Friends and Metro Parks volunteers gathered on January 12 at Blacklick Woods Golf Course for the Friends of Metro Parks annual meeting and the Volunteer of the Year awards. Friends of Metro Parks President Aryeh Alex recapped some of the exciting things that the Friends of Metro Parks did in our annual report including three Friends-Only hikes, multiple park cleanups, and taking part in Scioto Fest!

Tim Moloney, director of Metro Parks, then presented on the "State of the Metro Parks" and went into detail about some of the fun new developments that are in the works for the next few years.

Finally, the winners of the Metro Parks Volunteer of the Year awards were announced! The winners are as listed:

Battelle Darby Creek: John Lorenz
Blacklick Woods:Bobbie Cox
Blacklick Woods Golf Course: Jim Dugan
Blendon Woods & Rocky Fork: Molly Scott
Clear Creek: Russ Kessler
Glacier Ridge & Homestead: Don Kloss
Highbanks: Tim Carpenter
Honeybee Project: Mike & Jody Jones
Inniswood: Jeanie Wall
Resource Management: John Lorenz
Scioto Audubon & Greenways: Trent Hager
Scioto Grove: Kelly Dodd
Sharon Woods: Terry Nichols
Slate Run Farm: Kerry Sherrill
Three Creeks: Casey Bolin
Walnut Woods: Megan Conaway

Metro Parks Volunteer of the Year: John Lorenz