People.

AWARDS

The National Association of RV Parks & Campgrounds (ARVC) honored Congressman Ralph Regula (R-OH) with its Public Service Award, the association's highest honor given to individuals outside of the park and campground industry. Congressman Regula's support for outdoor recreation is best illustrated by his successful development of the fee demonstration program. Since its enactment more than four years ago, this program has provided millions of dollars to enable the National Park Service, the Forest Service, and other federal land agencies to make progress in catching up on their enormous backlog of needed infrastructure improvements. The award was presented during ARVC's annual Government Affairs and Industry Leadership Conference on April 9-11, 2000, which is designed to educate and further strengthen the partnership between ARVC and its state affiliate associations.

Congressman Regula has had a distinguished career in public service, first as an educator, then state representative and state senator, all leading to his leadership position as the chairman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior and as the vice chairman of the full Appropriations Committee. He has been elected to Congress for his 14th term. As the chair of the Appropriations Subcommittee, his panel has jurisdiction over funding for all public lands, including the National Park Service, the National Forest Service, the U.S. Geological Survey, and the Bureau of Indian Affairs. The committee also controls funding for the nation's cultural institutions, such as the Smithsonian Institutions, the Kennedy Center, and the National Endowments for the Arts and Humanities.

The Department of Environmental Protection's director of recreation and parks, Fran P. Mainella, CLP, was awarded the Harold D. Meyer Award for her superior achievements in the recreation and parks profession. Mainella was honored by NRPA's Southern Regional Council at their recent conference in Huntsville, Alabama. The Council is made up of NRPA representatives from ten southeastern states in positions of leadership in their state chapters. Awards committee members said, "Each year, the Southern Region recognizes one of its own ... a professional who, for a significant period of time, has made outstanding contributions to our profession. This award is the highest honor that we can bestow on one of our peers."

Dr. Meyer was a dynamic leader for the park and recreation profession in the United States. He believed that recreation deserved a rightful place in the hearts and minds of men and women and equal status with education, health, work, and religion as one of the five essentials in every individual's personality and every community's well being.

Recognized for forging new partnerships with various federal agencies and professional recreational organizations, as well as for her legislative leadership, Mainella also recently received the National Association of State Park Directors' (NASPD) Distinguished Service Award for her leadership in NASPD and NRPA.

On October 20, 1999, Joseph Caverly of Petersburgh, New York, was presented the distinguished National Pugsley Award at the Annual Banquet of the American Academy for Parks and Recreation Administration in Nashville, Tennessee. This award is presented to the person of greatest nationwide achievement in the municipal field with emphasis on parks, recreation, and conservation.

He served as commissioner or director in seven communities throughout the country. He distinguished himself in these communities through his efforts in parks, recreation, and conservation. His experience includes two years as superintendent of recreation in Pelham, New York; four years as superintendent of parks and recreation in Freeport, New York; director of parks and recreation in Rochester, New York; and general manager of the Department of Parks and Recreation in San Francisco, California.

Caverly culminated his career as the county commissioner of parks and recreation for Westchester County, New York. He has received recognition for his efforts by the U.S. Department of the Interior for "his diligence in coordinating public input on the critical, important management issues for the Golden Gate National Recreation Area & Point Reyes National Sea Shore." Caverly has also received the Distinguished Fellow Award, the highest recognition that can be bestowed by the American Park & Recreation Society. Most recently, he was included in membership in the Academy for Park & Recreation Administration.

APPOINTMENTS

Ronald H. Dodd has been elected chairman of the I&M Canal National Heritage Corridor Commission, replacing Edmund B. Thornton. The Commission members are appointed by the secretary of the interior to represent recreation, conservation, historic preservation, county elected officials, business, and industry.

Currently serving as executive director for the Joliet Park District, Dodd previously served as deputy general superintendent of the Chicago Park District and assistant director of the Dallas Parks and Recreation Department, where he was instrumental in initiating the decentralized management of those two park systems.

