The Texas Recreation and Park Society (TRAPS) is a 2,700-member organization of park and recreation professionals from across the state of Texas. Their annual institute was held in Corpus Christi, Texas this year on February 9-13, 2026 and the Schertz Parks & Recreation Team brought home the GOLD!  The Texas Gold Medal Award honors departments for excellence in the field of recreation and park management or the past three (3) years. The award looks at growth over the three-year period in program and facility attendance, park acreage, recreational facilities, funding, employees, community engagement, and overall achievement related to the department's progress on their Master Plan, their involvement in TRAPS and NRPA, and the department's overall contributions to promoting public awareness of the significance of parks and recreation to the community.

The Schertz Parks & Recreation Department set a goal in 2016 to transform itself into a world-class department with highly qualified staff, adequate maintenance funding, a first-class trail system, and programming that meets the needs of the community.  Over the previous three years, the department has added 8 new staff members (through the addition of the Civic Center), secured $1 million in Transportation Alternatives Funding for trail and sidewalk projects and $12 million in Economic Development Corporation funding for quality-of-life projects, and increased the annual General Fund budget by $485,000 for park and trail projects. The department manages 493 acres of parkland; including 1 Recreation Center, 1 Aquatics Center, 1 Senior Center, 1 Civic/Convention Center, 2 Community Centers, 2 Athletic Complexes, 1 skate park, 1 dog park, 1 outdoor pool, 2 splash pads, and 25 miles of trails; and hosts almost 200 programs and special events annually.

The department was also honored to receive the Arts & Humanities Award (Class IV) for the Monster's Vale Collegium Program with the San Antonio LARP (Live Action Role Play) group. The Arts & Humanities Award honors a project or program that promotes cultural arts such as theatre arts, culinary arts, reading, painting, sculpting, drawing, quilting, etc.

The Monsters Vale Annual Collegium is an event that celebrates creativity, craftsmanship, and interactive learning, making it an outstanding contribution to the arts and humanities in Schertz. The Collegium brings together participants of all ages to engage in workshops such as leatherworking, fighter practice, boffer archery, and storytelling; blending performance, craft, and historical role-play. 

Finally, our Park Operations Team competed in the State Maintenance Rodeo and represented Schertz proudly!  The top 5 individual winners from each event category in each region (North, South, East, West, and Central) qualified to advance to the state competition. Cole Moody and Steven Lovelace placed 1st in the Central Region and advanced to the state competition, where they placed 3rd in the state in the Truck & Trailer Obstacle Course competition. Ray Tyquiengco placed 1st in the Zero Turn Mower Obstacle Course competition in the Central Region and advanced to the state competition, where he placed 3rd in the state. Cole Moody also placed 1st in the Nail Driving competition in the Central Region and advanced to the state competition where he placed 4th in the state.  Robert Dobratz (Backhoe), Ian King (Backhoe, Irrigation Assembly), and Diego Martinez (Irrigation Assembly) also competed and represented Schertz well.