Homewood-Flossmoor Park District

PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:
Nicole Castagna/Bob Birgel
Public Relations Department
708-957-0300

GOLDEN DISTRICT

H-F Park District receives NRPA Gold Medal Award for second time.

Flossmoor, IL (Oct. 12, 2006) — On Wednesday, Oct. 11, the Homewood-Flossmoor Park District received the 2006 National Gold Medal Awards for Excellence in Park and Recreation Management from the American Academy for Park and Recreation Administration (AAPRA) and the National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA).

The district won the national award for cities with a population of 25,001 to 50,000 during the 2006 NRPA Congress & Exposition, which is being held through Saturday, Oct. 14, in Seattle, Wash. Accepting the award for Homewood-Flossmoor were Debbie Kopas, executive director, and Pete Camin, president of the board of commissioners.

According to NRPA, the Gold Medals honor communities throughout the U.S. that demonstrate excellence in long-range planning, resource management, volunteerism, environmental stewardship, program development, professional development and agency recognition. Each agency is judged on its ability to address the needs of those it serves through the collective energies of citizens, staff and elected officials. The Homewood-Flossmoor Park District previously won the award in 1991, and was also named a finalist in 1988, 1989, 1990 and 2005.

For this year's competition, Homewood-Flossmoor submitted an application essay, its master plan and a short DVD highlighting programs and services of the district.

Homewood-Flossmoor now joins only four other park-district agencies across the nation as top winners this year. They are:

• (Pop. more than 250,000): City of Long Beach Department of Parks, Recreation and Marine in California
• (Pop. 100,001-250,000): Tempe Parks and Recreation in Arizona
• (Pop. 50,001-100,000): Bend Metro Park and Recreation District in Oregon
• (Pop. 25,000 and less): Bloomingdale Park District in Illinois