The High Point Parks and Recreation Department has taken a step up in the world and gained a spot next to excellent park and recreation agencies across the country by earning accreditation through the Commission for Accreditation of Park and Recreation Agencies (CAPRA).
That’s the sole national accreditation for park and recreation bodies in the US, and City of High Point officials are delighted with the city’s parks and rec efforts.
Across American, there are only 192 parks and recreation agencies – 14 of those in North Carolina – that have gained this type of accreditation.
High Point’s accomplishment was awarded recently during the 2021 National Recreation and Parks Association Annual Conference.
The city put out a press release on Tuesday, Oct. 19 announcing the accomplishment. The release stated that CAPRA accreditation, “is a measure of an agency’s overall quality of operations, management and service to the community. This mark of distinction indicates that an agency has met rigorous standards related to the management and administration of lands, facilities, resources, programs, safety, communications and services.”
The city put a lot of effort into earning the accreditation. The department had to show that it was in compliance with a long list of standards CAPRA uses, and the department also had to document all policies and procedures associated with the certification. The department batted 100 percent: There are 154 standards required and the department met all of those according to the accreditation agency.
The process included a site visit by a team of trained evaluators and a hearing with the commission. Now that High Point Parks and Rec is accredited, it has to submit reports annually to keep it. The department will get a rigorous review in five years.
High Point Parks & Recreation Director Lee Tillery was of course thrilled.
“We are extremely honored to be a CAPRA-accredited agency,” Tillery stated a press release. “Accreditation accomplishes a number of great things. It demonstrates that our department is operating under the best practices of our profession as set forth by the National Recreation and Parks Association. It assures residents that we regularly review operations, policies and procedures, which translates into providing higher-quality programs, services and facilities to benefit the community. It also shows what we already knew: that High Point is a wonderful community to work, play and live in.”
