2022 SCRPA AWARDS

The South Carolina Recreation and Parks Association (SCRPA) recognizes people, parks, and programs for outstanding contributions to the park and recreation profession in South Carolina. These awards are judged by our SCRPA Awards and Citations Committee. Throughout the year SCRPA Branches and Districts also present other awards. Thank you to all winners for helping families Celebrate Community through People, Parks and Programs!

2022 Community Champion

The Community Champion Award recognizes individuals and organizations from each of the SCRPA districts. These awards are given to individuals who support our membership’s vision of creating Community through people, parks, and programs.

Richard Abney

Richard Abney has been coaching with Aiken since 1976. Richard knows how to teach baseball and make it fun. He possesses the uncanny ability to teach each player on his team to be the best they can be. In recreation baseball, Richard often did not draft the best team, but by the end of the season his teams would be competitive and well-coached. He has unselfishly volunteered his time teaching youth to play sports and be a better person. His leadership and character are contagious, and his knowledge of the game is invaluable. There is not a better person to nominate for this award than Richard Abney.

Richard Abney is a true Community Champion!

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2022 Scrpa Agency Awards

Agency awards for Parks Excellence are awarded in two categories, for population under 30,000 and population over 30,000. The awards are given to the agencies whose new, renovated or revitalized park has shown through as being the best in the state for this population category.

2022 Parks Excellence under 30,000: Newberry Recreation Complex, City of Newberry

“We don’t want a sports facility…we want to create an outdoor recreation experience.” This was the constant phrase that led to the Newberry Recreation Complex becoming more than just a place for ballgames. The concept of an outdoor recreation experience gave PRT Staff and City Council the vision to think beyond their current facilities and set goals of providing truly unique elements to Newberry residents and visitors alike. The Newberry Recreation Complex is a $7.7 million project built on 128 acres from 2018-2020. The cost was offset by $4.1 million from the 2016 Capital Project Sales Tax (CPST) vote and $500,000 from a Land and Water Conservation Fund grant. The site includes a five-acre pond with a cabin and nature trail, two multi- purpose fields, three baseball/softball fields, outdoor ping pong tables, pickleball court, an accessible playground, an outdoor fitness rig and a 6,000 squarefoot accessible splash park known as Gully Washer Splash Park.

2022 Parks Excellence over 30,000: Unity Park, City of Greenville

A century in the making, Unity Park is a new 60-acre park that merges what were once two segregated parks and pays homage to the legacies of two historic neighborhoods where residents describe a painful history of neglect, environmental abuse and racial inequity. Unity Park features four state-of-the-art playgrounds, including a 5,000-square-foot splash pad, two expansive green spaces, a 10,000-square-foot welcome center, basketball courts and a historic baseball field located on the site of the former Mayberry Park, which was built in 1925. One of the many things that set Unity Park apart is the fact that nearly nine acres of prime land owned by the city adjacent to the park have been set aside for affordable housing, serving as a bulwark against the pressures of gentrification already impacting this area.

2022 Programming Excellence over 30,000: Lifelong Learning, Rock Hill

Lifelong Learning @ Rock Hill –Where Curiosity Never Retires –is a diverse community of adults, age 50+, who share knowledge through unique classroom opportunities and local excursions. Since the program’s inception in January 2020, outstanding volunteer facilitators have offered programs that cover a range of engaging topics, experiences and skills related to personal growth and enrichment to the 50+ adult community in Rock Hill. Since coming out of pandemic restrictions in the fall of 2021, the data from each semester proves that the 50+ adult community in Rock Hill is eager to participate and to continue to learn.