The National Recreation and Park Association recently named the city of Mountain View a finalist for its 2016 National Gold Medal Awards for Excellence in Park and Recreation Management.

Founded in 1965, the Gold Medal Awards program honors communities that demonstrate excellence in parks and recreation through long-range planning, resource management, volunteerism, environmental stewardship, program development, professional development and agency recognition. Applications are separated into seven classes, with five classes based on population, one on armed forces recreation and one on state park systems.

Mountain View is a finalist in the Class III category, serving populations between 75,001 and 150,000. The city provides more than 2,400 programs each year at 14 facilities, 42 athletic fields and on 996 acres of parkland.

In the competition, agencies are judged on their ability to address the needs of those they serve through the collective energies of residents, staff and elected officials. Mountain View joins three other finalists in its class that will compete for grand honors this year.

“We are honored to be selected as a National Finalist for the NRPA Gold Medal Award, which is a testament to our amazing community of residents, city leaders, patrons, businesses and talented staff,” said J.P. De la Montaigne, Mountain View’s community services director. “Thanks to the hard work of dedicated employees, generous friends, sponsors, volunteers and the unfailing support from our city leadership and patrons, we believe our community is a shining example of the best facilities, services, programs and events in the nation.”

A panel of five park and recreation professionals will review and judge all application materials. Winners will be announced at the 2016 NRPA Annual Conference in St. Louis, Mo., Oct. 5-8.

For more information, visit nrpa.org/goldmedal.