Clovis parks crew takes home first place at CPRS competition

The Clovis parks maintenance staff represented their city well by finishing in first place at the CPRS District 7 Parks Rodeo and Vendor’s Fair in early November. Pictured left to right: Robert Peralta, Luis Valtierra, LeAndre Steele and Cordey Madden. CONTRIBUTED BY ERIC ALLER/CITY OF CLOVIS

Clovis’ unsung heroes had a chance to shine last week at the California Parks and Recreation Society (CPRS) District 7 Parks Rodeo and Vendor’s Fair in Visalia.

Those unsung heroes, members of the the city’s parks maintenance staff, took full advantage of the opportunity by taking first place in the event’s competition.

Held annually in early November, “the contest is a challenging event that allows park maintenance personnel from cities and agencies around the San Joaquin Valley to get to know each other, and to compete in several maintenance-related events,” said Clovis parks manager Eric Aller.

The competition portion of the event includes a two-person timed backpack blower relay that involves blowing a football through an obstacle course. There is also a timed mower obstacle course, a timed irrigation pipe-carrying obstacle course, a timed irrigation valve repair event, a timed irrigation clock programming competition, and an ornamental plant identification test.

Anxious to defend its title, team Clovis went to work. The crew’s experience led to first place finishes in the irrigation programming, the irrigation valve repair and the plant identification competitions. Additionally, the team was the runner-up in the irrigation pipe run, and finished third in the blower relay to score an overall first place.

The CPRS-hosted event also includes display booths by various businesses that support the parks industry, and an educational component.

In all, 11 teams participated this year representing agencies from Taft, Tulare, Porterville, Selma, Reedley, Fresno and Clovis.