NRPA People.

APPOINTMENTS

Tom McPike has been named manager of C-U Special Recreation, a cooperative effort between the Champaign and Urbana park districts that provides recreation programs and leisure services for residents with disabilities. As manager, McPike will administer, develop, direct, and evaluate comprehensive recreation programs for residents. McPike is a member of the National Recreation and Park Association, National Therapeutic Recreation Society, Illinois Parks and Recreation Association, and Illinois Recreational Therapy Association.

Joe Spadafino, Paula Martinson, Beth Sullivan, and Sharon Bruen were recently hired by the city of Newark (Del.) Parks and Recreation Department.

Spadafino was promoted to superintendent of recreation and is responsible for overseeing the Recreation Services division. He previously served as recreation supervisor of athletics for Newark.

Martinson, who assumes the role of recreation supervisor of athletics, will be responsible for youth and adult sports and athletic leagues and programs.

Sullivan, who was hired as a community center and aquatic coordinator, will be responsible for the operations and supervision of the George Wilson Community Center and Newark's aquatic programs.

As recreation supervisor of community events, Bruen will coordinate Newark's community events, a number of which attract thousands of participants and spectators.

Kayla Kleckner, CTRS, has joined the Fox Valley (Ill.) Special Recreation Association as a therapeutic recreation program specialist. Her responsibilities at FVSRA include coaching the Special Olympics sporting teams, leading leisure education programs, and coordinating general programs and special events.

Jessica L. Markillie, CTRS, joined the therapeutic recreation team at FVSRA as the new inclusion coordinator. She will take on programming, leading recreational and educational activities, recruiting participants for specialized programs, and providing assistance or additional services for individuals with disabilities already involved in community activities.

Jana Ransom has been named manager of the Recreation Bureau for the city of Long Beach (Calif.) Department of Parks, Recreation and Marine. Ransom, who has been a superintendent in the department since 1993, will continue to oversee the management of the city-wide aquatics facilities and programs, adult sports, cultural programs, sports field use permits and contracts, the International Sea Festival, and the popular Long Beach Municipal Band summer concert program. Her new duties will include management of the facilities and recreational programs in the city's 70 parks and 26 community centers.

AWARDS

The Champaign Park District was recently named one of the top park districts in Illinois by the Illinois Association of Park Districts and the Illinois Park and Recreation Association. The Champaign Park District earned the state associations' Joint Distinguished Park and Recreation Agency Committee's Distinguished Agency Award for its work to improve Champaign residents' quality of life.

The National Institute on Park and Grounds Management recently presented Joseph N. Cogley, deputy recreation services director for Boca Raton, Fla., with its Outstanding Professional Award. The award represents the institute's highest distinction for professional achievements in the field of parks and recreation facility management.

Seven Oakland County (Mich.) Parks volunteers have been inducted into the inaugural Michigan Athletes with Disabilities Hall of Fame. Of the seven inductees, six -- Mary Lou Barnaski of Warren, Louis Cherwak of Troy, Stefan Florescu of Lincoln Park, Robert Hall of Ypsilanti, Kevin McCrory of Fostoria, and Karen Sheridan of Kalamazoo -- were inducted into the Hal] of Fame, and one -- Roger McCarville of Ortonville -- received the Lifetime Achievement Award.

The Baltimore City Department of Recreation and Parks recently received an Employer of the Year Award from the Mayor's Commission on Disabilities. Baltimore Mayor Kurt L. Schmoke presented Director Thomas V. Overton with the award in recognition of the agency's excellence in employment practices.

Gainesville Parks and Recreation Director Melvin Cooper recently received the prestigious Distinguished Professional Award from the Georgia Recreation and Parks Association. Cooper's agency, Gainesville Parks and Recreation, has been recognized six out of the past 10 years as Agency of the Year by the GRPA.