About

Theresa S. Brungardt Award Recipients

Vermont Recreation and Park Association

Theresa S. Brungardt was a pioneer and outstanding leader of parks and recreation in Vermont. She began her career in 1917 when she joined the staff of the National Recreation Association during World War 1. She was Vermont's first state Director of Recreation, having been appointed by Governor Wills in 1943. She traveled tirelessly throughout Vermont to help communities with their recreation programs. Many of the community recreation departments today could trace their origins back to technical assistance and inspiration provided by Mrs. Brungardt. She was nationally recognized for her expertise and in 1952 was elected the first female president of the American Recreation Society. Her involvement continued after her retirement in 1964 when she was an active member of the Citizens Board Member Branch of NRPA. She was inducted into the NRPA Hall of Fame in 1997.

Year	Professional	Friend	Organization
1975	Viva Whitney - Rutland	Joseph Pello - Bennington
1976	John W. Cioffredi - Rutland	Nelson Withington - Brattleboro	City of Newport
1977	Frank Dearborn - Brattleboro	Dr. Henry Farmer - So. Burlington	Woodstock Recreation
1978	Ardis Smith - Weston	Bill & Ethel Scheule - So. Burlington	Town of Vernon
1979	Betty Kodess - Woodstock	Gertrude Mallary - Fairlee	VT Council on the Arts
1980	Stewart Allen - New York	Helen Lawrence - Jericho	Montgomery Rec. Com.
1981	Edward Koenemann - Montpelier	Frank Teagle - Woodstock	VT Special Olympics
1982	Perry Merrill - Montpelier	Ed Colvin - Shaftsbury	Town of Shaftsbury
1983	George Plumb - Washington	Mary Ann Batcheller - Bethel	City of St. Albans
1984		Allen Sher - Rutland	Brattleboro Retreat
1985	Bruce O'Neill - South Burlington	Erma Puffer - Vernon	Green Mountain Club
1986			Nature Conservancy-VT Chapter
1987	George Gammal - Essex Junction	Senator Patrick Leahy	VT Association of Snow Travelers
1988	Bernard Thorn - Brattleboro	Ben Rose - Burlington Steve Bushey - Stowe	St. Albans Bay Town Park Commission
1989	Raymond Tanguay - Burlington	Charlene McCarty Joy McKenna	Winooski Valley Park District
1990	Clint Martin - Springfield	Anne Lusk - Stowe	Burlington Parks & Rec Path Project
1991	Donald Lorinovich - Montpelier	David Taplin - Strafford	Ben & Jerry's Corporation
1992	Catherine DeLeo - St. Johnsbury	Tony Clark - Goshen	So. Burlington Recreation Path Comm.
1993	Robert Riley - Middletown Springs	Raymond Ladue - Newport District	Essex Junction School District
1994	Betsy Terry Orselet - Colchester	Mary Anne Gucciardi - S. Burlington	Vermont Land Trust
1995	David Neil - Essex Junction	Brian Busier - Hinesburg
1996	Tom Hubbard - South Burlington	Buzz Hoerr - Colchester
1997	Harry Corrow - Newport	Ardis Smith - Weston
1998		Fletcher Brush - Middlebury	Assoc. of VT Conservation Commissions
1999	John Tad Nunez - Hartford	Dr. Gould Susslin - St. Albans	VT Gov.Council on Physical Fitness & Sports
2000	Denise Albert Clavette - Essex Jct.	Peggy Coutu - Shelburne	VT Youth Conservation Corps
2001		Tim Smith - St. Albans	The Great Escape
2002	Maggie Leugers - Burlington	Congressman Bernard Sanders	Middlebury Festival-on-the-Green Committee
2003	Bruce Amsden - Dept. of FPR	Steven Edgerley - Newport
2004	Carol Hartshorn - Green Mt. College	Lenore Budd - South Burlington	VT Housing and Conservation Board
2005	Stephanie Quaranta - Barre	Paul Moffat - Shelburne & Orleans	Catamount Trail Association
2006	Mark Berry - Essex	Karen & Bill Johnson - Stockbridge	Colchester Triathlon Committee

Anyone can make nominations and recipients do not need to be members of VRPA. For nomination criteria contact the Vermont Recreation and Parks Association at 802-878-2077, info at vrpa dot org, or 721 Main Street, Colchester, VT 05446.