Getting to Know Your Community Leaders: Larry Schultz

Northwest resident Larry Schultz has traveled around the world and holds a full resume.

Before retiring, he served as the vice president of corporate contract compliance and global initiatives at Parker Hannifin Corp., a Fortune 300 company.

He also worked as an instructor at the University of California, Irvine, for more than 20 years, teaching various contract management courses.

As a business professional, he has served as a speaker at numerous industry and professional association conferences, covering a variety of business, compliance and ethics topics.

Schultz is the vice chairman of the city of Las Vegas Neighborhood Partners Fund Board and was recently appointed a Ward 6 Parks & Recreation Advisory Commission member for Las Vegas. He is also active in the Providence Master Homeowners Association.

When he’s not busy traveling with his wife and volunteering with the city, Schultz spends time with his four daughters and six grandchildren.

View recently sat down with Schultz for a question-and-answer session.

You serve two different positions with the city. Let’s start with your role as vice chairman of the Neighborhood Partners Fund Board. What is the Neighborhood Partners Fund and what does your position entail?

Sure, so the Neighborhood Partners Fund is a city-designated fund of $55,000 used to help community organizations that need some kind of injection of money to accomplish a worthy cause. Community organizations can send an application to the Neighborhood Partners Fund Board asking for assistance. In return, they contribute their own cash, labor or sweat equity. Our job, as part of the board, is to pick the applications that are the most worthy and distribute the money in a way that makes sense. Once we have our picks, we make a recommendation to city council and the mayor. They either approve or deny it.

What type of applications have you received in the past?

Last year, for example, one project was for Casa de Luz, which is located in downtown Las Vegas and serves very underprivileged and poor people. They wanted to get a bunch of local faith-based churches together to give children in the area a decent Christmas, by providing gifts. That was very touching to me. The city gave them $5,000. We’re currently in the application process right now. The deadline is in April, and we’ll present our decision to city council in July.

How were you chosen for the position of Las Vegas Ward 6 Parks and Recreation Advisory Commissioner?

I’m very public-minded and spirited and I have gone to various city meetings. Mayor Pro Tem Steve Ross has gotten to know me, and one day he said we have an opening and asked if this is something I could help them with. I accepted.

So far, I’ve been to one meeting, and I’ve met with the parks and recreation staff.

Why did you accept the position?

Before retiring, I worked full time and traveled all over the world. I’ve been to China, Brazil, Europe, Portugal, Spain and I never had time to give back to the community. Now that I’m retired, it’s time to give back to the community.

You’re on this earth, not just for yourself, but also to see if you can help others. I have a desire to be helpful to the city, neighborhoods and those who are less fortunate. I’ve been very blessed in life and I want to give back.

As advisory commissioner, what duties are you in charge of?

Board members are in charge of making recommendations to city staff on matters pertaining to public parks and recreation programs. We make sure programs are meeting the public’s needs, and we can make recommendations on the park’s public safety. We don’t want these places to be used for drugs or things of that nature.

What do you find to be unique about the city’s parks and recreation department?

A lot of people aren’t aware that Las Vegas is home to 68 parks, four trailheads, six community centers, five active adult centers, two sports complexes, six seasonal swimming pools and three tennis complexes.

In Ward 6, we have total of 13 park facilities available. The Indian Hills planned park is not included in this number and is several years away from being developed as part of the Skye Canyon project, and it will be called the Officer Alyn Beck Memorial Park. We also have the Centennial Hills Active Adult Center, which provides senior citizens with great programs and activities.

What type of issues have you dealt with since being appointed as the Ward 6 Commissioner for the Parks & Recreation Advisory Commission?

I recently heard from the Vegas Valley Schutzhund (Schutzhund is a German word for protection dogs) Club. This is a club for individuals that train dogs to do a lot of things at a high level. Some are German shepherds, but there are other breeds, as well. Dogs are trained to follow their scent and become tracking dogs. Members contacted me because they would like to get a dedicated location to do their training. Since parks are open to the public, random scents and poop, etc. will throw their scent off. Members usually clean the entire park before they start training their dogs. I’m trying to network with them and with city staff to help them. The city may not have a dedicated location, but perhaps it can provide better facilities to help them train.

Are there any specific issues that you’d like to tackle?

One of the things that I would like to do sooner, rather than later, is visit every single park in Ward 6 and look at the facilities. I want to make sure they are maintained at a level that people feel comfortable with.

What would you like residents to know?

If they have a concern about their facilities or programs and feel they need help, please contact me. Chances are when they contact me, I’ll have to contact staff to find out what’s going on. I’m here to serve you. My job is to serve; it’s the oath I took and promise I made to the city and this community. I can’t guarantee results, but I’ll do my very best. I look into everything that people bring to my attention. Sometimes I can make them happy, and other times I can’t, but I always respond. The only time that I won’t be able to answer right away is when I’m traveling.

— To reach North View reporter Sandy Lopez, email slopez@viewnews.com or call 702-383-4686. Find her on Twitter: @JournalismSandy.