Fairfax County park volunteers honored

Lassine Doumbia at Indonesian Cultural Heritage Night at Ossian Hall Park earlier this month.

The Elly Doyle Park
Service Awards recognize volunteers who make outstanding contributions of time
and talent to the Fairfax County park system. The awards will be presented  at a ceremony at the Waterford in Fairfax Nov. 22.

•  Jim Hickey, a volunteer at Lake Accotink Park for more than 17
  years, emcee for the Cardboard Boat Regatta, and a formative figure with the
  Friends of Lake Accotink Park;
• Howard Albers, a volunteer with the Fairfax County Park Foundation since 2011 who helped
  the parks obtain more than $600,000 in grants and awards; and
• Sarah Kirk, the founder and president of Turner Farm Events, a
  non-profit organization set up to support the equestrian activities at Turner Farm in Great Falls.

• Casto DeBiasi, an avid golfer at age 92 and a
  volunteer at Twin Lakes Golf Course in Clifton for the past 23 years;
• The Great Falls Trail Blazers, a group
  that coordinates volunteer labor and helped
  revise policies to preserve historic Georgetown Pike;
•  Lynn Mulvey-McFerron, assistant coach and logistician for
  the championship-Envirothon Team at Hidden Pond Nature Center in Springfield;
  and
• Melina Tye who created the Resource Management Volunteers at Huntley Meadows.

• Monica Banghart, who has contributed
  more than 1,000 hours as a volunteer at Hidden Pond Nature Center; and

• Rohil
  Bhinge, age 9, who raised more than $1,350 for Chessie’s Big Backyard, a
  fully accessible playground at Lee District Park in Franconia.