Bend Parks and Rec receives honors for facilities

Bend’s park and recreation offerings have received three honors recently by national and state entities for the community’s recreation facilities and the strong partnership between Brooks Resources and the Bend Park and Recreation District.

The awards are for the design of The Pavilion and the Bend Whitewater Park, and contributions by Brooks Resources to the parks and recreation experiences available in the community.

At the national Athletic Business conference, The Pavilion was honored as one of 10 internationally selected Facilities of Merit award recipients. Opsis Architecture, based in Portland, nominated The Pavilion for the design award and shared the honor with the District.

A judge commented that The Pavilion is, “Powerful and poetic – the contrast of the warm of the wood roof plane and the cool of the ice sheet creates a tangible and memorable experience for users.”

In addition, the Bend Whitewater Park was selected as the Oregon Recreation and Parks Association’s 2017 Design Award. The Design Award recognizes superior architectural and/or landscape design and design processes for new or renovated parks or facilities (buildings, parks, park components, trails, etc.) whose construction was completed in the last five years.

“The design of our facilities is interwoven with the experience we set out to provide to members of our community and these awards recognize the intention by our team and the design experts,” said Don Horton, the park district’s executive director.

The Oregon Recreation and Parks Association also honored Brooks Resources with its 2017 Private Sector Partner Award. The Private Sector Partner Award recognizes an Oregon-based entity, corporation, or non-profit organization that has made a significant contribution to the park and recreation profession, either through an agency or the state association.

“Brooks Resources has been a partner to park and recreation in Bend since the 1920s when Brooks Scanlon donated Shevlin Park to the City of Bend,” said Horton. “In more recent times, Brooks Resources helped fund the riverway study that led to 54 projects necessary to complete the Deschutes River Trail, made donations of Compass Park, Rim Rock Natural Area, Archie Briggs Canyon Natural Area, Tree Farm (312 acres added to Shevlin Park) and future expansion to Discovery Park.”

“It’s important to recognize this important role in creating what we enjoy daily,” he added.