The Palm Beach County Parks and Recreation Department’s (PBC Parks) unique partnership with Special Olympics Florida-Palm Beach County (SOFL-PBC) was recognized by the National Association of County Park and Recreation Officials (NACPRO) through the 2022 Outstanding Support Organization Award.
SOFL-PBC is a subprogram of the global Special Olympics movement that provides year-round sports training and athletic competitions in a variety of Olympic type sports for children and adults with Intellectual Disabilities. In 1985, SOFL-PBC and the Palm Beach County Board of County Commission kicked off this collaborative partnership to further their collective mission in providing programs, services and access to facilities for persons with disabilities.
This partnership has established over 50 year-round training programs in 21 sports, serving nearly 2,000 athletes annually. SOFL-PBC is responsible for all SOFL-PBC program-operating expenses and has contributed over $100,000 to purchase vehicles utilized to support life-changing programs and services. SOFL-PBC has also been pivotal in supporting PBC Parks’ community engagement efforts by collaborating with over 150 community-based partners and training close to 1,500 annual volunteers.
PBC Parks’ Therapeutic Recreation Services Section includes three full-time staff operating from the County’s state-of-the-art Club Managers Association of America Therapeutic Recreation Complex, which originally opened in 2007. SOFL-PBC was instrumental in steering prospective funders to the County, and through their expansive fundraising and community support recruitment strategies, they were instrumental in the development of this one-of-a-kind facility.
“The Palm Beach County Therapeutic Recreation Center has been instrumental in allowing our unified Special Olympics Team to practice volleyball in their facilities,” said Kelly Azor, Okeeheelee Middle School Special Olympics Head Coach. “This has allowed our teams to build camaraderie, sportsmanship and citizenship within our community.”
“We’re very proud of the long-standing partnership we have with SOFL-PBC to facilitate local programs here in Palm Beach County,” said Eric Call, Director of PBC Parks. “It’s an honor to receive this outstanding award in collaboration with SOFL-PBC.”
The National Association of County Park and Recreation Officials is a non-profit professional organization that advances official policies that promote county and regional park and recreation issues while providing members with opportunities to network, exchange ideas and best practices, and enhance professional development. Learn more at
www.nacpro.org.
The Palm Beach County Parks and Recreation Department, celebrating 50 years of providing healthy, happy living to residents and visitors to Palm Beach County, is recognized nationally for excellence in park and recreation management, operates more than 110 parks and recreational facilities and provides organized recreational programs and services for people of all ages and abilities. Created in 1951 under the direction of the County Engineers Office, reorganization in 1972 led to the separation of Parks and Engineering and so the Palm Beach County Parks and Recreation Department was born. Discover healthy, happy living at
www.pbcparks.com.
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