Bill Foelsch is currently Director of Parks and Recreation for the Township of Morris, a residential community of 23,000. As Director, he manages 18 municipal parks, two Olympic- size swimming pools, and a wide variety of recreation programs for the community. Prior to his service to Morris Township, he was Executive Director of the New Jersey Recreation and Park Association for 26 years, managing the membership services, educational activities and public policy advocacy program of that statewide organization.
He also serves as part-time Park Consultant to the municipality of Chester Township, a position he started in 1981, currently managing seven parks, 60 acres of active recreation area, and 900 acres of preserved open space. Bill also is a visiting Instructor for the Rutgers University Certified Public Works Manager program teaching a full-day workshop on park operations and risk management two times each year.
Bill serves as Chair of the New Jersey Trails Council since his appointment to the Council in 1992. He also currently serves as Co-Chair of the New Jersey Recreation and Park Association Public Policy Committee. Bill served on the Board of Trustees of the National Recreation and Park Association, was twice Chairman of the National Playground Safety Institute, and served on the NRPA Congress Program Committee for 15 years, chairing the Committee in 2005 for the San Antonio Congress. He has served on eight campaign committees to renew the New Jersey Green Acres and Garden State Preservation Trust funding programs. He currently serves as the NJRPA liaison to the Keep It Green Coalition, a 185-organization coalition advancing priorities for future GSPT funding for open space, farmland and historic preservation and new funding for New Jersey’s natural resources and park stewardship needs.
Bill spends his brief recreational time hiking, biking, kayaking, gardening and attending concerts with his family and friends. [current as of 10/2014]