2022 CPRS Award Winners

Every year the CPRS Awards Program aims to honor those agencies and people who have made significant contributions to their communities through their programs, parks, facilities, communications and personal work. Here are the proud winners of the 2022 CPRS Awards Program.

Creating Community Award of Excellence

Aging Well

Inland Empire Senior Games

- To Promote Fitness and The Spirit of Competition

City of San Bernardino

The Inland Empire Senior Games began in 1987 as the San Bernardino Senior Olympics as a collaboration with the City of San Bernardino, local hospitals, and colleges. Later, it was renamed the Inland Empire Senior Games as surrounding communities took interest. The purpose of the Senior Games is to engage seniors, 50 years and better, in essential life services and activities which enhance their dignity, support their independence, and encourage their involvement in physical and social activity through education, fitness, and sports. In 1992, the City of San Bernardino and the San Bernardino Senior Games Committee joined California Senior Games Association, giving our local senior athletes the opportunity to compete at State and National levels. In addition to the apparent physical fitness and potential life longevity benefits, participating in these sporting competitions allows seniors to engage in more social activity. Amateur athletes gain more courage to express themselves and develop new friendships, while relieving stress and improving mental health. The Inland Empire Senior Games Committee is comprised of primarily senior-age volunteer members from withing the active community, as well as members from critical resource backgrounds/ status and surrounding community centers. Low participation fees and high quality experiences have helped the IE Senior Games continue to grow.

Arts & Cultural Services

Equitable/Inclusive Programming: Music and Arts for at-risk youth City of Riverside

The City of Riverside Parks, Recreation and Community Services Department offers a variety of high-quality programming aimed at providing positive opportunities for at-risk youth and adaptive learners, nurturing personal growth and enrichment for all partici- pants while also spreading awareness to local communities. Programs including Project BRIDGE, NCYOP (Neighborhood College Youth Opportunity Program), RAP (Riverside Arts Program), and Friendly Stars. These programs expose youth and adaptive learners to social environments, classes, and adult readiness opportunities providing an equal opportunity for all participants regardless of heritage, ethnicity, background, or economic status. Underserved communities as well as at-risk youth are provided education and a positive pathway forward that increases the likely hood of financial success, creative success, personal enrichment or betterment in their respective quality of life.

Many teens in our underserved communities face unique challenges that inhibit their ability to obtain proper resources and education needed in order to increase their chances of success. Programs such as Project BRIDGE focus on facilitating and promoting teen wellness, supporting teens with a safe space and providing resources for all teens and young adults aged 12 - 22. Through the implementation of specified classes and resources, these programs nurture life skills that promote healthy choice making decisions, and aim to create a sense of personal value for individuals. Project Bridge has partnered with Neighborhood College offering assistance to the program as the at-risk youth in need of resources have benefitted utilizing their resources. Classes such as Anger Management, Substance Abuse Awareness, Victim Awareness, and Gang Awareness in addition to Job Readiness have prepared youth for a more positive and productive perspective. Youth are encouraged to properly manage emotions by channeling them in a positive outlet which includes exercising, art, music, and more.

Through programs such as RAP

(Riverside Arts Program), participants explore their creative side and are exposed to the world of music, dance and art, applying discipline and improving self-esteem. This program not only fosters youth to excel in these areas but gives participants the tools neces- sary to continue their refined skills into other areas including school, auditions, teaching and more. RAP has been made accessible to all communities, thanks in part by the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) which provides scholarships, awarding low-cost programming for qualifying under-resourced vulnerable youth. Since it’s inception, RAP has reached thousands of youth across the City of Riverside.

Community Health & Wellness

Passion for Pickleball City of Manhattan Beach

Lois Tuey, a former college tennis player, brought pickleball to Manhattan Beach when she began teaching the sport for the Older Adults Parks and Recreation program in 2014. Manhattan Beach Mayor Steve Napolitano invited Lois, now 82 and still playing, to cut the ribbon for six new Manhattan Beach Middle School (MBMS) pickleball courts on November 4, 2022.

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Our City’s pickleball story ‘ full of advocacy, growth, community building, collaboration, and fun ‘ mirrors the nation’s story of pickleball proliferation and passion.

A recent New Yorker article stated that more than a million Americans began playing pickleball during the pandemic, bringing the total to around five million, and attributed the sport’s popularity to being ‘easy to learn, hard to master’ social, and inexpensive.’ Manhattan Beach School Board Member Cathey Graves recently told a local paper, ‘To reserve a court [prior to the ribbon-cutting], players had to sign on to the city’s website at 5:59 a.m. to be ready when reservations open at 6 a.m.’

