November 11, 2021
CONTACT: Lindsey Wiles
Communications Manager
lwiles@mariettaga.gov
770.794.5509
MARIETTA – The City of Marietta is pleased to announce that its Parks, Recreation, and Facilities Department has been awarded the Agency of the Year for Population 50,001 - 80,000 Award from the Georgia Recreation and Park Association (GRPA). The award was presented at the Georgia Recreation and Park Association (GRPA) awards banquet during the Annual Conference on Wednesday, November 3, 2021 at the Columbus Convention and Trade Center in Columbus, GA.
A wide variety of criteria was used to judge the submitted applications but two main questions were asked to select the winning agency. Each department needed to discuss new or outstanding programs offered and discuss major accomplishments that have taken place within the last year.
The City’s Parks, Recreation, and Facilities Department has done more than just survive the pandemic; they have thrived by providing new programs to our community. They found ways to be creative to continue to employ current staff members in new and innovated ways during the height of the pandemic so that no employees suffered from reduced hours and no employees were furloughed. Our department sanitized equipment, spent time cleaning pavilions, and found ways to safely open our facilities like the Elizabeth Porter Sprayground to continue to provide services to our community while keeping citizens and visitors safe.
Regarding new and innovated programming, when the pandemic necessitated the cancellation of our traditional Christmas Tree Lighting event, the department created a three-day Santa Blitz event which saw Santa Claus riding on an antique fire truck, driving through neighborhoods across Marietta to truly engage our residents. The Parks, Recreation, and Facilities team worked with our City’s GIS Department’s mapping server to create a “Santa Tracker” so citizens could watch a Santa Icon move along the streets of Marietta and know when to go out to their front yards and see him thus bringing Santa to their front doors.
We are extremely proud of our Parks, Recreation, and Facilities Department for being honored with the Agency of the Year Award. We are thankful for all the hard work and dedication they give our residents on a daily basis to keep our first class facilities ready for recreation!