Beaver State's best

Tualatin Hills District honored as Oregon's Sports Illustrated Sportstown

By Andrew Schulman

In 1955, a group of residents founded the Tualatin Hills Park and Recreation District (THPRD) -- located just west of Portland -- to serve the Greater Beaverton, Ore., and eastern Washington County communities. Over the years the Park District has grown by leaps and bounds and today it's the largest special park district in the state, covering 55 square miles and serving 200,000 residents. As it has grown, it has continued to successfully serve the needs of the community, and for that the Park District was recently been recognized as the Sports Illustrated Sportstown for the Beaver State.

While the Tualatin Hills Park and Recreation District has an extensive array of first-rate facilities, a wide variety of programming for all ages and beautifully preserved open spaces, what sets it apart is a commitment to involving the surrounding community.

"The biggest reason for our success has been the fact that we involve local residents in all areas of our operations," said Ron Willoughby, the Park District’s general manager. "Thanks to our active and vibrant community, we’ve been able to make great strides."

In a community as large as the one that the Tualatin Hills Park District serves, that involvement manifests itself in many ways.

Each year between 1,500 and 2,000 residents volunteer more than 45,000 hours of their time in variety of capacities. Residents also serve on each of the Park District's nine Advisory Committees, which help the leadership make important decisions. Finally, the Park District's hard-working staff is always willing to listen to suggestions -- and do their best to meet the needs of the community.

In that department, the Park District has been doing an excellent job for almost 50 years.

With more than 200 park sites, eight swim facilities, three recreation centers, the 90-acre Howard M. Terpenning Recreation Complex, the Elsie Stuhr Senior Center and a 219-acre nature park the THPRD is able to offer hundreds of recreational and sports programs, including basketball, softball, tennis, volleyball, track and field, lacrosse and soccer.

In an effort to add more new facilities for area residents, the District has partnered with Portland Community College (PCC) to develop a 25-acre parcel of land that will eventually include soccer and football fields, softball and baseball diamonds, tennis courts, a recreation/aquatic center and a 55-plot community garden.

"This partnership will help bring new facilities on board for both the college students and the community at large," said Willoughby.

The District’s relationship with PCC is just the latest in a continuing connection with area schools. The Park District currently provides all elementary and middle school sports programs to students in the Beaverton School District and maintains the elementary and middle school athletic fields. In return, the School District provides gym space for Park District programs. This successful partnership has enabled both groups to offer the community a wide variety of youth sports without duplicating programs and facilities.

"We have always tried to do everything we can to get people involved," said Willoughby, who has been with the District for 33 years. "We know how important sports and recreation have become in this community and we’re committed to providing diverse opportunities for all of our residents."

As you can see, everything at the Tualatin Hills Park and Recreation District is done with the community in mind. And now that it has been named an SI Sportstown, Oregonians throughout the state looking for the best community sports programs now know to "head for the Hills." Tualatin Hills, that is.