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August 6, 2002
Dear Friends of Virginia’s
Parks and Natural Areas:
On behalf of the Virginia
Association For Parks Executive Committee, I
would like to invite you to participate in
our fall conference to be held at Hungry
Mother State Park in Marion, Virginia on
Friday, September 6 and Saturday, September
7.
Almost five years ago, a
group of dedicated state and national park
staff, Friends, and volunteers gathered for
a Friends Group training conference in
Fredericksburg, Virginia. The purpose of
the conference was to provide support and
encouragement to state and national park
Friends groups throughout the Commonwealth
of Virginia and to promote cooperation and
partnerships regardless of jurisdictional
boundaries. By the end of the meeting,
attendees decided that we should continue
this process of partnering to achieve our
mutual goals. The initial conference was
partially funded by the National Park
Service Northeast Region, National Parks
Conservation Association, National Park
Trust, National Parks Mid-Atlantic Council,
and Friends of Fredericksburg Area
Battlefields. Technical assistance for the
meeting came from American Grassroots
Unlimited and Partners in Parks. From this
initial meeting, the Virginia Association
For Parks was born, the only association in
America dedicated to strengthening and
encouraging Friends organizations for both
state and national parks.
The primary objectives of the
Virginia Association For Parks (VAFP) are to
help start Friends groups in parks where
they do not exist and to strengthen Friends
groups that already exist. We believe the
best way we can assist our state and
national parks as a whole is to support
individual Friends groups dedicated to
specific parks. VAFP, as a collective body,
serves as a strong advocate for park
system-wide initiatives.
We are working diligently to
make Virginia the model for the “seamless
system of parks”. To that end, this year we
are expanding even beyond state and national
parks. We are also inviting the Friends
groups of Virginia’s National Wildlife
Refuges and National Forests to join us. We
are planning to add Friends groups for
Virginia’s municipal parks in the near
future. We are committed to the
preservation, promotion, and protection of
the unique cultural, historical, natural,
and recreational resources administered by
all publicly-accessible park systems
throughout the Commonwealth.
When we held our first
meeting in November 1997, there were eight
state park Friends Groups in Virginia.
There are now more than 30 Friends groups.
Furthermore, State Parks Director, Joe
Elton, who was the banquet speaker at our
first meeting in November 1997, gave the
Virginia Association For Parks a great deal
of credit last fall when the Virginia State
Park system won the National Gold Medal
Award for Excellence in the Field of Parks
and Recreation Management.
The Virginia Association For
Parks sponsors a training conference each
spring and fall. Thus far, we have
conducted training in How to Start a Friends
Group, Fiscal Responsibilities as a
Nonprofit, Grassroots Fundraising, Grant
Writing, and Partnering. At our September
meeting, we will learn about natural
resources management policy. We will be
looking specifically at Forest Fire Control
Policy, Clean Air Initiatives, and the
Virginia State Park Bond Referendum
Initiative.
We would like to thank the
Virginia Department of Conservation and
Recreation and the Virginia State Parks
System for providing the guest cabins for
the weekend, vans for the Friday tour, and
meeting space at Hungry Mother State Park at
no cost to the Virginia Association For
Parks. Their continued generosity enables
us to keep our registration fees at a
minimum and makes it possible for more park
Friends to attend.
We hope you are able to join
us September 6 and 7 to help us celebrate
five years of working to support Virginia’s
parks.
Sincerely,
Robert L. Williams, Jr.
Co-Chair (National Parks)
The Executive
Committee would like to express our
appreciation to John Taminger, President,
Friends of Hungry Mother State Park for all
of his effort in hosting this meeting. John
has done a tremendous amount of work to
ensure that we have an enjoyable, productive
meeting. |
