Arlington Hts., Hoffman park districts just miss gold

Park district officials from across the country gathered in Indianapolis this week, hoping to be named winners of the prestigious National Recreation and Parks Association Gold Medal Award.

The contingents from Arlington Heights and Hoffman Estates will have to return home disappointed.

Out of 250 applicants nationwide, both of the Northwest suburban park systems made it to the final four in their size category of districts with populations of 50,000 to 100,000.

But the top honor went to Bloomington, Ind.

Hoffman Estates park board President Scott Triphahn said applying was worth it because the award lends credibility to park districts and can even make it easier for them to secure grants.

"People see that you're a good steward, that you're taking care of money that you're given," he said Thursday from the conference.

A five-member panel of parks and recreation professionals reviews applications. The panel is chosen based on experience in parks and recreation on both local and national levels.

Each applicant must submit a 12-minute video showing a park district's facilities and what it means to the community.

The Hoffman Estates district spent $5,800 to hire a helicopter and in June it flew above the village taking aerial video footage for the gold medal award application. Award criteria include implementation of technology, quality of facilities and the level of detail in a district's long-range plan.

Despite the lack of a trophy, Triphahn said the conference was worthwhile because he learned from other park districts, seeing what trends were successful across the country.

He said the district will try again next year.

The Arlington Heights Park District previously won the award in 1983, 1992 and 2001.

The National Recreation and Parks Association is based in Ashburn, Va., and is a not-for-profit group focused on improving park districts and recreation.