News & Announcements

All Academy members are encouraged to attend the annual Extern Social, Monday, October 9th, at Harwood Tavern, 333 S. Harwood Street. It's a 10-12 minute walk or 4 minute drive from the Dallas Convention Center. The reception is sponsored by Lone Star Recreation. 

All Academy members, externs, mentors, buddies, and guests are invited to attend the Academy’s annual Awards Reception and Banquet. The event will be at the Dallas Omni Hotel. Note: NRPA’s Best of the Best Ceremony is in the same hotel.  The reception begins at 5:30 pm (registration not needed if attending only the reception) with dinner seating at 6:30 pm. 

The popular virtual General Membership Meeting continues! The 90-minute meeting will be held Wednesday, October 4th, 12 noon PT, 1 pm MT, 2 pm CT, and 3 pm ET. One breakout session will be offered on these two topics: Becoming an Impactful Organization and Sustaining the Academy. Select the one you wish to attend when you register.

In announcing the 2023 National Gold Medal Finalists, AAPRA Executive Director Jane H. Adams shared, “Each agency is commended for submitting a 2023 application for the prestigious National Gold Medal Award.  The Academy congratulates the 20 local park and recreation agencies, the four armed forces installations, and the four state park systems on receiving the Finalist award. We look forward to presenting these awards at the Gold Medal Gala Reception in Dallas, Texas, as part of the National Recreation and Park Association’s annual conference.”  The 2023 Gold Medal finalists are: [Read more]

The American Parks & Recreation Foundation (Foundation), nonprofit philanthropic partner of the American Academy for Park & Recreation Administration (Academy), announces scholarships to cover the tuition for two (2) professionals to attend the National Recreation & Park Association’s 2023 Revenue Development & Management School (Year 1), which will be held March 12-17 at the Oglebay National Training Center in Wheeling, WV. The Revenue Development & Management School is designed to provide parks and recreation professionals with the knowledge, skills. and resources to build and manage budgets and develop alternative revenue streams.