Congratulations to the St. Charles Park District!

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NRPA Spotlight

Recently, the National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA) featured the St. Charles Park District as its "Spotlight" agency in the July 2011 edition of its countrywide publicationParks & Recreationmagazine. NRPA's monthly member magazine informs, motivates and inspires professionals, civic leaders and citizens to elevate the value of parks and recreation as a public service.

The Board and staff of the St. Charles Park District are honored to receive this recognition. The District targets excellence, and continually works to provide the highest quality of park and recreation services to its constituents.

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St. Charles Parks Part of Reason City Ranked #1 by National Magazine

When the editors ofFamily Circlemagazine established the criteria for their annual "Best Cities and Towns for Families" ranking, they evaluated such factors as housing, education, business, and green space. From 2,500 cities with a population between 15,000 and 150,000, St. Charles was selected as the best of the best by the magazine’s editors.

For its part in this outstanding achievement, the St. Charles Park District is justifiably proud, and predictably humble.

"We all work together," says Ray Ochromowicz, director of the St. Charles Park District, who acknowledges the complementary roles played by a wide range of St. Charles civic and private entities. Along with other governmental agencies such as the City of St. Charles, Township, and Kane County administration, Ochromowicz cites collaborative partnerships with the Kane County Forest Preserve, the St. Charles Community Unit School District 303, St. Charles Public Library, and numerous not-for-profit volunteer organizations that help the park district be responsive to the needs of its patrons.

"It is refreshing to work with people who see possibilities as opposed to obstructions," says Ochromowicz, who credits regular monthly meetings with his counterparts from other agencies and liaison by the park district’s board of commissioners with community organizations as helping identify areas where the park district can play a role.

With more than 1,400 acres of park land and facilities as diverse as Primrose Farm, a re-creation of a 1930s-era working homestead; Otter Cove Aquatic Park, a state-of-the-art water amusement center; and Hickory Knolls Discovery Center, a LEED-certified nature center built to the highest standards of environmental construction, the park district maintains a vast and visible presence in the St. Charles community. Along with activities geared toward everyone from pre-schoolers to retirees, the programs and facilities in St. Charles are "second to none," says Ochromowicz.

Parks and recreation is about self-discovery and self-improvement," adds Ochromowicz. "We help build our community because of the activities we provide that bring people together."

In addition to its responsive programming, Ochromowicz points to the abundance of natural resources available through the St. Charles Park District. The standard set by the National Parks and Recreation Association is for a community to have 10 acres of open space per every 1,000 people. "In St. Charles, we have 30 acres of open space per 1,000 people," says Ochromowicz, adding that when you add local property owned by the Kane County Forest Preserve and St. Charles school district, among others, the ratio is much higher.

"I applaud the park district staff and its board for their visionary ability in acquiring this open space," says Ochromowicz.

Such open space was one of the things that appealed to the Corbett family, who recently moved to St. Charles from the city of Chicago. Indeed, whenFamily Circlemagazine contacted them for input about their newlyadopted hometown, the Corbetts made special mention of enjoying their time with their four children in Pottawatomie Park. Nestled along the banks of the Fox River, this crown jewel of the park district boasts many of the amenities that appeal to area residents—hiking and biking trails, miniature golf, paddle boat and canoe rentals, playgrounds and athletic fields, as well as Pottawatomie Golf Course, which has been ranked the fifteenth-best nine-hole golf course in the country and
has also been recognized as a Wildlife Sanctuary by the Audubon Society.

"We are just very blessed to have these kinds of things," says Ochromowicz, who says he is always pleased when people outside the St. Charles area acknowledge the resources that contribute to our city’s reputation.

The recognition byFamily Circlemagazine comes at an auspicious time in the park district’s history, as it celebrates its 100th anniversary this year. Having served St. Charles area residents since 1911, this is not the first time the park district has been in the national spotlight, however. In 1998, the park district was awarded the prestigious National Gold Medical Award for Excellence in Park and Recreation Management.

And whileFamily Circle’s #1 ranking is a tremendous honor, there is a goal that is even more important, according to Ochromowicz. "The most important thing is, how do your constituents see you? Are you number one in their eyes? We strive to be the best we can be for them," says Ochromowicz.