February 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 16

WE ARE PARKS AND RECREATION
CAPRA Accredits 11 New Agencies in 2024
By Jennifer Schleining
E
ach year, CAPRA conducts virtual or in-person site visits as part
of the annual accreditation review. Preliminary applicant agencies
must host a group of three CAPRA volunteers to examine their
parks and facilities, meet their staff, and gain in-depth information
about the agency for their evaluation.
During the 2024 review season,
CAPRA evaluated and granted
first-time accreditation to 11 new
agencies. This article highlights three
of these agencies' CAPRA journeys.
USAG Rheinland-Pfalz
Directorate of Family,
Morale, Welfare and
Recreation; Kaiserslautern,
Germany
USAG Rheinland-Pfalz Directorate
of Family, Morale, Welfare and
Recreation (MWR) serves approximately
65,000 U.S. Air Force, Army,
Marine, Navy and Coast Guard
professionals and is one of the largest
army garrisons in Europe. After
learning about CAPRA three years
ago, garrison command developed
a team to begin working toward
CAPRA accreditation. Eryn Pope,
branch chief of outdoor recreation,
was hired to oversee the eight-person
team and identify leads for each of
the 10 sections of the CAPRA Standards.
The team adopted the name
" CAPRA KAI " and sequestered
themselves in a room for one week
to focus on CAPRA.
The team wished they had been
more aware of the CAPRA-required
documentation processes before
starting, but they have put systems
in place to prepare for future review
cycles. They found it particularly important
to have leadership support
from the beginning.
When USAG Rheinland-Pfalz
Directorate of MWR was formally
accredited in October 2024, they
became CAPRA's first international
agency. " After many years of military
recreation involvement with
the full spectrum of CAPRA, it
seems fitting that our first international
accreditation is U.S. Army
Garrison Rheinland-Pfalz in Germany, "
states Matt Enoch, CPRE,
community recreation division chief
for CAPRA-accredited Fort Riley
in Kansas, who served as the garrison's
CAPRA mentor. He adds, " It's
always amazing for a military recreation
agency to show its commitment
to our soldiers and families by
going through the CAPRA process. "
Village of Pinecrest (Florida)
Parks and Recreation
The Village of Pinecrest Parks and
USAG Rheinland-Pfalz Directorate of
Family, Morale, Welfare and Recreation
became CAPRA's first international
agency.
16 Parks & Recreation | FEBR U AR Y 2 0 2 5 | PARK S ANDRECRE AT ION . OR G
Recreation serves more than 18,000
residents. Their
concierge-level
customer service mentality for all
village departments made them
a natural fit to pursue CAPRA
accreditation. Robert C. Mattes,
parks and recreation director, was
tasked with pursuing accreditation
when he joined the staff in 2017.
Once they applied, they contacted
some of the more than 20 local accredited
agencies for guidance and
identified department leads to build
out their team. They held day-long
" CAPRA workshops " to discuss
their sections, ask questions and
work through difficult areas.
While Pinecrest started this process
in 2018, they were not initially
successful and reapplied in 2022,
which led to some challenges: " It
is always hard when you fail, especially
with the expectations that we
put on ourselves, " shares Daniel
Alberty, recreation superintendent.
" Knowing that was our first time
and learning from that process, I
think we grew more each time and
were able to implement things the
right way. "
The team's advice for agencies
pursuing CAPRA is to be prepared,
not get discouraged, keep
your momentum going and rely on
your peers.
Memphis (Tennessee) Parks
Memphis Parks serves a majority
Black population of more than
633,000 with its park and recreation
centers. In 2019, the department
established a planning mentality
and developed its first park
master plan. The consultants staff
PHOTO COURTESY OF USAG RHEINLAND-PFALZ DIRECTORATE
OF FAMILY, MORALE, WELFARE AND RECREATION
February 2025 – Parks & Recreation

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