City Parks and Recreation Again Earns National Accreditation

[(L-R) Facility/Program Coordinator Leslie Brinson; Sara Hensley, CAPRA Commission Chair; and Acting Director Paula McDevitt accept the CAPRA re-accreditation award at the Best of the Best Ceremony Oct. 6.|image:27050,right]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 11, 2016

For more information, contact:
Paula McDevitt, Acting Director, City of Bloomington Parks and Recreation, (812) 349-3713 or mcdevitp@bloomington.in.gov

Bloomington, Ind. - The Bloomington Parks and Recreation Department was officially re-accredited by the Commission for Accreditation of Park and Recreation Agencies (CAPRA) at the National Recreation and Park Association annual conference last week. The Parks and Recreation Department's acting director Paula McDevitt received the award at the Best of the Best Ceremony in St. Louis on Oct. 6.

"Achieving CAPRA accreditation is a rigorous process," McDevitt said. "That our Department is only one of four in Indiana, and one of 156 agencies across the country to be accredited, is a mark of distinction. We are glad to be able to report to our community that we are doing the best possible job bringing quality parks and recreation opportunities to Bloomington."

The Department was first accredited by CAPRA in 2001, and was reaccredited in 2006 and 2011; reaccreditation occurs in five-year cycles. CAPRA accreditation is the only national accreditation for park and recreation agencies, and is a measure of an agency's overall quality of operation, management and service to the community.

"Our residents can be proud of this achievement by their Parks and Recreation Department. Throughout the City we strive to put best practices to use and this accreditation is testament to the effectiveness of that approach. From our beautiful parks to our extensive trail system and diverse range of programming, we have an exceptional Parks Department," commented Mayor John Hamilton.

Bloomington as a community benefits in many ways from the Department's accreditation efforts. Reviews of administrative policies and procedures assure the community that the Department meets national standards of best practices. The Department uses information gathered during the process to more effectively manage its resources, and to operate facilities as efficiently as possible.

###