On January 20th, Friends members and Metro Parks volunteers braved the cold to attend the third annual State of the Metro Parks event at the new Eagleview Lodge at the Blacklick Woods Golf Course. Speakers included Metro Parks Director Tim Moloney and Friends of Metro Parks President Aryeh Alex, who recapped the last year at Metro Parks with a highlight on our Issue 3 levy campaign that passed with 63.7% of the votes in Franklin County, keeping the Metro Parks funded for an additional 10 years. Friends of Metro Parks board member Rita Volpi led a discussion focused on levy promises and looking forward, and Tim Skinner, Friends of Metro Parks Vice President, presented the Metro Parks volunteer of the year awards. Of those volunteers, one was awarded the overall Metro Parks volunteer of the year award. The awards winners from each park are listed below.
Blacklick Woods: Bonnie Wildermuth
Blacklick Golf Course: Brad Bohrer
Blendon Woods: Skip & Bonnie Decker
Battelle Darby Creek: Penny Reighart
Highbanks: Rajat Saksena
Sharon Woods: Ken Brandol
Slate Run: Lori Patterson
Slate Run Farm: Jan Hatfield
Inniswood: Amy Girvin
Clear Creek: Linda Benner
Three Creeks: Cindy Dials
Glacier Ridge: Carl Gledisch
Homestead: Eunice Hornsby
Scioto Audubon: Kile King
Greenways: Bob Campbell
Walnut Woods: Jerry Jacobs
Scioto Grove: David Deslaurier
Resource Management: Linda Benner
Friends of Metro Parks: Jen Cliff
Metro Parks Volunteer of the Year: Rajat Saksena
The Friends of Columbus and Franklin County Metro Parks would like to express our gratitude to everyone who helped to support our efforts in 2018. Our volunteers and Friends of Metro Parks Members help to make our Metro Parks extraordinary!