Bringing home the gold: discovering the value of winning a Gold Medal award.

While the Gold Medal awards attract considerable attention, the actual value of the awards to the winning agencies is not fully documented. Thus, during summer 2004, a survey was developed in cooperation with the American Academy for Park and Recreation Administration (AAPRA). The survey was mailed to managers of the 102 park and recreation agencies that had won Gold Medal awards between 1990 and 2003. Thirty agencies returned the survey for a 29 percent response rate.

The specific purpose of the study was to assist the academy and judges in further understanding the value park and recreation agencies associate with winning the award. A secondary purpose was to evaluate the program's effectiveness and provide a basis for improvements in the overall Gold Medal program.

Park and recreation managers reported value in having won National Gold Medals. Managers reported that the award provided them with bragging rights, an emblem of pride, a symbol of outstanding accomplishments, an opportunity for staff motivation and a means to improve revenue generation. These advantages are critical in an era when governmental agencies are increasingly required to justify their existence. Winning a Gold Medal or becoming a finalist is seen as a significant honor to assist park and recreation agencies in efforts to justify to stakeholders the quality of their services.

Respondents were categorized by their population at the time they won an award. Ten agencies reported they had won medals between 1990 and 1994; 12 reported having won medals between 1995 and 2000; and, eight indicated they had won medals between 2001 and 2003. Thirteen agencies indicated they would go for medals again in 2005 or 2006.

Thirty-three percent of the agencies had budgets between $10 and $20 million; 27 percent had budget funding between $1 and $10 million; 27 percent had budgets exceeding $30 million. One agency noted a budget of $250,000 to $1 million.

One of the main questions respondents were asked was to identify reasons why winning the Gold Medal Award was important for their agency. Responses were classified into eight areas (see Table 1 below).

Overall this research confirms the Gold Medal Award as an excellent source of honor for park and recreation agencies. One hundred percent of managers reported benefits in having won the Gold Medals. These values have become a catalyst in assisting park and recreation agencies to position themselves for funding, changing the mindset of constituents and stakeholders by giving them a new perspective of the services provided, and even providing a boost for staff motivation. This is an example of Crompton's notion of psychological repositioning in which he asserted, "Sometimes agencies have to alter stakeholders' beliefs about what an agency is currently doing and the significance of such provisions." The award seemingly provides the external standard for agencies to achieve such psychological repositioning.

For the entire in-depth analysis of the survey results, go to www.nrpa.org/p&r and click on Web extras.

Bertha Cato, Re.D., 2005 Head Judge of the National Gold Medal Awards for Excellence in Park and Recreation Management

Table 1: Manager's Indication of Importance of Winning the Award

Perceived                                        Number of
Importance                                       Responses   %

Confirm excellence/use award as a benchmark to
  measure quality                                19          63%
Increase exposure/general recognition/prestige
  of program                                     18          60%
Staff motivation/create a source of pride for
  staff                                          11          37%
Recognition by peers                             9           30%
Generate community pride                         7           23%
Validation of budget/work of staff               6           20%
Increase funding/sponsorships                    4           13%
Document sustained performance                   3           10%

Note: A respondent may have noted more than 1 value.