Rosewood Beach Wins Statewide Park Facility Award

HIGHLAND PARK, IL - Rosewood Beach was picked as the winner of the Illinois Park and Recreation Association’s Outstanding Facility Award during the organization’s annual business meeting last week in Chicago.

The Highland Park beach re-opened last May after an extensive renovation project that improved not only the beach infrastructure for recreational and educational purposes, but also restored the shoreline and local ecosystem according to the Park District of Highland Park.

The Outstanding Facility Award is presented to only one agency statewide per year. The Park District of Highland Park was selected this year from among more than 2,000 other bodies.

“We are very pleased to kick off the new year with this significant honor and recognition from IPRA,” Scott Meyers, President of the Board of Commissioners for the Park District of Highland Park, said. “It has been extremely rewarding to work cooperatively with our residents and our dedicated staff to create this one-of-a-kind facility for our community.”

The Rosewood Beach project team consisted of: Barney Ruttenberg, Vice President of the Board of Commissioners; Lori Flores Weisskopf, Member of the Board of Commissioners, Liza McElroy, Executive Director; Rick Stumpf, Director of Planning; Kathy Donahue, Deputy Director of Operations; Annette Curtis, Director of Finance; Liz Gogola, Director of Communications & Marketing; Dan Malartsik, Director of Facilities & IT; and Brian Romes, Assistant Director of Recreation.

“Rosewood serves as a role model for ecological best practices and showcases the transformation of our community’s collective vision into a shared reality of environmentalism and recreation,” said Meyers. “The restoration of Rosewood Beach and surrounding park area is a lasting legacy of Highland Park’s commitment to environmental stewardship, conservation, recreation and education.”

Photo: Barnett Ruttenberg, Vice President of the Board of Commissioners for the Park District of Highland Park accepts the Illinois Park and Recreation Association (IPRA) Outstanding Facility Award for Rosewood Beach from Heather Weisharr, Outreach Director for IPRA.