Accreditation excellence: Howard County department of recreation and parks.

This is the first of a new quarterly series where NRPA spotlights stories of achievement from accredited agencies. These spotlights will illustrate the importance accreditation is making in many communities. For information, contact Tara Fitzpatrick at [e-mail].

It's a matter of respect. It's a matter of education. Everyone working for a public park and recreation agency is constantly explaining what we do, why we do it, and what the benefits of our services and facilities are. We meet ignorance at almost every turn--it's not mean spirited, just misinformed people in other agencies or the public who never really had the opportunity to understand the full spectrum of our services.

For example, we all have coaches who have given many years to youth sports, but unfortunately, sometimes this is their only relationship to us. They have no idea we offer trips, classes, camps, TR, aquatics, nature programs, preschools, licensed child care, fine arts and festivals, inclusion services, and many other programs including our park system, facilities and concessions operations. We also offer these services for all ages and most levels of intensity.

The process to educate the public is difficult and time-consuming. Everyone in our profession spends countless hours in meetings with our sports associations, PTAs, civic groups, service clubs, the faith community and the business community. We are all making great headway in creating understanding through the establishment of partnerships and sponsorships.

Our marketing efforts are becoming more effective through our own experiences and new technology, which can allow us to e-mail fliers and announcements to specific age or interest groups in our database. But in Howard County, Md., we finally started turning the corner of public awareness with our initial accreditation in 2002 from the National Commission for Accreditation of Park and Recreation Agencies (CAPRA). Many of the agencies inside and outside of county government took notice of this achievement. The time and work staff put into this effort greatly heightened the awareness of politicians, the public and our partners. They began to see the depth and breadth of our services.

CAPRA has been valuable in so many ways. To us, it gave validation--not just to what we do, but how we do it. In other words, it validated our process, or the way we do business. Our decision to pursue accreditation also provided us with an opportunity for organized, detailed and honest introspection. If we think we're good, can we prove it? It became a point of pride to address not only the required standards, but also meet or exceed all of the standards. The CAPRA process now helps drive our mission and is a major consideration in our five-year strategic planning process.

After accreditation was achieved, we celebrated through public announcements. Political figures gave mention to the decision and our county executive, Jim Robey, formally announced the accomplishment. The media was quite cooperative by publishing several articles and broadcasting stories. Within a year, we were selected by NRPA and Sports Illustrated as the "Sportstown USA" for Maryland. I like to think the accreditation had something to do with it. For the public, it was a curiosity--what did accreditation mean for our department?

This curiosity was shown in a variety of ways. PTAs and youth sports groups were asking what it meant. Other agencies in Maryland were asking questions because we were the only CAPRA agency in Maryland (and several neighboring states) at that time. As the logo on our letterhead began to appear on grant applications, our funding partners for the applications would inquire. It has been the perfect tool to educate those we serve and the agencies we partner with about our services and our mission. It is a prime point in every employee's resume that they work for an accredited agency.

The CAPRA logo is proudly presented on correspondence and on materials handed out at conferences. This has recently included the state recreation and parks association conferences in Maryland, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. CAPRA has increased the confidence of our citizens in our entire operation. It has been worth every hour spent on achieving it and now, in maintaining it.