Page 4 - 2022 Annual Report

Vision Statement
Dear Friends,
2022 was a pivotal year for BREC as we celebrated being named the number one park system in the country after winning the National Recreation and Park Association’s prestigious Gold Medal Award for excellence in parks and recreation management. This honor comes after being named a finalist six out of the previous seven years and marks the third time BREC has been named the number one large park system in the country, competing against systems such as Dallas, Cleveland, Chicago and other systems that serve more than one million people. To share the victory with the public, we have taken the Gold Medal to events and professional organizations across the Parish, ridden in parades, appeared at Live After Five and will continue the celebrations until another park system wins the honor at the NRPA conference in September 2023. BREC is precluded from applying for the award for five years and, as this document
follows the Gold Medal application, will be ready to apply again when we are eligible.
BREC also celebrated 75 years of service to the community in 2022, holding a public event at the Independence Community Park, the most centrally located community park in the system. More than 1,000 people celebrated BREC’s birthday with a live band, an updated chapter to our 70th anniversary documentary, food, drink, BREC activities and an in-person and online timeline of the agency’s history. The
event ended with BREC’s first fireworks show courtesy of sponsor Coca-Cola.
The BREC Commission passed a community engagement policy created by BREC’s Partnership and Development Division which is leading the effort to create citizen advisory councils for each park in the system. The first Council will assist with the year-long effort to create the Imagine Your Parks 3 master plan/strategic plan in 2023.
BREC’s planning team continued its aggressive effort to complete construction projects in the park system despite continuing post pandemic delays keeping an important sector of the economy in business. The team had 88
projects of varying scope and size underway in 2021 in design/planning and construction. They include:
• The reimagination of the Zoo and Greenwood Community Park with ribbon-cuttings anticipated in 2023 for two Zoo exhibits, J.S. Clark Golf Course, and Greenwood Community Park amenities
• Dredging and revitalization of the Lakes area
• Design documents for the 13th community park at Airline Highway
• New recreation centers at Howell and Jackson Community Parks
• A well for new education building at Frenchtown Road Conservation Area
• A 7-mile greenway to connect Scotlandville Parkway to Downtown including an Art Walk • Incorporating green infrastructure into all major projects to prevent flooding
This document will highlight many other initiatives on which BREC focused in 2022 with the goal of serving the public at the highest level and continuing the momentum which we hope will bring another national parks and recreation national championship
to Baton Rouge as soon as we are eligible to compete again. Sincerely,
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Corey K. Wilson, BREC Superintendent