10-01-2007 National accreditation distinguishes South Bend parks

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administered services in accord with approved professional practices, external recognition of quality services provided by a government body and the possibility of additional external financial support, according to the NRPA. "Providing benchmarks and standards in public service has never been an easy task for any public entity," St. Clair said. "That's why, when learning of CAPRA, we began the accreditation process two years ago." With the accreditation, the South Bend parks system joins the Parks and Recreation departments in Indianapolis, Bloomington, Franklin and Fort Wayne—the latter which provided significant assistance to South Bend parks staff in navigating the process. This is not the first national honor for South Bend Parks and Recreation. • Earlier this year, South Bend became one of the nation's first We Can! cities designated by the National Institutes of Health to prevent obesity in youth, ages 8-13. • The National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute and the NRPA chose South Bend as one of five pilot cities for its national Hearts N' Parks program, to encourage people to change to a healthier lifestyle with small achievable steps toward better food selections and increased daily activities. • Leeper Park was designated a national treasure by the federal Historic Preservation Commission. • Belleville Softball Complex hosted the U.S. Women's Olympic Gold Medal Softball Team twice and seven American Softball Association national championships. • The East Race Waterway, constructed in 1984 as the first and only manmade white water rapids facility in the North American hemisphere, has hosted U.S. Olympic canoe and kayak trials. • The parks department's website was named the best website for a Class III city (population 75,000-199,999) by the NRPA. • Child Magazine named Potawatomi Zoo one of the top 20 "Kid Friendly"zoos. Potawatomi Zoo, accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums since 1987, is now preparing for more than $1.4 million in work to meet rising standards for renewed accreditation in 2009. But the new accreditation is a first for the whole park system. Within Indiana, the Indiana Parks and Recreation Association since 1997 has given South Bend six state awards for outstanding facilities or park development for Belleville Softball Complex, O'Brien Recreation Center, O'Brien Skate Park, Southeast Park and the Martin Luther King Center at LaSalle Park. The South Bend Parks and Recreation Department has a rich and distinguished tradition going back to 1879 when the City Council passed a local ordinance to establish Howard Park as South Bend's first municipal park. Today, the city's park system consists of 56 local parks, spanning nearly 1,300 acres. They include 16 block parks, 11 neighborhood parks, 22 community parks and seven special parks. Special parks include the East Race, three golf courses, Coveleski Stadium (home of the South Bend Silverhawks, a class A minor league baseball franchise), and Potawatomi Zoo, which started in 1902 and still is the oldest zoo in Indiana. - 30 -