2020 Division Team Award
The District 2 Construction Team: Bruce Bailey, George Benton, Rick Cox, Jim Dubose, Ken Harp, Dale Kendrick, Rich Mauer, Wes Williams and James Wolf.
Division Team Award
In 2019-20, Dale Kendrick led a project to replace the dilapidated boardwalk system in the ravine at Mike Roess Gold Head Branch State Park. All the work for a new 500-foot-long boardwalk was provided by park staff, volunteers, AmeriCorps or the Florida Youth Challenge at Camp Blanding.
The old boardwalk had to be disassembled and the construction debris had to be carried up 80 steps to remove it from the ravine. To build the new boardwalk, all building materials had to be transported 80 steps down into the ravine. The materials used in the project included 2,500 boards, up to 8 inches x 8 inches by 12 foot and 400 bags of concrete.
Doing the project in-house provided a significant cost savings to the state of Florida. It’s estimated that the project would have cost more than $200,000 if a contractor had been hired to complete the project. Instead, the materials cost $69,503 and the labor was provided by staff and volunteers.
This has been a significant commitment and accomplishment for staff, volunteers and Dale Kendrick.
What does this mean for visitors? The new boardwalk allows them to safely see the natural features of the ravine, including the seepage spring head, while limiting impact on the natural features. It also protects the plants and animals who live in the ravine.
Park staff who contributed to the project include park manager Kevin Patton; assistant park manager Nick Brown; park services specialists Tracey Sleek, Carlos Rosado and Steve Earl; park rangers Mark Manning, Gabrielle Bradley and Wes Collins; park attendant Rick Foley; sign shop manager Ashley Pass; and AmeriCorps Project A.N.T. staff member Chris Bebout.
The Division Team Award is awarded annually to recognize employees who in their everyday job performance exemplify the Florida Park Service image of service to the public (an attitude of friendliness and cheerful public service) during the previous year.