PARKS DIRECT is the management system Prince George's Department of Parks and Recreation uses to run its recreational offerings, from programs to picnic shelters rentals, park buildings rentals, tickets, point-of-sale items, golf tee-times, and more.
Precisely, PARKS DIRECT is the Department's branding on its license to Vermont Systems software-as-a-service modules (RecTrac, WebTrac, GolfTrac, MainTrac, PayTrac, Camp, CYMTrac, and InteliTrac). Together, the modules serve different functions in the spirit of successful recreation management. However, it's worth noting, the Department's license does not cover all of Vermont Systems modules because the management system does not require every module to function correctly.
The license is great for the Department because Vermont Systems maintains the server that hosts the PARKS DIRECT database, which houses the Department's information and data on recreational offerings.
PARKS DIRECT makes it possible for customers to enroll in recreational programs either at home - from a computer, tablet, or smartphone - or at a facility with staff's guidance.
PARKS DIRECT also helps program instructors create class schedules, collect payments, run reports and rosters, and communicate to program participants.
Correctly identifying the system's modules from the entire management system is essential for working with customers and program instructors who interact with PARKS DIRECT's different parts (modules).
Because the modules all pull from the same database, it's easy to confuse the parts with the whole; a concept best summed up with the following meme.
One of PARKS DIRECT's best features is the instant connection it brings between customers and the Parks and Recreation's resource.
The takeaway from this (thanks for sticking around!) is people will call PARKS DIRECT by different names. Correctly identifying which part of PARKS DIRECT someone refers to will go a long way in understanding users' problems and communicating solutions.
PARKS DIRECT's parts (modules)
This is the management system's "back-of-house" module that Department employees use to manage recreational offerings and sales.
The following URLs are useful for accessing PARKS DIRECT.
- PRODUCTION: https://apps1.vermontsystems.com/pgparks.html
- DEMO: https://demoapps1.vermontsystems.com/wbwsc/mdpgparksrt_d.wsc/login.html?interfaceParameter=RecTrac_Demo
The demo site, updated every Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday morning, is a copy of the "live" database.
This is the management system's "front-of-house" module that customers use to enroll in and pay for the Department's recreational offerings.
However, this is where things get spotty because the Department's WebTrac website has the PARKS DIRECT logo on the top-left corner of every page, along with other PARKS DIRECT branding.
This branding is great for customers. If someone Googles WebTrac, then they get results for Vermont Systems. But, if a customer Googles PARKS DIRECT, then they do find our WebTrac site. That's why customers call our WebTrac site, PARKS DIRECT, even though technically it's not. Putting that aside, understanding the difference between PARKS DIRECT and WebTrac is not necessary for customers to know.
It's easy to confuse PARKS DIRECT and WebTrac because of all the branding. And, technically, WebTrac is a part of PARKS DIRECT. However, WebTrac, on its own, is not PARKS DIRECT.
In other words, although PARKS DIRECT contains WebTrac, WebTrac is not PARKS DIRECT even though WebTrac has PARKS DIRECT's logo. However, all the modules (Webtrac, RecTrac, and GolfTrac) are PARKS DIRECT.
The following URLs are useful for accessing WebTrac.
This is the management system's "back-of-house" module that Department employees use for managing golf courses.
Basically, GolfTrac is an addition to PARKS DIRECT specializing in golf course management and sales processing.