New London Parks & Recreation Among The Best

From the City of New London: Last month, the City of New London's Recreation Department maintained its position in the ranks of elite park and recreation agencies and departments across the country by earning re-accreditation through the Commission for Accreditation of Park and Recreation Agencies (CAPRA) and the National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA) for the second time. This distinguished accomplishment was awarded during the 2018 NRPA Best of the Best Ceremony, held late last month in Indianapolis, IN. CAPRA accreditation is the only national accreditation for park and recreation agencies, and is a measure of an agency's overall quality of operation, management and service to the community. This mark of distinction indicates that an agency has met rigorous standards related to the management and administration of lands, facilities, resources, programs, safety and services.

In 2013, the City of New London Recreation Department became the first agency in the State of Connecticut and is one of 4 agencies in New England to earn this mark of excellence. They are one of 166 agencies nationwide, out of over 12,000 park and recreation systems, to earn this honor. Once accredited, the agency must uphold the standards and is reviewed every five years.

The accreditation process, which included contributions from nearly every City Department and the presentation of more than 1,400 supporting documents, culminated with a four-day, on-site visit from CAPRA's review team in May 2018. The CAPRA team concluded that NLRD complies with 152 standards of best practices in the industry & determined that all standards were met or exceeded. The reviewers noted that the City was one of the most organized they had ever visited and should be commended for achieving 100% compliance. They recognized that there is a strong base of community pride which was evident by the commitment of volunteers and long-standing partnerships.

The City of NL practices a public-input approach to guide programming to better serve our community. Meeting CAPRA standards helps assure citizens, policy makers, staff, and program participants that the City of NL will strive to provide higher quality services and operations to benefit the community.

For more information about CAPRA accreditation, visit www.nrpa.org/CAPRA.

Way to go, Team!

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