Whitehall Parks and Recreation Department Wins OPRA Governor’s Award

EMH&T congratulates Whitehall Parks and Recreation and the City of Whitehall on receiving the 2020 Governor’s Award from the Ohio Parks and Recreation Association (OPRA). The Governor’s Award is selected from the first place award winners in the various categories. Last fall the Whitehall Community Park YMCA project received first place in the competition’s “Capital Improvement Projects – $2.5 Million and Up” category. The Governor’s Award recognizes the one award from all of the first place winners that has made the most significant impact in the lives of Ohioans.

Whitehall was named the winner and the award presented at the Whitehall Community Park YMCA on April 28. In addition to the Governor’s Award trophy, Whitehall received a proclamation from Ohio Governor Mike DeWine and a $500 contribution to their parks foundation.

According to OPRA Executive Director Woody Woodward, the award recognizes Whitehall for “identifying a clear need in their community, finding a like-minded partner, and creating something that will change thousands of lives in their city for years to come.”

EMH&T’s Public Works and Landscape Architecture divisions were proud to have been part of the planning, design, and engineering team partnered with the City and M + A Architects on this project that renovated the existing Whitehall Activity Center and added a new building creating a 25,600 sf facility operated by the YMCA of Central Ohio.

This project, which was an outcome of EMH&T’s 2018 Master Plan effort with the City, complements the first phase of the Whitehall Community Park Revitalization Plan that provided extensive park improvements, including a new entrance from Hamilton Road, a new park road providing access to the park’s lower level and a new parking area, new playground equipment, a 7-acre meadow and pollinator habitat, picnic shelters, and access to the Big Walnut Creek.