Placement: Proclamations and Special presentations
Action Requested: Discussion
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Recognition: City of Port St. Lucie Parks & Recreation Department - 2019 National Recreation & Parks Association Innovation in Health and Best in Innovation Awards.
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Submitted By: Patricia Roberts, Deputy Director, Parks & Recreation Department
Strategic Plan Link: The City's Vision to offer leisure opportunities for an active lifestyle.
Executive Summary (General Business): In June and September 2019, the City of Port St. Lucie Parks & Recreation Department (PRD) was notified by National Recreation & Parks Association (NRPA) that the City’s PRD was the winner of two awards from NRPA - the 2019 Innovation in Health Award and the 2019 Best in Innovation Award, for the Department’s Rock Steady Boxing (RSB) Program. PRD was recognized at NRPA’s national conference held in September 2019 in Baltimore, Maryland.
Presentation Information: PRD staff will be present to provide additional information. A participant from RSB will provide a brief testimonial of the positive impacts of RSB from their personal experience. A short promotional video will be shared of the NRPA Awards Ceremony and NRPA Opening General Session where the City of Port St. Lucie was recognized.
Staff Recommendation: Request that the Council recognize City staff and celebrate with the community as recipients of the two 2019 NRPA Innovation Awards.
Background: Rock Steady Boxing is a non-contact, boxing-based fitness program, developed for individuals with Parkinson’s disease. Parkinson’s disease is a degenerative movement disorder which causes deterioration of motor skills, balance, speech and sensory functions. The RSB program is based on the concept of intense “forced” exercise, which suggests that certain types of exercise may be neuro-protective, slowing the progression of Parkinson’s disease. The mission of RSB is to empower people with Parkinson’s disease to fight back and give them hope by improving their quality of life. There is an estimated one million people currently diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in the U.S., with 60,000 new cases diagnosed each year.
While City staff has long offered personal training to several individuals presenting with Parkinson’s disease, PRD Fitness Center staff were initially looking for methods to deploy. It was compassion that impelled us to respond to the community’s requests for services to assist in mitigating the effects of Parkinson’s disease by offering RSB.
Once staff identified the RSB program, two initial coaches were sent to Indianapolis, IN for training and certification in June 2018 PRD became an affiliate of Rock Steady Boxing. Classes began in late January 2019, and 75% program capacity was reached in the first month. This participation was garnered without any structured marketing plan other than listing the City as an RSB affiliate on our website.
In June 2019, PRD were notified by NRPA that our nomination was the recipient of the 2019 NRPA Innovation in Health Award. PRD was also advised that, as this year’s winner of the Innovation award, PRD would be facing off in a public vote for the Best in Innovation Award. Contenders included the following:
• Innovation in Health - Port St. Lucie PRD, Port St. Lucie, Florida,
• Innovation in Conservation - Metro Parks Toledo, Toledo, Ohio,
• Innovation in Social Equity - City of Santa Clarita, Santa Clarita, California,
• Innovation in Park Design - Three Rivers Park District, Plymouth, Minnesota.
On September 24, 2019, during the Opening General Session at the 2019 NRPA Annual Conference in Baltimore, among thousands of attendees, it was announced that the City of Port St. Lucie Parks & Recreation Department had won this year’s Best in Innovation Award. Staff was on hand to receive both prestigious awards, which were given out during the Awards Ceremony, themed “Best of the Best,” on September 25, 2019, in Baltimore.
The heralding of this national award is in close alignment with the City’s Strategic Plan Goal 6 - Culture, Nature & Fun Activities, which means to enhance and showcase Port St. Lucie as a unique place with cultural, natural, and recreational activities and amenities. Additionally, the Department’s Strategic Plan includes Goal 4 - Advance programs, events and facilities through innovation.
Issues/Analysis: N/A
Financial Information: N/A
Special Consideration: RSB is currently offered at the PSL Civic Center, on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. There are two one-hour classes offered per day; one at 1:15 p.m., and one at 2:30 p.m.
Location of Project: PSL Civic Center, 9221 SE Civic Center Place, Port St. Lucie, FL 34952
Attachments: N/A
NOTE: All of the listed items in the “Attachment” section above are in the custody of the City Clerk. Any item(s) not provided in City Council packets are available upon request from the City Clerk.
LEGAL SUFFICIENCY REVIEW:
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