FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                   

Contact:  John Yarbrough, Lee County Parks & Recreation
               (239) 461-7410

STATE ACHIEVEMENT AWARD GOES TO LEE DEPUTY PARKS DIRECTOR

FORT MYERS, Fla. (October 1, 2003) - The Florida Recreation and Park Association (FRPA) has given its 2003 Achievement Award to Barbara Manzo, deputy director of Lee County's Parks & Recreation Department.

The FRPA Achievement Award recognizes special or unusual service to the Association and the parks, recreation and leisure services profession.

Manzo has been with the county 13 years.  During that time she has been very active in FRPA and has helped in making the local parks system one of the county's areas of excellence.

For example, for the second year in a row this year, Lee County's Parks & Recreation Department is a finalist for the National Gold Medal Award, which recognizes communities throughout the United States for excellence in park and recreation administration.  The award is co-sponsored by the National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA) and the National Sporting Goods Association's (NSGA) Sports Foundation Inc.

The department's grounds crew that maintains the Lee County Sports Complex's stadium baseball field is a two-time winner of the "Best Overall" Award for best ball field maintained in Florida (2003 and 2002) and five-time winner of the "Best Municipality" Award (1991, 1993, 1996, 1999, 2000).

In 2002, the department launched its Internet online registration, www.leeparks.org, for registering and paying for parks and recreation programs using the Web.  Types of programs available for registration include summer camps for kids, recreation and community center programs (including special events and educational classes), and reserving campsites and pavilions in parks. 

The department also manages the more than 11,000 acres of environmentally sensitive lands the county has purchased through its Conservation 20/20 Program.   

Lee County's Parks & Recreation Department maintains and operates 3,500 acres of developed park land, 14 centers, 9 pools, five boat ramps, three Gulf beach parks, one lakefront beach, 76 beach accesses, 60 tennis courts, 73 ball fields, and 13 preserves.  Its fiscal year 2004 operating budget is $22.6 million.