News

Lombard Park District says working with others helped garner award

Posted October 27, 2009 11:00 pm

By Marco Santana

Lombard Park District has earned a National Gold Medal Award for its 19 parks. The district also contains several sports facilities, including Western Acres Golf Course. Bev Horne | Staff Photographer

Lombard Park District's initiatives and programs are a little like children to administrators. You know, they're proud of all of them.

But there was one in particular that Executive Director Paul Friedrichs made a point of mentioning when talking about the district's recent national award.

A partnership with the Northeast DuPage Special Recreation Association, a group devoted to people with special needs, played a key role in earning the district its 2009 National Gold Medal for Excellence during an Oct. 14 ceremony in Salt Lake City.

In fact, the partnership was a highlight in a video the district submitted to the National Recreation and Park Association when it sought the award.

Friedrichs said the collaboration, along with a financially responsible approach that has received "overwhelming" support from the public, led the 82-year-old district to earn the Gold Medal for the first time in its history.

"It really shows how much our community supports parks and recreation in Lombard," Friedrichs said. "It shows the park district's commitment to long-range planning and that we are great stewards for the environment."

The honor comes less than two years after residents passed a $5.9 million referendum question to, among other things, replace aging Moran Water Park with a more modern one.

The $9 million Paradise Bay Water Park opened in June.

Along with Paradise Bay, the referendum has allowed the district to upgrade athletic fields and install or maintain observation and fishing piers at its facilities.

Details of the referendum led the national group to name Lombard a finalist in May in the category of districts serving populations between 25,001 and 50,000.

"To be recognized nationally was wonderful," Friedrichs said.

But Friedrichs acknowledged the district could not have received the honor alone. It partners with school districts and local governments as often as it can, he said.

The park district's maintenance facility is a prime example. The district partnered with Lombard District 44 to build a maintenance building they now share.

Friedrichs and other administrators attended the ceremony in Salt Lake City to witness the historic announcement.

"It's a huge deal for all of us," communications manager Kathleen McManis said. "I would hope it would mean to the residents of Lombard just to be proud that you have a park district that is the best in the nation."

Executive Director Paul Friedrichs

Tamara Reese, left, and Yoanna Avramova, both 13, enjoy the swings at Four Seasons Park in Lombard. Lombard Park District has been named a National Gold Medal Award winner for the first time since the honor began in 1966. Bev Horne | Staff Photographer

A boy enjoys the water at Paradise Bay Water Park in Lombard. The park opened in June after park district residents last year approved a $5.9 million referendum question. Courtesy of Lombard Park District

By the numbers Lombard Park District won its first National Gold Medal this month from the National Recreation and Park Association. A quick look at the district: 464.75: Acres of open space 18: Parks 15: Playgrounds 4: Basketball courts 22: Baseball fields 10: Soccer fields 6.5: Miles of usable trails 9: Shelters 10: Outdoor tennis courts 7: Lakes 1: Mile of river shoreline

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