2022 Volunteer Awards at Wekiwa Springs State Park.
Debbie LaFreniere
Debbie LaFreniere is the recipient of the 2022 Adult Volunteer of the Year Award for Administration.
Debbie is a long-time volunteer and member of the Wekiva Wilderness Trust citizen support organization. She has served as the group’s president in the past and currently serves as vice president.
Debbie plays a vital role in the interpretive experiences offered to visitors at Wekiwa Springs State Park. She tracks and ensures that there is daily coverage of volunteer staff at the park’s Nature Center to take care of our park ambassador animals and to be on-hand to answer questions from visitors.
Debbie notices repairs needed and relays the information to the volunteer manager to ensure that our Nature Center facility continues to be one of the highlights of the Wekiwa experience. During the recent hurricanes, she also helped coordinate the safety of all the animals.
Debbie enthusiastically encourages skilled people to volunteer at the Nature Center. For many years Debbie has ensured that the Nature Center has been staffed daily so visitors can learn about the different animals that inhabit the park. She coordinates vet visits and transports animals when needed. She had navigated through many storms over the years with coordinating evacuation and temporary arraignments for the ambassador animals.
Debbie serves on the Wekiva Wilderness Trust board and consistently brings up items that need to be repaired or replaced to better serve our community. Debbie’s contributions should be recognized for the 2022 Adult Volunteer Administration Award.
Her enthusiasm and organizational skills are valued at Wekiwa Springs State Park. Thank you, Debbie.
Elaine Fisher
Elaine Fisher is the recipient of the 2022 Adult Volunteer of the Year Award for Protection.
Elaine Fisher volunteers to help with prescribed fires at the park, and as a retired paramedic, she shares her knowledge of medicine and safety with other team members. She puts emphasis on preventative measures like proper foot care and the importance of hydration. She also describes and demonstrates the many different uses of a cotton bandana that can be stored easily in our fire helmets. Elaine provides thorough and detailed descriptions of how to address medical concerns or situations so all staff can be vigilant, thus highly augmenting the safety of all involved.
During a recent prescribed fire course, Elaine recognized the early signs of dehydration in a student and was able to provide them with quick and effective medical care, which allowed them to be able to safely continue participating in the course. Without her presence in trainings and her involvement as an extra crew member, several of our personnel might have been unable to proceed.
In addition to her countless hours of volunteering during fires, Elaine has also served as medical person at the Engine Academy, a training course focused on wildland fire engines, when hosted at Wekiwa Springs State Park. She has even offered her services for strike teams throughout the entire state, making her an indispensable team member.
Elaine is always willing to help and contributes greatly to our prescribed fire program. It is always an asset to have someone with her knowledge, skills and abilities on standby. Elaine is professional and adapts well to high stress situations. Thank you, Elaine.
Dennis Bryant
Dennis Bryant is the recipient of the 2022 Long-Term Project of the Year Award for Resource-Based Recreation.
Dennis has been volunteering at Wekiwa Springs State Park for the last five years.
Dennis repairs the bear-proof dumpsters at the parks. When needed, he removes or replaces all the rusted metal and repaints the cans. His efforts have saved the park tens of thousands of dollars. Each new dumpster costs around $6,000, and the park has seven of them. Most importantly, maintenance of the dumpsters helps protect the bears from becoming acclimated to interactions with humans.
The Wekiva River Basin state parks serve an important role in the Florida Wildlife Corridor, providing nearly 50,000 acres of vital black bear habitat. Many people flock to Wekiwa for recreational opportunities, and with people comes food and trash. Dennis has played a key role in helping us provide resource-based recreation while preserving and protecting our natural resources.
Dennis can fix most small engines or power tools. His maintenance skills keep the park’s equipment running smoothly. He has fabricated a new skid plate for the park tractor, made a custom drip torch to be used during prescribed fires and he wired, painted and installed new floorboards on the park’s trailers.
Thank you, Dennis. Your skills and workmanship are appreciated.
Nieves Family
The Nieves Family is the recipient of the 2022 Volunteer of Three+ of the Year Award for Greener Initiative.
