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2020 CPRA Awards
The Colorado Parks & Recreation Association Awards Program is designed to recognize and celebrate the individuals and organizations that contribute to the success and value of parks and recreation in the state of Colorado. Designed to bring attention to its recipients, the awards program highlights the successes of association members and community champions. The sharing of new and creative programs is an additional benefit of involvement in the awards program. Excellence in parks and recreation is visible in many places. We encourage you to take notice of the parks and recreation programs, professionals and community champions that deserve recognition by nominating them for an award!
The next award nomination deadline
is July 15, 2021. Information can be found on the CPRA website under the Resources tab.
Section Awards
AAPS - Laura Schwenker, Apex Park and Recreation District AQUATICS - Bryan Gentilini, Town of Parker
CARA PROFESSIONALS OF
THE YEAR – Errin Koon and Karinne Monn, Town of Parker, Kyle Parker, City of Lakewood; Beau Bressler, City of Golden; Wes Dulin, Foothills Park and Recreation District CARA LEGACY - Rene Kingsley, City of Longmont FACILITY MANAGERS - Nolan Thill, Town of Parker PLAAY - Jennie Christoffel, City of Thornton TRSC - Brea Bolks, City of Aurora
Presidents Awards
Ali Rhodes, City of Boulder Janet Bartnik, Mountain Recreation
Columbine Awards
Divided into three subcategories, Columbine awards are designed to highlight best practices and creative ideas in: • Design - may include new or renovated park and recreation facility design projects • Innovation - may include marketing ideas, technology advances, communication,
‘green’ practices, partnerships, or operations • Programming - may include any program or initiative that is create, fresh, and new
As the CMP Bike Park formally opened, its popularity was undeniable. Youth from across the valley, the region, and the state are drawn to this new venue. That section of the park is becoming one of the most popular areas with locals and visitors. Moreover, with so much of the park’s traditional activities cancelled by the COVID-19 pandemic, including all team sports and the park’s signature summer events, the bike park’s debut is particularly treasured as a safe, fun, and inherently socially distant recreation option. In the last two decades, the region’s population of under 35 years old grew by 40 percent, half of which is under 16 years old (Greater Roaring Fork Housing Study, RRC Associates, EPS, 2019). The park is serving this growing demographic and their families, while fostering an
Crown Mountain Park Bike Park
active, outdoor lifestyle. In January, the Roaring Fork Valley was awarded a GOLD-LEVEL Ride Center designation by the International Mountain Biking Association (IMBA), recognizing the pinnacle of mountain biking communities. It is the first area in Colorado to get the designation and only the seventh worldwide. The CMP Bike Park adds another key component to that designation.
Northglenn Kiwanis Pool
Parks provide people with a sense of community. That is, they offer us a sense of belonging to a physical and social system. COVID-19 has deeply challenged this fundamental human sense of belonging, but thankfully, parks are able to contribute to recapturing some of this loss. Some of the fundamental characteristics of parks - open spaces, naturalistic settings, fresh air – avail themselves to citizens so they may renegotiate what it means to gather in community. More than ever people benefit from knowing their neighbors, attuning to others’ needs, learning from them and supporting them. The need for quality, enduring, authentic public places in our community is needed now more than ever. Twin Silo Park is an exemplary model of a park accomplishing this in extraordinary ways. Urban Adventurer, a national adventure-based website, recently identified Twin Silo Park as one of the “Coolest Playgrounds of 2018”, noting the playground is “not only fun, but also awe-inspiring to look at”.
COLUMBINE AWARD, Design: Northglenn Kiwanis Pool
Many of Northglenn’s annual summer events and gatherings are celebrated at Kiwanis Pool and Park. However, due to the aging facility the potential of the space was not being adequately utilized. The area was used but it was limited due to accessibility and non-stimulating water features and amenities. Kiwanis Pool and Park now directly promotes an active lifestyle that fosters an environment of collaboration and celebration. The splash pad draws crowds of families that let their children run and play in the water. While the accessible bathhouse allows for participants to have a safe and secure area to stay for longer durations. People that live in the Northglenn community have expressed gratitude that they now have a nearby place to play, picnic, and relax. Annual events at Kiwanis include Flick N’ Float, as well as the end of summer Doggie Splash Day. Added in the summer of 2020 was the addition of the social distance Food Truck event at Kiwanis Park. The facility is utilized in a number of other ways to include for celebrations such as birthdays, and graduation all of which positively impact the community.
