Welcome to the PRPS Recognition and Awards Program for 2025! The PRPS Recognition and Awards Committee hopes that this streamlined process for submitting nominations facilitates your participation in the program. By focusing on excellence in recreation and parks, we hope to recognize a broad range of achievements of heroes in our field as well as in public parks and recreation organizations of all kinds – from large, established departments to those that are small, or just starting out.

All nominations must be received by January 10, 2025.
Award Descriptions, Entry Information, and Evaluation Criteria

Outstanding Achievement Award in Honor of Fred M. Coombs
This is the highest award presented by PRPS. Candidates are current or retired PRPS professional members, with a minimum of 20 years of compensated experience, whose efforts have had lasting value and impact as well as served to increase awareness of the importance of the parks and recreation profession. Service in the following areas will be considered: Speeches, Writing, Research, Professional Development; Community Involvement and contributions to the advancement of the Society through committee work, leadership positions, and initiative development.

Dr. Fred Coombs was a distinguished professor in the Parks and Recreation Department at Penn State University for over 30 years. He was instrumental in establishing community recreation programs throughout the Commonwealth as well as a founding member of PRPS, serving as the Executive Secretary for the Society until a full-time Executive Director was hired in 1977.

This award focuses on significant achievements that served to advance public recreation and parks and produced substantial enduring positive impacts on the quality of life in Pennsylvania through recreation and parks, including:
o Candidate’s work experience
o Awards and special recognitions
o Elected or appointed offices held
o Committee work
o Speeches, writing, research, and professional development
o Community involvement
o Demonstration of POWER principles
o Level of involvement with PRPS committees, leadership, and initiatives

Requirements:
o Current or retired PRPS professional member
o Minimum of 10 years compensated experience
o Strongly encourage submitting a resume

Distinguished Member Award in Honor of Robert D. Griffith
Candidates are current professional members, with a minimum of 10 years compensated experience, who have consistently contributed to the advancement of the Society through committee work, leadership positions, and initiative development, affiliated organizations or the profession in a variety of ways.

Robert Griffith was the first full-time Executive Director of PRPS. He served the Society in that position from 1977 until his retirement in 2011. During his tenure as Executive Director, Bob saw PRPS grow to become not only a professional organization for those employed in the various fields of parks and recreation, but also a champion for parks, trails, greenways and open space preservation in the Commonwealth.

Criteria:
· Service to PRPS and the level of involvement with PRPS committees, leadership, and initiatives
· Candidate’s work experience
· Service to related associations or groups
· Improvements to a recreation and parks or related curriculum at the undergraduate or graduate level
· Volunteer efforts within recreation and parks
· Initiation of new recreation programs
· Development of new methods of parks operation or maintenance
· Contributions to the expansion of the recreation and parks profession
· Advocacy or legislative contributions
· Enthusiasm for the profession
· Demonstration of POWER principles

Requirements:
o Current PRPS professional membership
o Minimum of 10 years compensated experience
o Strongly encourage submitting a resume
Outstanding New Professional Award
This award is given to individuals with less than 11 years of full-time, compensated experience in the Parks and Recreation profession. Candidates must be current professional members who have contributed to the advancement of PRPS through committee work, leadership positions, and initiative development service to the candidate’s employing agency and their community. Past winners of this award demonstrated strong leadership skills, innovative approaches, good strategic planning ability, and a proven record of building and sustaining partnerships that benefited their community.

Criteria:
· Candidate’s work experience
· Contributions to the advancement of PRPS, affiliated organizations, or the recreation and parks profession
· Service to PRPS and the level of involvement with PRPS committees, leadership, and initiatives
· Service to the candidate’s employing agency
· Service to PRPS
· Volunteer community service
· Demonstration of POWER principles

Requirements:
o Less than 11 years of full-time, compensated experience in the recreation and parks profession
o Current PRPS professional membership
o Strongly encourage submitting a resume

Community Champion Award (available to individuals and groups)
This award is to recognize individuals, groups, or partner organizations who have made an outstanding contribution through their commitment to a parks and recreation related program, event, or initiative, and have stimulated local, regional, state or national interest in parks and recreation goals and objectives. PRPS membership is not required.

