HONORS.

The corporate picnic shelter in Queeny Park has been named in honor of Robert J. Hall, NRPA president and former director of the St. Louis County Department of Parks and Recreation, in recognition of his 30 years with the department.

"We feel this is a fitting tribute to Bob in appreciation for his exceptional service to St. Louis County Parks," said Genie Zakrzewski, current director of the department.

After his retirement from the department in 1999, Hall became the director of the Gateway Parks and Trails 2004 group, a nonprofit organization formed to improve local parks, open space, and trails in the St. Louis region.

The Corporate Picnic Shelter in Queerly is one of three such sites used for large group reservations. It was completed in 1999 and is a favorite gathering site for many organizations in St. Louis County.

"A park project sees several milestones. The milestone today is my second favorite," observed Newport Beach Mayor John Noyes at the June 12, 2000, ground-breaking ceremony for Bonita Canyon Sports Park. The 33.5-acre open recreation facility will be Newport Beach's largest sports park when first phase construction is complete in mid-2001.

Situated along Bonita Canyon Road, from Prairie Road to MacArthur Boulevard, the $6.2 million joint project of the city of Newport Beach and the Irvine Company will feature eight ball fields, pedestrian walking trails, picnic areas, two tot lots, and dozens of trees.

Parking for 240 cars at a 23.8-acre East Sports Area and space for 145 cars at a 9.7-acre West Sports Area will facilitate use by local soccer and baseball teams. Two tennis courts, a basketball court, additional landscaping, and decorative park signs are planned, pending future funding.

"It's finally the end of plans and revisions and the start of watching and waiting," Noyes noted, recalling conception of the project by Newport Beach Parks, Beaches, and Recreation Commissioners in 1997. "That's what makes ground-breakings special--but ribbon cuttings, more so."