Fort Collins Twin Silo Park
COLUMBINE AWARD, Design: Foothills Clement Park
An inclusive destination playground was a great opportunity to incorporate design that will encourage child development of important physical and social skills. The community has been enjoying this unique inclusive playground that incorporates music and performing arts themes. This project serves as a fun and free outdoor recreational option for the community surrounding Clement Park, as well as for all of its visitors. The new interactive design has increased user numbers by attracting families of neighboring communities who do not have an accessible, inclusive playground. According to recent estimates based on registrations, tournament rentals, shelter rentals, staff observations, and the Jefferson County Sheriff Department, Clement Park had over one million visitors: 600,000 playground and trail users; 152,500 for organized youth and adult athletic leagues and tournaments; 106,900 at festivals, concerts, and events; 65,000 using athletic fields and courts; and 98,500 users of other amenities, including the skate park, Columbine Memorial, and shelter rentals. Main user groups of the playground include local children, children with special needs, summer camps, daycare centers, and sports associations. Many user groups that frequent the park for other activities enjoy the playground as well, including skate boarders, hikers, joggers, tournament participants, and people who have rented nearby shelters.
The integration of the Exeloo Smart Restroom into an urban park provides the ability to offer basic restroom facilities for our park users with a dramatic reduction in maintenance cost, a reduction on the burden of our men and women that work in our parks, and frankly, a better experience. Designed with smart engineering and innovative use of technology, the restroom offers an essential service while addressing many of the day to day maintenance concerns experienced in our traditional restrooms. The Exeloo unit includes auto-wash and automatic door features designed to ensure that the public restroom is used for their intended purpose. Each cubicle stall is pre-programmed to lock down after 30 occupancies and complete an 8-minute toilet pan and floor cleaning cycle. Staff can also modify the cleaning cycle frequency based on needs. The system does not eliminate traditional cleaning but significantly reduces staff time, which positively impacts operational costs. Additionally, stainless steel sliding doors are pre-set to open a maximum occupancy time of 10 minutes, and a loud alarm alerts attention to anyone intentionally misusing the restroom. To address security during closed hours, the restroom includes automatic locking doors, cubicle motion sensors and intruder alarms, and a voice messaging system that informs unwanted occupants that security has been summoned. Further, the Exeloo allows for remote monitoring and sends alerts via email or text when issues persist and when supplies become low. We anticipate the Exeloo will be a game-changer for our department and could be the future of parks management. Upon opening to the public, the Exeloo gained immediate notoriety, with one TikTok video of the bathroom viewed 5 million times during the first week of restroom operations.
Colorado Springs Exeloo Smart Restroom
Since opening in July 2020, the bathrooms have welcomed nearly 18,000 visitors. Through this new amenity, our department is able to offer a heightened level of service, improving standards of safety, hygiene and accessibility. Simultaneously, the Exeloo decreases the burden on staff time and resources, a top commodity in an era where staff is consistently tasked with creating efficiency and expanding their bandwidth.
COLUMBINE AWARD, Programming: Commerce City First Responders Recruitment
Traditionally, first responder careers are thought to be mostly filled by men. The need for women joining these fields is strong. This program was organized and executed by all women first responders and recreation staff, specifically for teen girls. These girls were able to learn and try, first hand, the physical and mental challenges of a first responder career. The girls worked with tools to extricate a person from a vehicle, tried on the equipment firefighters where, practiced first aid, learned firearms safety and Taser deployment, handcuffing techniques, and so much more. They were so engaged with every opportunity, we found we did not allot enough time to get through everything originally planned, so the next class will double in the hours offered. The class was held at the newly opened Bison Ridge Recreation Center, which has a large parking lot, allowing us to land a helicopter for the girls to experiencewith a female crew, of course! We had 14 young women registered and 9 on the waitlist for the first time program. Most of the young women commented on how surprised they were that this program was 100% hands on. They thought that it would be a class structure with lots of power points. One teen was determined to climb to the top of the climbing wall. She tried over and over and couldn’t make it. After the class was over, she asked if she could try one more time. She made it! One participant continued on to volunteer in other programs for younger children. One participant has been hired on to work 2019 summer camp. One participant now participates in the Youth/ Teen Advisory Committee through the recreation center. And finally, one participant showed interest in continuing a career in paramedics and did ride along with EMS. Another class is scheduled. We expanded to 24 spots and instead of one day, it is a three day program. This will give us time to do a large mock scenario that includes involves recreation staff within the center alerting 911 (with ADCOM-dispatch knowledge) and being a part of the hands-on training.
Commerce City First Responders
Professional Service Awards
Professional Service Awards are for CPRA professional members only. The Fellow and Outstanding New Professional awards honor individuals who exemplify leadership, inspiration, and noteworthly constributions to the profession.
OUTSTANDING NEW PROFESSIONAL: Camille Ferrandino, City of Lakewood
Camille Ferrandino supports a vast team of both full and parttime employees to administer fitness and wellness programming which includes personal training, group exercise, general admission, insurance-based membership offerings, nutrition and outdoor classes, special events among others. She also supports efforts to secure and manage partnerships beneficial for both the organization and community which can include National Fitness programming at our Fitness Court, medical fitness opportunities with local hospitals and local running groups/ businesses. She also makes time to attend various events promoting our services and coordinating fitness activities for attendees to enjoy. She is currently supporting the City health and wellness options for staff.
