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Volunteers needed at parks
| Article published on Wednesday, June 17, 2009 |
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Editor:
As residents and seasonal visitors of Pinellas County and the state of Florida, we have all become painfully aware by now of the budget cutting and resulting staff cuts being felt in all departments of government service.
This has become very apparent in local government departments considered non-essential to public safety and welfare such as in our county parks. Our local and state governments are currently grappling with unprecedented challenges of budget balancing with free-falling tax revenues brought about by the deepest recession since the great depression.
June 1 marked my second year of retirement from the Pinellas County Park Department after a 33-year career in Pinellas County government service. Having started my career in another department and not coming to parks until the mid ’80s, I knew I had found my career calling when I came aboard at Fort De Soto Park. During my park career, I had the opportunity to work in seven different parks and worked with many dedicated park employees who also felt the same call to public service and resource management.
During my years in these various parks, I also met many park patrons who became an important part of our daily park operations. Being neighbors of a local park or regular users of a park location due to the specific amenities offered, these patrons ‘adopted’ our park and became additional eyes and ears to our park supervisors and staff to maintenance and safety issues they might not see. These patrons came to feel the same call to public service and resource management as our staff as they realized how much we needed their input and assistance.
Now more than ever, our parks are in need of volunteers who will assist our increasingly limited staff by being not only the extra eyes and ears, but also the hands to help us maintain our precious park resources for the general public’s use. There are a number of volunteer opportunities available in the Pinellas County Park Department through Pinellas County’s Volunteer Services.
We are in need of VIPs (Volunteers In Parks) who would like to get involved in a designated county park assisting with designated administrative and maintenance projects and with special events at the park. We also need auxiliary rangers for the Fred Marquis Pinellas Trail. This is where I now volunteer. You will be patrolling a section of the trail system by your bike or by foot as an ambassador, giving information about trail amenities and stopping spots along the trail that will be enjoyable to visit. Our auxiliary rangers also assist with special events being held at various county parks and at Heritage Park.
If you have some spare time and want to give back to your favorite park, please visit www.pinellascounty.org and go to the Volunteer Services Department section. You also can call 464-5185 to get information on volunteer opportunities in your area. The rewards that you will experience go far beyond what can be derived from a paycheck. You too will experience the joy in giving back to your community by helping to take care of your “special place,” the park where you go to enjoy the great outdoors and to experience the serenity that it brings to you by regular use.
Fred Bruder
Seminole
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Article published on Wednesday, June 17, 2009
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