LETTER FROM THE MAYOR

Gerard Hudspeth Mayor of Denton

I am excited and proud of our City of Denton Parks and Recreation Department as they strive to become one of only 200 organizations across the United States to achieve accreditation from the Commission for Accreditation of Park and Recreation Agencies (CAPRA). For the last two years, staff has been working on improving processes, policies, planning and integrating best practices into the organization to improve all aspects of the department.

This past April, colleagues from across the country traveled to Denton to conduct an on-site audit of the Department’s application and process to determine if Denton met the minimum standards to be recommended for accreditation. Of the 154 standards required, Parks and Recreation met 153, missing only one- a high achievement for a first-time applicant. With this accomplishment, the department is anticipated to be recommended to the commission for accreditation at the annual National Recreation and Parks Association Congress in October 2023.

Achieving this mark of excellence means Denton’s Parks and Recreation Department is providing the highest level of service, maintenance, programming, and facilities to us and our community and continuing to make Denton a great place to live, work, and PLAY. I look forward to celebrating with our Parks and Recreation staff this fall once a final announcement is released.