The American Academy for Park and Recreation Management along with the National Recreation and Park Association have announced the finalists for the 2007 Gold Medal Awards. Once again a number of agencies from Illinois have been selected for this prestigious award. Please help us congratulate each of the finalists:

Class I
Cleveland Metroparks, Ohio
Indianapolis Dept. of Parks & Recreation, Indiana
Fort Worth Parks and Community Services Dept., Texas
BREC - Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Class II
Peoria Parks and Recreation Dept. Peoria, Arizona
City of Westminster, Dept. of Parks, Recreation and Libraries
Pleasure Driveway & Park District of Peoria, Illinois
City of Grand Prairie Parks and Recreation Dept.

Class III
City of Bloomington Indiana Parks and Recreation, Indiana
Bolingbrook Park District, Illinois
Arlington Heights Park District, Illinois
Hoffman Estates Park District, Illinois

Class IV
City of Westerville Parks and Recreation, Ohio
James City County Division of Parks and Recreation, Virginia
Elmhurst Park District, Illinois
St Charles Park District, Illinois

Class V
Herndon Park and recreation, Virginia
Vernon Hills Park District, Illinois
Frankfort Square Park District, Illinois
North Platte Parks and Recreation, Nebraska

All finalists now will compete in Round II where this year’s Grand plaque recipients will be decided. All recipients of the Grand Plaque Gold Medal Award will receive their awards live onstage at the opening general session in Indianapolis on September 26, 2007.  Stay tuned to the IPRA blog and the NRPA site for more updates on the Gold Medal Awards.