Florida State Parks Recognizes National Volunteer Month
~The Florida Park Service appreciates and thanks our volunteers for more than 1.3 million hours of service.~
Dolores Schuster, Female Volunteer of the Year.
April is National Volunteer Month and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection’s Florida Park Service would like to congratulate the winners of the 2013 Friends of Florida State Parks Volunteer Awards. Each of the five regional offices hold ceremonies to recognize the contributions of volunteers, which include more than 7,900 regular service volunteers and 19,937 occasional service volunteers. Last year, regular service volunteers contributed 1,340,230 hours to the state park system.
National Volunteer Month celebrates and promotes the spirit of volunteerism throughout the country and raises awareness about how volunteering changes lives and strengthens communities. Over five weekends, volunteers gathered around Florida for award ceremonies. The Irene DeLaby Award recognizes volunteers who have contributed more than 10,000 hours of volunteer service. The following five people were recognized:
Don Philpott
Robert Barnett
Teresa Barnett
Jim Watson
Ronald Wipp
During the volunteer appreciation picnics held in February and March, the Friends of Florida State Parks, Inc. presented their annual awards to individuals and groups whose volunteerism has made a significant impact in the past year. The winners are selected via nomination by the Recognition Committee in nine categories. The 2013 winners are:
Adult Male Volunteer of the Year, Darrell Smith of Highlands Hammock State Park, Sebring
Adult Female Volunteer of the Year, Dolores Schuster of Henderson Beach State Park, Destin
Youth Male Volunteer of the Year, Frank Ward of Ellie Schiller Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park, Homosassa
Youth Female Volunteer of the Year, Erica Shewbart of Ellie Schiller Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park, Homosassa
Citizen Support Organization of the Year, Friends of Highlands Hammock State Park, Sebring
Special Event of the Year, Bloody Battle of Fort Mose by Fort Mose Historical Society, St. Augustine
Short Term Project of the Year, Universally Accessible Canoe/Kayak Launch by Friends of Oscar Scherer, Osprey
Long Term Project of the Year, Springs Interpretative Trail by North Florida Springs Alliance at Wes Skiles Peacock Springs State Park, Live Oak
Volunteer Team of the Year, Education Team at John D. MacArthur Beach State Park, North Palm Beach
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
