Gurnee Park District Executive Director Susie Kuruvilla, CPRP, CPA, sees the importance of providing safe outdoor and indoor recreation opportunities every day she’s on the job.

“When I see a smile on a child’s face and when I see two people meeting each other, parents getting together – knowing the district played a role in that is extremely important to me,” Kuruvilla said.

Kuruvilla, of Gurnee, has served more than 15 years with the Gurnee Park District. She started as superintendent of business and was promoted to executive director in 2006.

In 2010 the Gurnee Park District was named Grand Award winner for the 2010 National Gold Medal Award for Excellence in Parks and Recreation Management.

Kuruvilla has shared the award-winning district’s 28 park sites, 24 playgrounds and diversity of programming with her family – husband, Dawn; sons, Josh, 23; Danny, 18; and daughter, Jessica, 17.

“My children have grown up with the park district,” Kuruvilla said.

Kuruvilla discussed how her upbringing in southern India affects her work today, how the district has grown over the past 15 years, and how it maintains its commitment to excellence.

How did you become interested in the park district?

My background is in accounting. I’m a CPA. So when I started here, the superintendent of business position was a new position. I applied for it and got the job. As soon as I started here, I loved the park district environment. It was very attractive to me – the type of programs and services we offer to the community. That kept me here.

I read that you grew up in India. Can you tell me about how your upbringing inspires your work?

When I look at my life, growing up as a child or even as a young adult, I never would have imagined me as a director of a park district. I grew up in a small town in the southern part of India. We didn’t have any playgrounds. We just played in the fields and yards. There was never any organized recreation programs outside of what went on in the schools, which was limited.

So, it makes me very proud when I see kids playing at the playgrounds and families being able to walk to their neighborhood parks. And I have enjoyed all of that, and I still enjoy it with my children. It’s really rewarding, and it makes me very happy to know that I can be a part of something that creates memories in a child’s life.

How has the park district grown over the past 15 years?

It has grown tremendously. When I first came here, the [Viking Park] building was just the front portion of it. It was the only community center. We were very small. Since that time we’ve built the Hunt Club Community Center in 2006. We built the Hunt Club Park Aquatic Center, and we have acquired quite a bit of land. We’ve gone from a small park district to a large park district in that particular period.

What is the park district’s mission?

Our mission statement reads promoting fun and preserving nature. Our mission is to provide opportunities for people in the community to actively and passively recreate. The program will support the active recreation portion of it while the parks and open space – we have over 400 acres of open space – support serving the nature portion of the mission. Playgrounds serve that purpose as well.

How do safe playgrounds and parks benefit the community?

I believe it brings families together. People make friendships at the parks. It is a way for people to meet new people at the parks, playgrounds and at our various events. Ultimately, it enhances the quality of life. It enhances the community in general. The value of people’s homes, the value of the community increases because people come to Gurnee because of the great schools that we have, the library and the park district – people look at that before they move to Gurnee.That makes the community that much more enjoyable and desirable.

What types of programs does the district offer?

We have a wide variety of things for a variety of age groups. We start with little kids, music programs we offer for little ones. We offer adult fitness, swimming. We have over 1,200 members at our fitness center, and I think that is very important for the community to have an affordable place where they can go. In [the Midwest] you’re stuck inside for a good part of the year and during that time people need a place to go and work out. And, it’s a family setting that we have there. It’s not an intimidating environment. The aquatic center continues to have great attendance, and the facility looks beautiful.

Why is it important for the district to offer music and art programs?

We offer many art programs. That enhances a child’s ability to interact and gives parents the opportunity to interact with others. It also gives new people to the community an outlet to meet new people and build friendships. We think that in the developmental stage of a child music is an important aspect of it. We focus on recreational programs, not so much competitive programs. What we like to do is introduce children to programs, such as swimming, basketball and soccer – all of that. When they get to the competitive level, we have affiliated groups that run all of that. Our job is to make sure that children have an opportunity to see what they’re good at. Once children know what they’re good at, we have affiliate organizations and they can just go to them. That introduction and developing of the basic skills happens here.

How are programs developed?

A lot of it is based on what people ask for. Over the years we have built a great number of programs, but everything at some point started because somebody asked for it or because we watch the trends. We always look and see what is up and coming. There are times that before people even realize there is such a thing we are already offering it and it becomes popular. We’re always watching to see how we can grow and get better every day.

What are the district’s plans moving forward?

We will be a leader in the park and recreation industry, not just locally but nationally. We will be meeting the needs of our residents. We have come to a point where we have established a standard of excellence for everything that we do, our facilities. We want to make sure we take it up to the next level. We continue to grow. One of my favorite sayings is, ‘If you stay still, you will fall behind.’ That is not something that we are willing to do. We always look for ways to improve ourselves and get better each and every day.

What are some qualities that make a park district great?

I think it is the ability to connect with the community and to offer programs and services that meet their needs and be more resident-driven, which we are. Providing the best possible parks and facilities that are safe and customer-friendly.