We are pleased to let you know the Glenview Park District recently received state-wide recognition for facility and program excellence. What an honor for the District, our staff and the community!
At its annual conference in January, the Illinois Park & Recreation Association (IPRA) presented Outstanding Park & Facility awards to the Glenview Community Ice Center and The Grove National Historic Landmark. Historic Wagner Farm received the award for Outstanding Program or Special Event.
In addition, The Grove was just notified by the Illinois Association of Museums (IAM) that they were awarded an IAM Award of Excellence for the new Interpretive Center exhibits. This is a huge honor in the museum industry! Read more here.
Congratulations to our winners! Read more about the IPRA awards below.
The Outstanding Park & Facility Award honors public agencies for outstanding and unique achievements in the design and development of new or renovated parks or recreation facilities.
Overall Winner: Glenview Community Ice Center
We’re so excited that our newly renovated Glenview Community Ice Center was the overall winner of Outstanding Park and Facility Award. The Glenview Community Ice Center provides aesthetic, economic and recreation benefits to our community. As a premier facility on the North Shore, it will enhance property values, increase municipal revenue, bring in homebuyers and workers, and attract retirees. The new community ice center adds more than 35,000 square feet and now has 2.5 sheets of ice, which means more capacity to meet the skating demands and have Glenview skaters, skating in Glenview.
Outstanding Park and Facility Division Award:
The Grove Interpretive Center Project
The hard work of renovating the Interpretive Center has paid off! The Grove was honored to receive the Illinois Park and Recreation Association’s Outstanding Park and Facility Award for their division. The exhibits feature live animals, interactive activities and an entire wing telling the remarkable story of Robert Kennicott. We are extremely proud of the new Interpretive Center and these esteemed accolades!
Outstanding Program or Special Event Award:
Historic Wagner Farm-Feeding Glenview initiative
This award honors public agencies for outstanding and unique achievements in program development and implementation and special event planning.
Historic Wagner Farm has long connected Glenview residents to their agricultural past and served as a community fixture. Last summer, in the midst of the COVID-19 crisis, Historic Wagner Farm returned to its roots as a full-time working farm. This new initiative, called Feeding Glenview, shifted the farm’s mission from providing public programming to food production. By the end of the program the farmers market saw close to 20,000 people without incident. Historic Wagner Farm donated more than 600 dozen eggs and 1,600 lbs of fruits and vegetables to the Northfield Township Food Pantry. It produced enough fruits and vegetables to fill 30 CSA baskets a week for 16 weeks and more than 5,300 lbs. of beef, pork, lamb, chicken and turkey sold through local markets. Through “Feeding Glenview”, Historic Wagner Farm connected the community with food and kindness. This is what made this program a success.