It truly is a golden year for the City of Fairfax. It’s the City’s 50th or Golden Anniversary and on Tuesday, November 1, 2011 the National Recreation and Parks and Association (NRPA) awarded the City of Fairfax Parks and Recreation Department a Gold Medal at the National Congress in Atlanta, Georgia. The City of Fairfax is one of only four agencies having won this award in Virginia, since it’s inception in 1965.
The Gold Medal Award is the most prestigious award in the field of parks and recreation, honoring communities throughout the United States that demonstrate excellence in long-range planning, resource management, volunteerism, environmental stewardship, program and professional development and agency recognition. Each agency is judged on its ability to address the needs of those it serves through the collective energies of citizens, staff and elected officials
A panel of five parks and recreation professionals are chosen based considerable experience and knowledge at both local and national levels, they review and judge all application materials.
Agencies submit an extensive application that is compared with other agencies in their classification. The classification is based on population, with the City of Fairfax in Class V (Population 25,000 and under). The City was selected as one of the four finalists in this classification. The finalists are then required to submit a 12 minute DVD that best depicts the community and the parks and recreation department. This video can be viewed on the parks and recreation page at www.fairfaxva.gov.
This is the second year the City of Fairfax Parks and Recreation Department has been named finalist and they are bringing home the gold! Accepting the Award, Director of Parks and Recreation, Michael McCarty said “this is a tremendous achievement for the many staff, volunteers, citizens and elected leaders that shows that the City of Fairfax cares about parks, recreation and about our community; now the rest of the country knows it too.”