Dodd has been an NRPA member since 1965 and was elected to the Board of Trustees in 1981. He served as president of the American Park and Recreation Society and the Illinois Park and Recreation Association and as chairman of the board of regents for the National Institute of Golf Management, held at Oglebay Park in Wheeling, West Virginia.

He received several national awards, including the National Park Foundation Cornelius Armory Pugsley Medal and the National Distinguished Professional Award from the National Recreation and Park Association.

In 1984, The I&M Canal NHC Commission became the first federal commission established by congressional legislation. Now 150 years old, the canal spurred the settlement of northern Illinois from Chicago to LaSalle, and today it's used extensively as a walking and cycling trail as part of the Grand Illinois Trail system.

After 14 years with the Austin (Texas) Parks and Recreation Department, Dock Lee Jackson Jr. has been appointed the director of the City of Elgin (Texas) Parks, Recreation, and Special Services Department. Jackson will be the first director of the department. He has been active in the field and has worked in recreation centers, senior programs, and special event planning. Before leaving Austin, Jackson was the theatre site manager for the Dougherty Arts Center. He is currently president of the NRPA Leisure and Aging Section and serves on the board of the Texas Recreation and Park Society as president of the Minorities in Leisure Services Branch.

With bittersweet sentiments, the staff and members of NRPA are bidding adieu to one of its most dedicated and respected representatives. Following a 22-year tenure as the NRPA Southern Regional director, Tom Martin, CLP, has accepted a new post as executive director for the Georgia Recreation and Park Association.

"It's hard to believe that more than half of my professional career has been spent with NRPA as the Southeast Regional director and staff liaison to the CBM Branch," said Martin. "The people that I have been associated with ... staff and members ... have been great and have enabled me to grow personally and professionally. NRPA has advanced tremendously, and I am proud to have been a part of that advancement. I look forward, with great excitement and motivation, to my future with the Georgia Recreation and Park Association, one of the leading state associations in the country and a longtime NRPA advocate."

Martin's accomplishments as Southern Regional director were vast. He originated the Arts & Humanities Award Program, which developed into the Dotti Mullin National Arts & Humanities Program, and worked tirelessly to promote NRPA public policy and legislative initiatives. He conducted 21 regional conferences and 21 innovative programming conferences hosting 8,000 and 6,000 delegates, respectively. His region has experienced a 19 percent membership increase during the past 10 years and was the only region in NRPA history to add a new regional trustee by virtue of membership growth. Under his direction, the Southeast Region sponsored 11 accredited agencies (42 percent of national total) and 27 accredited universities (27 percent of national total).

But his dedication to the betterment of NRPA didn't stop at serving as director. He also has been a staff liaison to the Citizen Board Member Branch since 1980, where he developed NRPA's first interactive video conference in 1989 and oversaw the production and sale of the first conference and workshop videos developed for training purposes. In conjunction with former trustee Don Bresnan and Dr. Regina Glover, Martin developed the popular booklet, "How to Survive as a Park and Recreation Board Member," and he compiled the Citizen Advocacy Manual, as well as a speaker/trainer resource guide to assist board members in their parks and recreation promotion efforts.

Several organizations have recognized Martin for his dedication to the field. In 1979, he was named Georgia Recreator of the Year. He has been honored as Outstanding Alumnus of the University of North Carolina/Chapel Hill (1987) and of Georgia Southern University (1988). Most recently, he was bestowed with the Harold D. Meyer Professional Award/NRPA Southern Region.

"Tom is truly one of our outstanding leaders in the recreation and park field," said NRPA Executive Director R. Dean Tice. "His contributions to NRPA, to the profession and to the public, for the past 22 years have been superb. He is a caring leader whose counsel has been sought by young and senior professionals alike. While we regret losing someone with Tom's abilities, we know that he will continue to serve our field well."

Many people throughout the organization have expressed how much they'll miss Martin's leadership and professionalism, declaring that Martin has "literally become an institution in the Southern Region" and "your departure will be a great loss for the Association." But as one well-wisher put it, "NRPA's loss is Georgia's gain." We, at NRPA, wish Martin nothing but the best.