sustaining. As stewards of the Buffalo Grove Park District taxpayers' resources, we ensure that all programs are self-sustaining, relevant, and effective. Also of note is that we put all programs into program areas. These include Youth Sports, Youth General, Camps, Seniors, Special Events, Adult Sports, and Adult General. Programs that do not pay for themselves normally fall in the special event and senior program areas. And many of these programs are beneficial to the entire community and are typically offered at a nominal charge or are free.Is there any additional open space the park district needs to acquire? Please describe.Although there is always a desire for open space, the Buffalo Grove Park District has more than 52 parks and facilities. To support the ongoing requirement for open space, I will encourage the staff at the Buffalo Grove Park District to proactively establish relationships with select landowners to secure the right of first refusal for their properties. This way, we will be ahead of the curve in terms of having access to open space in the future.Are there any unmet recreational needs? If yes, what are they and how would you propose paying for them? Or, should they wait until the economy improves?We are very proud of the acquisition and development of the Community Arts Center (CAC), which is the result of listening to our community investors about a need for such facility. In a recent survey to residents of the Buffalo Grove Park District, more than 67% of the respondents indicated that they would attend professional shows, concerts, plays, etc. if a cultural and programming arts space was developed for children and adults. We consistently offer outstanding productions through our Big Deal Productions, and we are excited to continue offering top-notch performances. The park district recently received a Park and Recreation Facility Construction (PARC) grant totaling $1.73 million toward to continued development of the CAC. We are adding new dance studios, replacing the roof, adding a fine arts studio, and much more. Another unmet need is a community recreation center that would be available to residents of the Buffalo Grove Park District to use for special events and other recreational requirements. In light of our current projects, i.e., the ongoing development of the CAC, we will take some time to reassess the need for a community center and determine the best way to fund this endeavor. We will continue to respond to our residents' immediate needs. And the Buffalo Grove Park District has done an outstanding job of providing the services and programs that are most important to our residents, and we continue to have our "thump on the pulse" of the community needs.Would you support sharing/pooling resources (i.e. printing, vehicles) with other local governments (school districts, village, etc.)? If so, what areas would you consider combining or merging to save money or improve efficiency?The Buffalo Grove Park District has partnered with several local school districts for many years in an effort to save money for the taxpayers in Buffalo Grove Park District. These partnerships include the use of school facilities for our Clubhouse program, sports programs, special events and performing arts events, aquatic needs. Most recently, we executed an inter-governmental agreement with School District 214 resulting in the construction of an artificial turf field for various park-district and school programs. We will continue these important partnerships to save money and preserve resources, as we know this is the fiscally responsible course of action, as well as important to the taxpayers in the Buffalo Grove Park District.If you are a newcomer, what prompted you to run for the park board? If you're an incumbent, list your accomplishments or key initiatives in which you played a leadership role.1.Received the Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting by the Government Finance Offices of the USA and Canada 2.Consecutive AAA bond ratings 3.Secured several Open Space Lands Acquisition and Development (OSLAD) grants 4.Received a Park and Recreation Facility Construction (PARC) grant totaling $1.73 million 5.Earning the State Distinguished Accredited Agency Award 6.Purchased and developed the Community Arts Center 7.Redevelopment of Willow Stream Park 8.Ongoing development of accessible playgrounds and facilities for 9.people with disabilities 10.Multiple Intergovernmental Agreements with school districts 11.Secured $1,000 Community Grant from the Buffalo Grove Rotary Club 12.Secured a $51,000 grant from the Illinois Public Museum Capital Grant Program 13.Hiring of the new Executive Director, Ryan Rissinger 14.Attained Master Board Member status for entire Board of Commissioners 15.Received Award of Excellence in Exhibits from the Illinois Association of Museums 16.Attained consistent high ratings on risk management audits 17.Renovation of the Alcott Center heating and air conditioning system 18.Redevelopment of Woodland Park 19.Attained 4-star and 5-star awards from Starfish 20.Golf Center named one of the top 10 Golf Domes in the United States and Canada by the Golf Range Association of America for the 8th consecutive year. 21.Received first-place award from the Illinois Association of Park Districts for Best Media Relations Campaign and third place for Best Brochure 22.Received Best Green Practices Award by the Illinois Association of Park Districts 23.Implemented Anti-Bullying Testing and Policy Requirements for all affiliates 24.Environmental Action Committee celebrated its 5-year anniversary 25.Revamped branding, created new logo and a user-friendly, responsive websiteWhat other issues, if any, are important to you as a candidate for this office?Ensuring that the Buffalo Grove Park District continues to be a good steward of the community investors' resources, maintain our stellar AAA bond rating, make decisions about programing and recreational needs based upon our residents' needs, maintain our accreditation as an Illinois Distinguished Accredited Agency, supporting ongoing development of staff and board members, seeking additional intergovernmental opportunities to partner with other local governments to manage expense.Please name one current leader who most inspires you.Oprah Winfrey.What's the biggest lesson you learned at home growing up?The importance of being kind to others and loving myself.If life gave you one do-over, what would you spend it on?I would spend the time on getting to know my elders better; extracting those important stories and expressing my appreciation.What was your favorite subject in school and how did it help you in later life?English was one of my favorite subjects in school. I attribute my love for words for being able to express myself.If you could give your children only one piece of advice, what would it be?To put service above self. This way, you will always think of others.