Arlington Parks and Recreation was selected as the award recipient of the Texas Recreation and Park Society's (TRAPS) Promotional Marketing and Excellence Award, announced at the state conference on Thursday, March 2, 2018, in Waco, Texas.

The five-member APRD marketing team is responsible for management of the department website NaturallyFun.org, six sub-sites, all graphic design, digital and print advertising efforts, email marketing, design and editing of the department's Naturally Fun magazine (produced three times annually) and a single issue Summer Camp/Aquatics guide, photography and videography, SMS test messaging, sponsorship fulfillment and special event promotions.

The marketing team also oversees social media management of 97 Facebook accounts, 10 Twitter feeds, 3 Instagram accounts and APRD's YouTube feed NaturallyFun TV.

Since the marketing team was assembled in October 2012, communications and brand outreach have seen tremendous growth. The fan count on APRD's primary department Facebook feed has increased 527 percent, resulting in over 25,300 total likes today. That figure is the most of any parks and recreation agency in Texas and fifth-highest in the US.

Performance fund revenue eclipsed $10 million for the first time in department history in FY2016, while cost recovery jumped from 74 percent in FY12 to an average of 81 percent over the last four fiscal years.

APRD eclipsed 300,000 unique views on its department website NaturallyFun.org last year, up 12 percent from 2016. By partnering with local print publications to produce content for area magazines, APRD has received roughly $44,500 in in-kind ad value since 2015.

This honor marked the 10th state or national honor for the Arlington parks marketing team since 2015.