Montgomery County Recreation Achieved Five NACo Achievement Awards Including the 2021 Achievement Award Best in Category

For Immediate Release: Tuesday, June 22, 2021

The National Association of Counties (NACo) has recognized five of Montgomery County Recreation’s (MCR) innovative programs with 2021 achievement awards. The NACo awards program recognizes progressive county government programs that strengthen services for residents.  

COVID Corps was recognized as a 2021 Achievement Award Best in Category. COVID Corps, a youth workforce development program for County residents ages 16 to 23, bridged a key pathway between service and recovery for County young people. The COVID Corps program provided a unique approach to economic recovery, recognizing young people as resources, which could help the County with the COVID-19 emergency response. 

Members of COVID Corps, coached by MCR professionals, were deployed to work throughout the County supporting the COVID-19 response recovery efforts. The program mutually benefited both the various county agencies, businesses, and programs by providing an enthusiastic youth workforce to assist in a time of great need and provided valuable paid work experiences, job readiness training and other skill building and workshops for its members. 

“The NACo Achievement Awards reflect the excellence of our staff members who served County residents determinedly despite the challenges brought on by COVID-19,” said Montgomery County Recreation Director Robin Riley. “It is particularly gratifying to receive the 2021 Best in Category recognition, which reflects the ingenuity of our team to make something work when options were limited during the bleakness of the pandemic."  

The other award-winning MCR programs included: 

Appointment Scheduling for Montgomery County Recreation – When Montgomery County Government transitioned to a Phase 2 reopening, the aquatic program quickly shifted operational processes from a drop-in swim center to a limited-access, appointment facility. To provide residents with an efficient and effective registration process the department implemented an online appointment process to allow residents to access swim times and register at their convenience. 

Rec Room - Rec Room is a web-based virtual recreation hub created to deliver free and affordable recreational resources and opportunities to residents of all ages to enjoy from home during the COVID-19 pandemic. Rec Room provides residents with free resources such as links, pre-recorded videos, and printable content while serving as a hub and springboard for the department’s pivot to live, virtual recreational classes and programs.  

REC ZIPP - MCR provides leisure and wellness programs and services for 22 community recreation centers, five senior centers, 11 aquatic facilities and dozens of community sites. These services are provided directly by MCR employees, contract instructors and community partners. 

To respond to the necessary social distancing and minimize person-to-person contact, MCR implemented a streamlined, digitized process for invoicing and payments processing, the streamlined significantly reduces redundancy and decreases the need to physically drive records that can be transmitted electronically. The process is smoother and easier for contractors and other vendors; and decreases paper and physical storage. 

Senior Meals -The Senior Meals Program, a collaboration between MCR, Health & Human Services, Senior Nutrition Program and the Jewish Council for the Aging, supported the vulnerable senior population in Montgomery County during the COVID-19 emergency response. Prior to the pandemic many seniors relied heavily on the congregate Senior Nutrition Program offered at County senior centers for a mid-day nutritious meal. When the senior centers closed due to the COVID-19, the Senior Meals Program ensured seniors continued to receive meals.  

Seniors were at the greatest risk of dying or becoming severely ill from the COVID-19 infection. Many seniors could not compromise their health by leaving their homes. The partnership optimized each organization to ensure that the seniors could have meals delivered. HHS provided frozen meal boxes and Recreation with the help of JCA delivered the meals to the home of the seniors or would coordinate a pickup at one of the outdoor pick-up hubs. 

For more information about MCR, visit its website. Follow MCR on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. 

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Media contact: Judy Stiles 240-328-4049

Release ID: 21-549
Media Contact: Judy Stiles 240-328-4049
Categories: Award, Recreation