Well, it’s been an eventful year for Good For PA and all of Pennsylvania’s parks and recreation centers. From sharing all our GOOD news through press releases to celebrating park professionals through awards and a very special holiday, our outreach is growing with every year that passes. And hopefully your love and appreciation for PA’s parks and recreation centers is growing too! 

So let’s take a walk down 2024 memory lane. See all the things you missed and all the things you’ll want to take a look at once again. And maybe, just maybe, this will get you in the spirit to hit your local park a bit more this year. 

We Celebrated Jobs Well Done

Park and Recreation Professionals Day

We celebrated our annual Park and Recreation Professionals Day on July 19. The day honors those behind-the-scenes heroes who work tirelessly to provide programs, facilities, and endless support to the surrounding communities — that’s everyone from lifeguards and camp counselors to maintenance workers to park directors and trail educators. 

Pennsylvania’s parks and recreation has power in numbers. 6,500 local and state parks. 175+ recreational programs. 8,000 employees. 2,000 volunteers. Yep, that’s a whole lot to celebrate. 

Our three spotlight parks this year were: Butler County Parks and Recreation, Northampton Township Parks and Recreation, and Dauphin County Parks and Recreation (but really? We spread park appreciation across the entire state!)

The GOOD Job! Award

In 2024, we worked with PRPS to honor our GOOD Job! Award Winner. We received 10 nominees and chose one winner: Dave Burger, the Doylestown Borough Parks and Facilities Foreman, Assistant Director of Public Works. From ensuring the survival of many restaurants during COVID-19 to developing special parade viewing areas for veterans, Burger was an exceptional example of a park professional making a difference and working toward the betterment of an entire community.

We Got the Word Out

2024 was a big year for us when it came to the media. We looked to spread our impact through the news, press releases, and more. The more people with a chance to find out about what we do and what we’re passionate about, the more people will feel inspired to check out their own local park and/or recreation center. In 2025, we hope to expand our outreach in the media even more. 

Yep, that’s right—we published four whole press releases this past year through EIN. 

1. PRP Day

2. Accessible Design for Playgrounds

3. Spring Road Trips With Our Park Finder

4. Applying for PRPS RecTap Grants

What else? Our focus on accessible design in playgrounds led us to sharing localized stories within both the Philadelphia Inquirer and on WGAL, Harrisburg’s ABC affiliate. 

That’s not all! In 2024, we released 24 blog posts — ranging from seasonal themes, like spooky stories and summery park ideas, to important, enlightening happenings, like Black History Month and Native American Heritage Month. If you’re reading this right now, but haven’t caught up on all the other blogs, this is your sign to read on and learn even more about Pennsylvania parks and recreation. 

In July, Harrisburg took over our Instagram, posting good things they are doing throughout the community in their parks, recreation, and open spaces. 

We additionally sent out 12 monthly newsletters. These are chock full of monthly PA happenings, classes, programs, things to do, and big news within the PA communities. If you haven’t signed up yet, what are you waiting for? 

What’s more, you can now find us on LinkedIn! Be sure to follow us to stay up to date on all the happenings in local parks throughout PA. 

We Helped You Find a Park

One of our biggest feats for this year was establishing our Park Finder. Not only is it a great tool for locals and visitors to find the perfect park for them, but it even allows park professionals to have a say, as we allow them to add input.  The Park Finder allows you to pick from locations, different types, and most importantly: amenities. An important feature is the ability to search by accessibility. With more and more accessible playgrounds and park features being added each year, it’s imperative to spotlight it and give folks a chance to find them, visit them, and yep, love them.

We Took GOOD on the Road

In 2024, Good for PA showed off at the annual PRPS Conference and Expo in Seven Springs, PA, with over 400 attendees checking us out. We made some new connections and discussed all the good that GOOD does with lots of park and recreation pros.

GOOD also was featured at the local outdoor adventure expo in Talleyrand Park in Bellefonte, PA. It was great meeting some outdoor enthusiasts, sharing the good news about our Park Finder and what it can do for communities, visitors, and park lovers. 

It’s an understatement to say Good for PA had just a GOOD year. It was great! And we can’t wait to continue creating milestones, sharing PA park and recreation love, and reaching out so more community members visit, join in, volunteer, and more in our state’s incredible outdoor areas. Stay tuned for all the good stuff we have in store for 2025!