2008 Economic Impact Awards Finalist, Innovator of the Year: Springfield-Greene County Park Board

“Our citizens have taken such great ownership and stewardship,” says Adams, director of parks and a 34-year employee.

The park board is on its fourth master plan, with the present 20-year plan conceived in 1998 and implemented in 2001 with input from area residents, City Council and the county, Adams says.

“If you don’t have citizen input, you really don’t know what your community wants,” Adams says.

The park system has a long history, with the first parks – Washington and Lafayette – platted in 1869. In 1913, the Springfield Park Board was formed, and in 1996, the Springfield-Greene County Park Board was created to accommodate a growing area, Adams says.

The system, which encompasses more than 3,600 acres, includes 92 parks; 82 of those are neighborhood and big parks, and 10 are linear trail parks.

Three new parks are a result of the master plan devised 10 years ago.

The 207-acre Rutledge-Wilson Community Farm Park, which opened in December, was created because people wanted a place with live animals, Adams says.

Kids can meet four miniature horses, a Nigerian dwarf goat, pigs, sheep and cows; check out Irene the Dairy Queen, a life-size, fiberglass cow that can be milked; and fish in the catch-and-release pond.

“We’ve had thousands of people visit that park since it opened (around) Christmas,” Adams says. “We’re heading toward 30,000 visitors.”

Lake Springfield Park, a full-fledged park around the lake that opened in November, offers a visitor center, wildlife-watching area and community gathering room. Valley Water Mill Park will eventually offer an equestrian center for open riding; horse clinics, workshops and training; pastureland to demonstrate best practices; and a riding academy.

“We’ve had requests for equestrian programs for years,” Adams says.

A vibrant parks system both attracts and keeps people, because residents want safe places for exercise and family activities, all of which speaks to quality of life, Adams says. And when the economy is tough, parks offer free and low-cost entertainment.

“More than ever in our country – and I can say this being on a national level out of Springfield – parks are so important these days. … Parks are one of the few places people can go out and get away,” says Adams, who’s president-elect of the National Recreation and Parks Association, which consistently recognizes Springfield for its parks.

The economic impact of parks can’t be ignored, Adams says. In May alone, the parks department hosted three state championships over the course of 18 days. That translates into money spent on hotels, food, gas and sales tax.

Park Board Chairman Bob Horton believes a useable master plan is key.

“I would attribute (the park’s success) to leadership and the implementation of those plans,” he says. “I think too many times we do master planning, but our follow-through is not there. Whereas with the parks system, they … took steps to make sure those steps were implemented.”

Whatever projects the parks department tackles, long-term viability is always considered.

“We have to be very, very cautious that when we built it, it will last for decades,” Adams says. “This parks system has matured into a system that affects this community every day.”

Springfield-Greene County Park Board

Address: 1923 N. Weller Ave., Springfield, MO 65803

Web: www.parkboard.org

Employees: 225 full time

2007 Budget: $33.5 million

Information accurate at the time of the honor.