Eight Alabama citizens were honored last week with an “Eagle Award” given by the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources to those who went above and beyond supporting Alabama’s state parks.
Alabama’s state parks encompass 48,000 acres across 21 separate parks. They are managed by the Alabama State Parks Division of the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. This is the division’s fourth year handing out the “Eagle Awards.”
“It is always wonderful to recognize the great friends that our Alabama state parks have and to celebrate the work they do to help keep our parks first-rate,” said Chris Blankenship, Commissioner of the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.
The winners, and the category in which they won, are as follows:
- Elected Official – Rep. Lynn Greer of Rogersville
- Community Partner – The Marshall County Convention & Visitors Bureau, represented by president Katy Norton
- Community Partner – The Alabama Black Belt Adventures Association, represented by director Pam Swanner
- Park Partner – Will Rodgers of Huntsville’s RunningLane
- Volunteer in Parks – Ted Dunham, Al LaPierre and Jim Urke
- Youth – Bennett Reetz
Greer was highlighted for his support of Joe Wheeler State Park, especially after a tornado struck there in December.
Norton was highlighted for promoting, marketing and volunteering on the weekends to help support Lake Guntersville State Park.
Swanner was honored for her work promoting the outdoors across 23 counties in the Black Belt region of Alabama. More specifically, she is cited as improving with grant funding Roland Cooper and Lakepoint State Parks.
Rodgers has organized running events at several Alabama state parks. The management division credits him with generating additional revenue and exposing many to the parks for the first time.
Volunteers Dunham, LaPierre and Urke were praised for having undertaken dozens of projects to improve Gulf State Park, including building bridges, doing electrical work and constructing a large bird enclosure at the nature center.
Sixteen-year-old Bennett Reetz is an Eagle Scout who constructed a 24-foot observation deck at Gulf State Park as his Eagle Scout project. He undertook all stages of the project including the raising of $5,400 to pay for the materials. The deck will be a tool for educators and the public for many years to come.
Henry Thornton is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can contact him by email: henry@new-yhn.local or on Twitter @HenryThornton95.
