Published May 4 2015
Bellevue Parks & Community Services received several top honors last week at the Washington Recreation & Park Association annual awards ceremony in Tacoma, including:
- Innovative Programming: EZRocks: Skate for the Cure, accepted by Joe Moorman, skate park supervisor. EZRocks is a new, annual skateboarding competition founded in memory of Ethan Zakes. Co-presented by Zakes Foundation, the event featured a giant ramp and attracted professional skaters from around the world;
- Best Special Use Facility: Bellevue Botanical Garden Visitor Center, accepted by Glenn Kost, manager of Parks Planning, Design and Project Management. This LEED-Gold, 8,500 square-foot facility includes a covered orientation space, gift shop, meeting space, offices and the Aaron Education Center. The Bellevue Botanical Garden Society was an important partner and raised over $5 million in private fundraising. Project Manager Ken Kroeger and Botanical Garden Manager Nancy Kartes were key to the project's success.
- Distinguished Service Award: Kevin Henry, accepted by Parks & Community Services Director Patrick Foran. Kevin retired last year after serving 20 years as the city’s first Cultural Diversity coordinator;
- Best Marketing & Outreach: Zip Tour Promotional Campaign, accepted by Colin Walker, Parks marketing coordinator Colin Walker and Parks public information officer Robin Haaseth. The Bellevue Zip Tour opened to the public last spring, and was an instant success, led by an almost year-long marketing, outreach and media effort developed to promote the opportunity to be "Wild in the City." The campaign included high-impact photography, a series of innovative promotional videos and strong media relations. Key players also included South Bellevue Community Center manager Brad Bennett, graphic designers Ted Van Dyken and Solvita Upenieks, video editor David Richardson and the entire Bellevue Television crew.
The 2015 WRPA Spotlight awards recognized outstanding achievements by parks and recreation agencies throughout the state.