Tinley Park-Park District Awarded State Accreditation

The Illinois Association of Park Districts and the Illinois Park and Recreation Association recognized the Tinley Park-Park District as an Illinois Distinguished Accredited Agency for 2013-2018 at their annual conference in January. This is the highest accreditation achievement possible for a park district. The accreditation is reserved for those agencies reflecting exemplary achievements in overall park district management.

The state of Illinois is very proud of its distinguished accreditation program, which is one of the most rigorous and respected accreditation and certification processes an agency can undergo. The Tinley Park-Park District started the process 18 months ago with a self-evaluation program, and culminated in November 2012 with a five-person review board, who spent an entire day at the park district evaluating facilities, reviewing records and documenting the agency’s information for accuracy. The park district’s scores exceeded the required scores in all categories for passing the standards review.

The successful outcome of the evaluation process requires an agency to meet benchmarks in a number of operational categories that include: legal compliance, general management practices, finance and business operations, facilities and parks, board management and procedures, personnel, and recreation services.

Park Board President Brian H. Younker reflected on the accomplishment by saying, “I am very proud of staff and fellow commissioners for working together to provide the best service possible for our residents and achieving the Distinguished Accreditation Award.”

The award was recently presented at the Illinois Park and Recreation State Conference in front of 1,600 attendees at the awards luncheon. Only 32 park districts out of more than 400 in the state of Illinois have achieved the Distinguished Accreditation Award. The award is good for five years at which time an agency must reapply at the end of that period to be recognized again. Successfully attaining Distinguished Accreditation status demonstrates that an agency is among the leaders in the state of Illinois in bringing top-quality services to its residents.

“The Tinley Park-Park District Board of Commissioners and staff are very proud of this achievement," said John Curran, Director of Parks and Recreation for the Tinley Park-Park District. “The accreditation acknowledges our staff’s professionalism and the district’s efficient and effective use of financial resources and our continued focus on customer service to provide innovative and diverse recreational opportunities, and outstanding parks and facilities.”

About the Tinley Park-Park District
The Tinley Park-Park District maintains over 420 acres of park lands and recreation facilities including its state-of-the-art Bettenhausen Recreation Center, Tinley Fitness – a full-service fitness center – and 40 community park locations. The Tinley Park-Park District was established in 1967.