FELLOW: Dave Lee, City of Englewood
It is with great pleasure that we nominate David W. Lee of the City of Englewood for the honor of CPRA Fellow Award. His dedication to continuing education, extensive experience, high standards of professionalism and outstanding leadership more than qualify him for this award. He has been with Englewood for 35 years and during that time he has demonstrated an unparalleled commitment to the profession and to our city’s parks.
Community Champion
The Parks and Recreation Community Champion award recognizes an individual or organization within a community who is a true parks and recreation champion.
PARKS AND RECREATION COMMUNITY CHAMPION: Robert Hubbell, Crawford Properties
Robert’s grandfather, Floyd Crawford, set the tone for his family of proactive community support. In 1961 when the family settled in El Jebel, Colo., Floyd Crawford noticed that this area of Colorado was experiencing rapid population growth and escalating real estate prices, adversely affecting the availability of land for affordable public recreation. He made it his duty to save a tract of land in El Jebel for kids and families to play and connect with nature. In 1993, Floyd Crawford saw his dreams come true with the signing of a congressional act in Washington DC preserving a former Tree Farm Nursery and creating what is known today as Crown Mountain Park. Since that time, Robert Hubbell and his family have been a positive force throughout the community. After serving 10 years in the Marine Corp as a helicopter pilot, Robert returned to the Roaring Fork Valley to lead the family business, Crawford Properties, LLC. Robert fostered a culture at Crawford Properties LLC. committed to the stewardship of a safe, clean, and thriving community and responsible stewardship of the land.
It Takes a Village!
Crawford Properties would like to thank Colorado Parks & Recreation Association and its members for the community work you do.
Congratulations to all fellow award recipients!
Congratulations to all 2020 award recipients!
Crawford Properties LLC 60 El Jebel Rd. Unit 105 | El Jebel, CO 81623 | 970-963-2684 eljebel.co
PRESENTED BY
PARK professionals who go aboveand-beyond the call of duty
“I think a hero is any person really intent on making this a better place for all people.” Maya Angelou
Introduction by Allison Kincaid, Executive Director, Colorado Parks & Recreation Association
‘How do you express gratitude for the individuals who go above and beyond every day, behind the scenes, in the field, and do so without a second thought? How do you possibly say thank you to the incredible professionals that worked every...single...day...in a pandemic, at the front lines keeping Colorado’s outdoor spaces clean and accessible for their communities during such a critical time. I’ve thought about this a great deal over the last year and every time I drove by a park, enjoyed a trail or open space, and advocated for these incredible professionals at the State and beyond. These professionals are friends of CPRA and I’m proud to call them Heroes in our Industry. I wish that I could shout out each and every name of the hundreds of dedicated Parks Professionals from across Colorado (maybe I just will!). But, I did think that shouting out in our Byline magazine was the next best thing. And, for those of you not working in Parks Departments, I hope this segment inspires you to also take a moment and thank your Parks Professionals this week. Please enjoy this segment designed to celebrate YOU ALL and everything you do. If you don’t see your team or photo in here, please know that we recognize you and your contribution as well. Thank you for everything, Colorado ‘Parks Heroes!’
ParkS Hero: THE CITY OF ARVADA PARK MAINTENANCE TEAM
Submitted by Enessa James, Deputy Director, City of Arvada Department of Vibrant Community and Neighborhoods
The men and women that make up the Parks, Forestry and Open Space staff for the City of Arvada continually strive to provide high quality services to our community. During 2020 we saw an unprecedented increase in use of our parks, open space and athletic complexes. Our crews battled heat, smoke, drought conditions and ever-changing public health guidelines due to COVID-19. Despite the year of adversity, our staff was able to provide safe and well-maintained parks and open space areas where both children and adults could recharge their batteries and explore newly appreciated freedoms. Our staff was able to provide an important remedy to an ever changing world. The need to get out and explore was necessary, whether that was a stroll through a neighborhood park, a long bike ride through miles of open space trails or a simple family picnic. Parks and open space areas have always been important to our community. The last year has taught us just how important parks are to community health and well-being and equally important are the personnel that are charged with maintaining these areas. Thank you to the City of Arvada’s Park Maintenance Staff for providing and maintaining these sanctuaries for those who choose to live, play and thrive in our community.
ParkS Hero: CITY OF BOULDER OPERATIONS STAFF
Submitted by Charlotte O’Donnell, Administrative Specialist, City of Boulder, Parks and Recreation
Our parks and outdoor spaces are more important than they’ve ever been to support community members’ physical and mental well-being. Despite reduced resources, Operations staff worked tirelessly to provide uninterrupted access to nearly 1,800 acres of urban parkland and natural lands as they experienced higher use than ever. They were assisted by 87 volunteers through our new Park Champs program, who contributed 1,466 hours to keep our parks beautiful and safe. Our Volunteer and Outreach team created the Park Champs program in the Spring of 2020, rolling it out in the height of the pandemic as a safe way for neighbors to volunteer in their local park. The program allows community members to help maintain city parks by being a Flower Bed Champ, Littler Champ or Park Champ.