Criteria:
· Contributions to recreation and parks having a stimulating local, state, regional, or national effect
· Continuing interest in recreation, parks, and leisure
· Leadership in the conduct of some project or area of service related to recreation and parks
· Volunteer contributions in support of recreation and parks
· Donation of funding, materials, or human resources toward building or renovating a facility or program
· Ongoing major commitment of resources to the enhancement or maintenance of a facility or program

Agency of the Year Award
The PRPS Agency of the Year Award inspires and recognizes exemplary accomplishments in positioning parks and recreation as an essential public service with meaningful community impact. The winning agency provides a fresh perspective on significant parks and recreation issues, shows innovation and collaboration, and has demonstrated a high level of resourcefulness, especially in recent years. The winning agency is required to have at least one member of PRPS in order to qualify for this award and must have demonstrated the achievements, benefits and outcomes in providing public park and recreation for a minimum of five years.

Green Parks Awards
These awards seek to recognize excellence in both active and passive public parks that demonstrate integration of green and sustainable park practices. Criteria includes location, design, landscaping, maintenance, environmental stewardship, and other contributing factors. PRPS membership (of sponsoring agency or person from agency submitting for the award) is required. A separate online form is used for this nomination.
Awards for Excellence in Recreation and Parks
Recipients of these awards must demonstrate outstanding quality, innovation, range and value of appeal, community support, efficient use of funding, human and material resources in the development, delivery and use of programs, special events, publications and promotions.

Nominations will be rated independently by each member of the Recognition and Awards Committee. The entries will be rated on a scale of 1-5 for each POWER principle identified in item # 5. The total number of awards to be presented will be determined by the Recognition and Awards Committee each year.

1. PRPS membership (of sponsoring agency or person from agency submitting the award) is required to submit an entry.
2. The program, event, publication or promotion must have been offered or produced during the current PRPS membership year.
3. Previous PRPS award-winning programs, special events, publications or promotions may not be resubmitted for consideration unless there have been substantial changes to the content or format. An explanation of these changes is required.
4. Agencies or organizations may submit an unlimited number of entries under Excellence in Recreation and Parks through programming and/or publication and promotions awards nominations.
5. Entries will be assessed on how well the project, program, or initiative demonstrates each of the POWER principles.
6. Further information, such as supporting details or photos maybe attached (limit 5 pages.)

Positions public parks and recreation as an essential community service. Tell how the entry advances the role and importance of public parks and recreation, shows the benefits of parks and recreation, and improves the quality of life in the community.

Outcome based. Describe the problem, issue, or opportunity and how the entry provided a solution to it.

Wow Factor. Explain how the entry advances parks and recreation in the community through a major accomplishment, innovation, or a creative approach to managing and/or providing public parks and recreation. Describe how the entry demonstrates creativity and innovation. This can range from start – up efforts made to establish parks and recreation, or a small but mighty effort to make something happen where parks and recreation is struggling, to the initiative of a well-established parks and recreation organization.

Effects change. Address how the entry deals with an important issue in the field of parks and recreation such as environmental stewardship, connecting people to nature, active healthy living, or social equity. Describe how it demonstrates strategies, resources, and outreach methods to increase public awareness, or other means that produce results.

Resourcefulness. Present how the entry used creative resources and outreach methods to generate support from a variety of sources including partnerships in the public, private and non-profit sectors, use of private funds, lands, facilities, or expertise, or secured support from policy makers or elected officials.

Criteria:
· Demonstration of the POWER principles

Requirements:
o Current PRPS membership (of sponsoring agency or person from agency submitting the award)
o The entry must have been offered or produced during the current PRPS membership year
o The entry may not be a recipient of a previous PRPS award unless there have been substantial changes to the content or format
o It is important to emphasize in the nomination the size of the agency (number of employees), the population and/or number of people served, and the available resources of the agency and how those resources are utilized in an effective and creative manner.

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