In early May, Parks & Recreation magazine was literally front and center at the 67th Annual Maggie Awards® ceremony in Los Angeles. For the first time in its history, the Maggie Awards®, formerly only open to content creators west of the Mississippi, went global and was open to all content creators, no matter the location. From more than 500 distinct brands, representing consumer, trade, student, association print publications and digital media, 257 finalists were chosen for their excellence in publishing and digital media.

Parks & Recreation magazine was a finalist in more than a dozen categories and the competition was stiff. Other publications in the running were Variety, Sierra, Boys’ Life magazine and Zoo View, among many others. Although we didn’t bring home a Maggie — there’s always next year — we’re proud of those who contributed to our magazine and were named as finalists, such as “Gender-Spectrum Inclusion for Recreation Professionals” by Becky Hertz, senior recreation manager for Sunrise Recreation and Park District in Citrus Heights, California, and “Parks at Our Nation’s Borders” by Paula Jacoby-Garrett, a Las Vegas-based freelance writer for the magazine, were finalists for Best Feature Article (circ. under 50,000)/Trade Editorial and Best News Story/Consumer & Trade Editorial, respectively. From our ongoing series about parks transforming cities, towns, etc., “A New Vision for Atlanta, Detroit’s Rebirth, Investing in Parks” by Vitisia Paynich, our Southern California-based freelance writer, along with “Coyotes Have Moved into Parks Across the U.S.” by NRPA Vice President of Strategic Initiatives Richard J. Dolesh were also in the mix. And, the cover of our October 2018 Social Equity Pillar issue was a finalist for Best Cover (circ. under 50,000)/Trade. While we didn’t bring home any bling, for our first time out, this accomplishment was indeed exciting.