IPRA 2021 Awards of Excellence Winners, continued

from page 38 adaptive athletes and a new 248-acre Community Recreation and Sports Complex complete with sports fields, trails, shelters, nature areas and more. Introduced to much fanfare, Valpo for All Generations is inspiring partnerships and bold designs are taking shape – elevating an extraordinary Valpo Parks system to new heights.

Chuck Gardiner

NuToys Leisure Products

When it comes to Parks & Rec, Chuck Gardiner of NuToys Leisure Products gets it. It’s no surprise why—he spent over a dozen years working in our shoes directing and supervising parks departments before moving into his role with NuToys. However, he hasn’t taken his knowledge and experience of the Parks & Rec world to just make him a more successful salesman of park products (though he no doubt is) but instead is using his years of experience to lift all of Parks and Recreation higher in Northwest Indiana. Chuck understands how difficult, yet important, park advocacy and awareness is. He has been strategic in partnering together Lake, Porter, and LaPorte Counties various park departments with one another and with other regional organizations and media outlets to allow for a more cohesive park voice across Northwest Indiana. This “PARKnership”, as it’s been dubbed, brings together dozens of departments 6 times a year to learn about resources available to us and collaborate on plans and projects to further our voice. Chuck saw each of our departments individually trying to accomplish the same goals and created a group that has resulted in a greater sense of community and camaraderie and professionalism amongst our area departments. Through the PARKnership, we can better advocate for ourselves, support one another, and learn from each other’s successes and failures as we are brought together every other month.

Steve Schwartz

Hamilton County Councilman

Councilman Steve Schwartz through his public and private life has been a constant advocate for not only Hamilton County Parks and Recreation Department, but outdoor recreation in

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