Parents Valerie and Gabriel Nieves and their two daughters, Isabel and Emelie, are part of the Girl Scouts of Citrus County and are also heavily involved with the Citrus Council, which is how they came to be involved with the park.
After attending a guided hike with Park Services Specialist Val Hahn, they immediately wanted to use their newly acquired knowledge about conservation to make a difference. They asked how to become volunteers, and Val was happy to offer guidance.
On the first day of volunteering, 8-year-old Emelie proudly stated that it was her dream to pick up trash and help the environment. Now, everyone in their family has their own pair of trash pickers, which they use everywhere they go.
Despite that three of the four family members are currently in school, and both parents work full time on top of being heavily involved in the community with the scouts, church, humane society and more, they still make it a priority to come to the park to volunteer.
Since they began, the family has contributed over 300 volunteer hours. They participate in park cleanup events, river cleanup, community involvement events, the Junior Ranger program, maintenance projects and more.
Valerie and Gabriel proudly wear their volunteer uniforms and assist in translating to Spanish to help our interpretive messages reach a more diverse audience. Valerie serves as a proofreader for items that will be displayed in both languages. She also assisted in promoting the importance of conservation by joining with local Latino conservation groups to get the Hispanic community involved – even offering translating/interpreting services for Spanish-only speaking volunteers and/or visitors.
For our largest event, Girl Scouts Love State Parks, Valerie created the zone and parking maps that were sent out to over 200 registered participants. She also served as a point of contact throughout the event and ensured participants and activities stayed organized.
Thank you, Nieves family. Your volunteer efforts are appreciated.
Don Philpott
Don Philpott received three awards. The the Gold Medal Award for 30,000 Hours of Volunteer Service, the 2022 Adult Volunteer of the Year Award for Resource Management and the 27 Years of Service Award.
Gold Medal Award for 30,000 Hours of Volunteer Service
Don is the current president of the Wekiva Wilderness Trust that supports Wekiwa Springs State Park, Lower Wekiva River Preserve State Park and Rock Springs Run State Reserve. He also served recently as a board member and past president of the Florida State Parks Foundation and the National Association of State Park Foundations.
Don is a renowned author, journalist, broadcaster and public relations champion. He’s a master naturalist, a certified interpretive guide and a photographer.
For the last 27 years, he has developed a magical ability to inspire others and build relationships that have netted millions of dollars in donations to support state park goals.
One of his latest projects is documenting the township of Ethel at Rock Springs Run Reserve. Ethel once flourished a hundred years ago. All that remains is the small fenced-off cemetery, but we now know so much about Ethel that we can locate where the school was, as well as the railway station, store and almost all of the homestead cabins. Eventually, interpretive panels will tell the full story of Ethel, and historic markers will be placed at sites of special interest. If you want to learn more about Ethel, there is a free e-book that can be downloaded.
We are honored to recognize Don Philpott with the Gold Medal Award for 30,000 hours of volunteer service.
2022 Adult Volunteer of the Year Award for Resource Management
Don serves as the president of the Wekiva Wilderness Trust, a citizen support organization that supports Wekiwa Springs State Park, Lower Wekiva River Preserve State Park and Rock Springs Run State Reserve. He also served recently as a board member and past president of the Florida State Parks Foundation and the National Association of State Park Foundations.
For the last 27 years, he has developed his magical ability to inspire others and build relationships that have netted millions of dollars in donations to support state park goals.
One of his latest projects is documenting the township of Ethel at Rock Springs Run Reserve. Ethel once flourished a hundred years ago. All that remains is the small fenced-off cemetery, but we now know so much about Ethel that we can locate where the school was, as well as the railway station, store and almost all of the homestead cabins. Eventually, interpretive panels will tell the full story of Ethel, and historic markers will be placed at sites of special interest.
Thank you, Don. Your support of Florida’s state parks is appreciated.
27 Years of Service Award
Don is well-known across Florida and serves as an excellent example of volunteerism with Florida State Parks.