February 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 14

WE ARE PARKS AND RECREATION
Member Benefit: Earn Recognition
With an NRPA Award
N
ow through March 24, 2023, NRPA is accepting applications
for its 2023 Awards Program. NRPA awards consist of the
following:
The National Gold Medal
Awards, governed and administered
by the American Academy for Park
and Recreation Administration in
partnership with NRPA, honor park
and recreation agencies throughout
the United States and armed forces
recreation programs worldwide that
demonstrate excellence in delivering
superb park and recreation services.
(The application deadline for these
awards is March 3, 2023.).
The Innovation Awards
showcase the
inspiring
through
work
park and recreation agencies do
to improve and empower their
communities
innovative
practices in park design, health and
wellness, conservation, and equity.
The Spotlight Awards are
presented to individuals to honor
their efforts - both professional and
personal - in the field of parks and
recreation. Award winners include
Neelay Bhatt emcees the Best of the
Best ceremony during the 2022 NRPA
Annual Conference in Phoenix.
park and recreation professionals,
volunteers,
engaged
community
members and park advocates.
The Hall of Fame inducts
individuals posthumously who have
made extraordinary and lasting
contributions to the advancement of
the park and recreation movement.
New This Year
NRPA is excited to introduce a
new award, the Dirk Richwine
Professional Mentoring Award,
which is presented to an individual
who has made outstanding contributions
through mentoring of
individuals and organizations to
strengthen the field by helping other
professionals grow, develop and
flourish. Through these efforts, this
individual will have better prepared
the next generation of park and
recreation leaders.
Scholarships and
Fellowships
NRPA members are eligible to apply
for NRPA Young Professional
Fellowships, Diversity Scholarships
and Student Scholarships. Not only
are the awards prestigious, but also
they include complimentary NRPA
Annual Conference registration and
a travel stipend. Each fellowship
and scholarship winner also is connected
with a mentor to maximize
their conference experience.
" Winning
the
scholarship
allowed
me to attend the conference,
and I connected with parks profes14
Parks & Recreation | FEBR U AR Y 2 0 2 3
| PARK S ANDRECRE AT ION . OR G
Awards are displayed at the
2022 Best of the Best ceremony.
sionals from all over the country to
learn from their best practices and
case studies, " says Olivia Salazar
de Breaux, 2022 Diversity Scholarship
recipient. " I attended equity-focused
workshops and explored
frameworks and strategic approaches
to diversity, equity, inclusion and
belonging initiatives. I was inspired
by speakers who reminded us that
parks, arts and recreation [are] crucial
for community health, well-being,
upward mobility and resilience.
Ultimately, I walked away
from the conference reinvigorated,
inspired and excited about bringing
all that I learned back to the City of
Olympia [Washington]. "
" Receiving the Young
Professional
Fellowship has impacted my
career in many ways. Most importantly,
it has enabled me to become
more deeply connected to NRPA
and all the amazing opportunities it
provides, " says Cameron Levis, 2021
recipient of the Young Professional
Fellowship. " The opportunity to
connect with other passionate park
and recreation professionals has
helped me expand my network of
individuals in the field to learn from
and grow with, which, in turn, helps
me to serve my community better. "
To learn more about NRPA awards,
scholarships and fellowships, visit nrpa.
org/Awards.
PHOTO COURTESY OF CAUGHT IN THE MOMENT PHOTOGRAPHY
PHOTO COURTESY OF CAUGHT IN THE
MOMENT PHOTOGRAPHY
https://www.nrpa.org/awards https://www.nrpa.org/awards
February 2023 - Parks & Recreation

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