With only 3-7 pickleball courts available depending on the time of day in 2021, local players Cathleen Ching and Mary Chieffe proposed the idea for new courts at MBMS to Parks and Recreation Director Mark Leyman and Recreation Supervisor Michael Hudak. Enthusiastic support for the idea from City Councilmembers and the Manhattan Beach Unified School District in addition to staff enabled the project to move forward (relatively) quickly. The new courts, converted from six underutilized paddle tennis courts, were built with $26,000 of general funds for resurfacing and painting as well as in-house Public Works contributions of pole, fencing, and net installation. Cathleen and Mary presented MBMS with a donation of 40 pickleball paddles courtesy of Selkirk Paddles and 100 pickleballs on behalf of local players at the dedication ceremony.

The new courts are used by students as part of their physical education classes during the day and by the public afterschool and on weekends. Drop-in play for all skill levels immediately began attracting more than 60 participants on Saturday and Sunday mornings beginning in November.

The City’s 2nd Annual Pickleball Tournament was a huge success, and courts will be open to the public twelve hours per day during the summer when school is not in session. Cathleen predicts, ‘some day, we may send Manhattan Beach pickleball players to the Olympics, as we have volleyball players and swimmers.’

Neighborhood / Community Building

El Cajon Rec Squad

City of El Cajon

El Cajon’s Mobile Rec was initially an experiment in providing mobile recreation services to youth in El Cajon who did not have easy access to a park or recreation center, as well as increase positive presence in incident-heavy parks. Over the years, Rec Squad has grown to so much more. Rec Squad travels throughout the El Cajon community on a regular basis, and kids know to look for the bright orange van with its free games and activities. The Rec Squad and its staff are also present at every City special event, as well as other community and school events. The mobile recreation’s presence in the community has created many memorable experiences for El Cajon’s youth and created a safe place for kids to engage, learn, and play for free.

In addition, Rec Squad’s presence at Wells Park has significantly reduced crime in the park; its success has made it clear to City staff and elected leaders in El Cajon that it is worth investing in parks and recreation services. This has resulted in hundreds of thousand of dollars being dedicated to improvements in Wells Park and other parks in the City, which has in turn resulted in increased program participation and park visits per year.

Social Equity

The Marshall Canyon Work Release and Community Service program LA County Department of Parks and Recreation

The Marshall Canyon (Tree Farm) Work Release and Community Service program is an option offered to individuals in lieu of paying court ordered fines. Contracts have been negotiated and executed not only with the courts but with outside referral agencies which prospective service workers contact to obtain a list of agencies offering community-based work release programs. The Community Service Agency, Volunteer Center of San Gabriel Valley, La Mirada Volunteer Center, Volunteer Center of South Bay, County of Los Angeles Probation Department, and Sheriff Department have partnered with our program, supplying us with community service workers throughout the years.

Our programs focus is two-fold. We want to provide a well-structured and organized environment that allows workers to perform their community service hours, while ensuring the needs of the service are met in the areas of grounds maintenance, weed abatement, graffiti removal, homeless encampment cleanups, and other important assignments.

Finances play a large and important role in the execution of the program. While engaging in difficult projects such as the cleanup of homeless encampments or annual weed eradication, monetary resources are constrained and often allocated towards other projects. Most of our workforce comes from Crew Instructors and the Community Service clients/volunteers. The team plans ahead on all assignments ensuring safety is always a priority. During the homeless camp removal project, our LA County Sheriffs Park Bureau Units presence served as the frontline law enforcement agency. The Parks Bureau has always been a wonderful resource for our department over the years and is very strategic in the performance of their duties.

The Marshall Canyon (Tree Farm) Work Release and Community Service program has a major role in performing department-wide mandatory weed eradication throughout the County of Los Angeles. This is a very arduous task which requires collaboration between multiple groups of personnel to adequately complete the work within specified timeframes. Tree Farm staff works primarily with LA County Parks Regional Transportation and the Heavy Equipment Division to accomplish the abatement. The Chemical Agriculture Chemical Sprayers also treat larger areas of weeds and vegetation with certified chemicals to alleviate foliated growth.

Once the work has been completed in compliance with the County of Los Angles Agriculture Commissioner Weights & Measures, the department can save upwards of $300,000 annually. If this work was not performed by Tree Farm Work Crews, the department would need to augment their budget to pay through Department Service Orders (DSOs).

Youth Development

YES! Parks: Youth Exploring

Sonoma’s Parks

Sonoma County Regional Parks

Youth Exploring Sonoma’s Parks, YES! Parks is focused on satisfying goals aligned with the Parks Make Life Better initiative. YES! Parks promotes physical, emotional, and mental health and wellness. Participants also take actions to sustain and steward our natural and cultural resources

YES! Parks promotes physical, emotional, and mental health wellness. YES! Parks provides youth with the skills and knowledge to develop a