Top honors awarded to Hilton-Parma Recreation

Out of more than 6,500 recreation departments across the country, only 73 of them are accredited and now the Hilton-Parma Recreation Department can count themselves among those that are.

"This is like winning the gold medal for a recreation department," Town of Parma Supervisor Rick Lemcke said. "So few have been able to achieve this accreditation and the fact that our department did, speaks to the dedication and commitment of the staff to not only the programs they offer but to the community itself."

Now that the accreditation has been received, the department can't simply sit back and relax, Recreation Department Director Steve Fowler said. "We have to go through the 155 standards every year and make sure we continue meeting them and every five years we have to go through reaccreditation," Fowler said ."This was a long process, but we do know that without the support of the town board, it wouldn't have gone as smoothly. Their support energized the department through the process."

The Hilton-Parma department is only the third one in New York state to have worked through the more than 155 accreditation standards set forth by the National Recreation and Park Association. The accreditation process included the Hilton-Parma Recreation Department completing a self-assessment of itself and its programs. To earn the accreditation, Hilton-Parma had to meet at least 85 percent of the standards which included items such has planning, finances, services, programming and land use.

Fowler said receiving the accreditation is a validation to the community of the high standards the department sets for itself and for the programming it offers. With the accreditation in place, the department may also be viewed more favorably when it comes time to seek grant funding, he said.

More than 400 programs are offered annually through the Hilton-Parma Recreation Department.

© October 14, 2007 - Westside News Inc.