Fall Virginia Association for Parks Meeting Held at James River State Park

by Nancy Heltman

I arrived at James River State Park late Thursday afternoon with my husband David, and dog Yoda in tow to attend the Fall Meeting of the Virginia Association for Parks (VAFP). David is a member of the VAFP but even if he wasn't, he would have been along since Thursday was his birthday and our 17th anniversary.

The weather was a little ominous. We had scheduled this meeting in mid-September so the weather would be warm enough still so as many people who wanted to get out on the river could. Generally Friday of the VAFP semi-annual meetings is for touring local state or national parks but this meeting the plan was to enjoy the amenities at James River State Park. Bad weather would not be good.

VAFP meetings start Thursday evening with snacks, pizza and what we call "conviviality." Attending members get together and share the activities of their Friends groups and discuss issues impacting parkland in Virginia. Members bring the snacks and Jo and Johnny Finch are usually successful at getting donations of the pizzas.

Friday morning we started with a continental breakfast and Park Manager Mark Schuppin sharing some of the fascinating history of the park and the local area. After his introduction the members separated and headed to various pursuits around the park. The weather was still cloudy but there was a promise of sunshine in the afternoon. We had folks hiking (15 miles of trails), kayaking and canoeing on the majestic James River, or just relaxing and enjoying nature and the beautiful park facilities.

Tom Shaw from the Friends of Lake Anna turned his grilling expertise into a lunch of hamburgers helped out by Ann Johnson and Jo Finch, also of the Friends of Lake Anna State Park. Most of the members elected to take a wagon ride through the park and on the Cabell Trail to the Tye River Overlook, the signature view from the park.

There was more conviviality before dinner. Delegate Watkins Abbitt, Jr., whose district encompasses four state parks: James River State Park, Bear Creek Lake State Park, Holliday Lake State Park, and High Bridge Trail State Park, our newest State Park, was the dinner speaker. After his speech, VAFP President Johnny Finch presented Delegate Abbitt with the VAFP Legislator of the Year Award. We always make the award a surprise to the recipient.

In the VAFP's twelve year history, the award has been presented only four times. The first was to now retired Delegate Jim Dillard. Senator Creigh Deeds and Senator Emmett Hanger have also been recipients. Delegate Abbitt was honored for his support of state parks in general, the parks in his district, and his successful work to get funding for High Bridge Trail State Park. Without Delegate Watkins' efforts, High Bridge Trail State Park would not be open. Delegate Abbitt joined the members for some socializing after the awards presentation.

Saturday morning a heavy fog lifted to a beautiful sunny and cool morning in time for the start of the VAFP business meeting. Park Manager Mark Schuppin gave the group another welcome (since some members come in later Friday or Saturday morning). State Parks Director Joe Elton gave his State of the State Parks update. Officers presented their reports. Roy Dudley, chair of the elections committee, was unable to attend the meeting due to his recovery from open heart surgery, so Lynn Davis, National Parks Chair, filled in. The committee presented a slate of officers which represented the current incumbents: Johnny Finch for President, Ann Lipp for Treasurer and Jo Finch for Secretary. The membership voted to unanimously elect the slate to another term.

The big news of the conference was the new VAFP website and the Virginia Outdoors site. Technology did not cooperate to be able to show the members the new websites live but slides of the sites were shown. The new VAFP site will promote free associate memberships through an on line sign up. Potential members at other levels can sign up on line and pay their dues. Using their new Pay Pal account, visitors to the website will be able to make tax deductible contributions to support a number of projects that benefit Virginia's state parks. In particular, the VAFP is raising money for exhibits for nine new/remodeled visitor centers (including the one under construction at James River State Park; for toddler playground equipment with a railroad theme for nine parks with a link to railroads in their history; and a new initiative to install a spray ground at Belle Isle State Park. For prospective members or donors who prefer to mail a check, down-loadable forms are available on the site for that purpose. The new websites have been made possible by a dynamic partnership with Imperial Multimedia and a grant from Dominion Power.

Yours truly took a few minutes to talk about the social media marketing Virginia State Parks is using to reach more users: this blog, Facebook, and Twitter in addition to our website, e-news letter, Flickr and You Tube.

The Friends of James River State Park sponsored a lunch after the conclusion of the business meeting. This Friends group is new but clearly enthusiastic. They were great hosts for the meeting.

During the business meeting, several members were interviewed for podcasts that will be available for listening on the Virginia Outdoors site in the near future.

The conference was an unqualified success and members thoroughly enjoyed their stay at James River State Park. I for one hated to leave.

Above photo: VAFP Executive Committee with Delegate Watkins Abbitt after his Legislator of the Year presentation. Left to right: Nancy Heltman, State Parks Operations Director, Jim Klakowicz, State Parks Chair; Ann Lipp, Treasurer; Delegate Abbitt; Johnny Finch, President; Jo Finch, Secretary; Ann Davis, National Parks Chair; Joe Elton, State Parks Director .