The Oak Brook Park District has been named as a finalist for the 2023 National Gold Medal Awards for Excellence in Park and Recreation Management.
The National Gold Medal Award Program is managed and governed by the American Academy for Park and Recreation Administration, in partnership with the National Recreation and Park Association. The National Gold Medal Award Program is sponsored by Musco Lighting, LLC.
The National Gold Medal Award honors public park and recreation agencies and state park systems throughout the United States, along with armed forces recreation programs worldwide, that demonstrate excellence in long-range planning, resource management and innovative approaches to delivering superb park and recreation services with fiscally sound business practices.
Applications are separated into seven classes, with five classes based on population, one class for armed forces recreation and one class, awarded on odd numbered years, for state park systems.
Along with the Oak Brook Park District, the other finalists in the Class V category for populations of less than 30,000 are the Sycamore Park District (Illinois), City of Macedonia Parks & Recreation (Macedonia, Ohio), and Cullman Parks, Recreation, and Sports Tourism (Cullman, Alabama).
A panel of five park and recreation professionals reviewed and judged all application materials. Judges were chosen for their considerable experience and knowledge in parks and recreation, both locally and nationally.
The Finalist and Grand Plaque Awards will be presented in October at the NRPA Annual Conference in Dallas, Texas.
“We are absolutely honored and humbled by this recognition,” said Laure Kosey, Oak Brook Park District Executive Director. “This has truly been an ongoing team effort, and I could not be prouder of our staff. They deliver excellence in everything they do.
“We have a great team and a great community. There have been many times we have shared our ‘best practices’ not only with other agencies around the state, but also around the country.”
After being named a finalist in 2013 and 2014, the Oak Brook Park District was named a National Recreation and Park Association Gold Medal Award Winning Agency in 2015.
“We were awarded this in 2015, and you are not eligible to reenter for another 5 years,” Kosey said. “We entered in 2021 and 2022, but we were not recognized as finalists. It is a very competitive field.”
Haley Colucci, the Oak Brook Park District’s marketing & communications manager, said many of the Park District’s application essays noted how it has listened to the needs of the community, made those needs a priority, and delivered.
“I believe that listening to our community and serving in this way is what we do best,” she said.
Colucci said that through 2017 and 2021 community surveys, regular memberships, programs, and special event surveys, the Park District actively has solicited resident, participant, member, and community input.
“The Park District tracks this feedback and revisits the Strategic Plan twice a year to ensure we are on track for meeting our goals,” she said. “In our application, we laid out many of the needs our community has voiced.”
Chuck Fieldman is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
