KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (Nov. 24, 2014) – Knox County Parks and Recreation received the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation Tier II Benchmark certification at the 2014 Tennessee Recreation and Parks Association annual conference in Nashville last week.

“We are very excited to receive this certification,” said Knox County Senior Director of Parks and Recreation Doug Bataille. “This demonstrates that our volunteers and staff are working to provide efficient services and be good stewards of the park system. The designation will also help us in the future in maximizing TDEC grants for park projects.”

Benchmarking is a process used in management, and particularly strategic management, in which organizations evaluate various aspects of their processes in relation to best practice with the goal of increasing efficiency and quality of products and services, while also reducing costs.

TDEC’s Division of Recreation Educational Services Division administers the benchmark program and recognizes the importance benchmarking can have on the quality of local leisure services provided in the State of Tennessee. The certification indicates a level of best practices within Knox County Parks and Recreation and provides advantages during the TDEC grant process.