Clarence “Bud” Girtch was a native of Illinois who received his B.S. and M.S. degrees in Parks and Recreation Administration from the University of Illinois. He also did post-graduate work at the University of California, and completed many professional education programs including the Executive Development Program at Indiana University, the National Recreation Association Administration Institute, the Planning and Scheduling Institute at the University of Colorado, and many other professional workshops and training institutes.

Following service in the US Army, Bud began his professional experience in 1959 as head director of the Oakland, California Recreation Department. In 1961 Bud served as Unit Director of the Ford Foundation Interagency Project for the City of Oakland, and from 1962 - 1968 he served as the Recreation Director for the University of California, Santa Barbara, where he coordinated a comprehensive recreation program for the entire campus community. In 1969 Bud was appointed Deputy Director of the Indianapolis, Indiana Department of Parks and Recreation where he was responsible for the direction and supervision of 655 full-time and 750 part-time employees, over 10,000 acres of park land, 30 community centers, 12 golf courses, and dozens of special facilities and programs. As Deputy Director, Bud Girtch initiated an internship program where he ultimately trained 12 NRPA interns and dozens of seasonal interns from colleges and universities from throughout the nation.

In 1975, Bud Girtch became the Deputy Superintendent for Operations for the Seattle Department of Parks and Recreation where he was responsible for all phases of the park and recreation system, including budget, research and development, recreation programs, maintenance management, personnel management, and planning. He also served as Acting Superintendent of Parks and Recreation, and on two occasions as Acting Director of the Seattle Aquarium on two occasions.

Bud Girtch received the 1973 Professional of the Year Award from the Indiana Park and Recreation Association, and was elected president of that organization in 1974-75. He also served on the Great Lakes District Advisory Council.

Mr. Girtch authored numerous publications on the field of parks and recreation including Trends, the National Park Service publication, and several articles in Recreation, the official publication of NRPA.

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