February 2019 - Parks & Recreation - 62

N R PA U P DAT E

Some FAQs about the Gold Medal Awards

pplications are now being accepted for the 2019 Gold Medal
Awards, the Oscars for parks and recreation. The online application consists of 25 questions, which all applicants must complete
by the March 29 deadline.

In Parks and Recreation, we've often
highlighted the benefits of, and provided tips on, applying for this award
(for example, see the January 2018
article, " The National Gold Medal
Award, " (https://tinyurl.com/yaqh
8kd3) by Merry Moiseichik, a University of Arkansas professor, and Carolyn McKnight, the current American
Academy for Park and Recreation
Administration (AAPRA) president).
This year, we reached out to Jodie
Adams, chair of the Gold Medal
Committee, and Susie Kuruvilla, the
committee's head judge, to get answers to some of the most frequently
asked questions about the application
process, such as:

Q
A

What is the most
common error you see on
applications?
A common error is not providing the number of examples specifically requested in the
question. Some other mistakes
are using the same example multiple times and not highlighting
what is unique and special about

Parks & Recreation

the services and facilities. Judges
are looking for quantifiable information and descriptive narratives,
and using different examples gives
them a broader picture of the agency. Agencies need to tell the overall
story in narrative, while also providing enough details and data.

Q
A

If you've applied before,
is it acceptable to recycle
previously submitted answers?
If the answers are still relevant,
then yes; however, it is always
important to re-evaluate and make
changes based on new and different
elements from year to year.

Q
A

How are judges chosen?

A committee under oversight
of the AAPRA selects five
judges: four permanent-term judges and one guest judge. Judges are
carefully selected to ensure they are
individuals with a high level of integrity and can be objective.

Q
A

What's the difference
between public support and
citizen involvement?
Public support shows how the
agency is benefiting from the support of the public; i.e., passage of a
referendum, public support of a project, etc. Citizen involvement is how
residents of the district are engaged/
volunteering with the operations of
the agency on an ongoing basis.
Can you give an example of social equity for question 21 (In what

| F E B R U A RY 2 0 1 9 | W W W. PA R K S A N D R E C R E AT I O N . O R G

ways has your agency addressed
the NRPA Pillar of Social Equity
in the last three years?)
Agencies can address their role
in various aspects of social equity
in their community; for example,
engagement with those who have
special needs, cultural diversity, socioeconomics, age diversity, etc.

When asked about innovative
or creative projects, are the
judges basing this on the individual
agency's innovation or against
what other agencies are doing?
Judges are basing the scores on
how creative and innovative
the project sounds from its description. It is important to demonstrate
how the project or initiative is improving the systems or services of
the agency in a new, unique way.

Can we reference future planned
projects/initiatives? Does
planning need to be " in progress " at
the time of submission?
Future planned projects/initiatives can be referenced, as long
as they are in progress or are ready
to begin.
Additional information to help
you complete the application is available at www.nrpa.org/goldmedal.
The Gold Medal Committee
and judges thank all the agencies,
state parks and military bases that
have applied for the award over the
years. They are continually looking
for ways to improve the application
process and create public awareness for the esteemed Gold Medal
Award. Please contact them with
questions/comments at any time
during the year at goldmedal@
nrpa.org.

February 2019 - Parks & Recreation

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of February 2019 - Parks & Recreation