Credit: CONTR
Credit: CONTR
Centerville-Washington Park District’s Ken Carter was named professional of the year while the outstanding citizen award honors the Lehner family for its work with Five Rivers MetroParks, the state parks association said.
“These people are setting the bar in terms of improving the quality of life around the state,” OPRA Executive Director Woody Woodward. “They are the shining stars of parks and recreation in Ohio.”
Parks departments in Kettering and Greene County, Fairborn and Miamisburg all won awards.
• Garges oversaw Kettering’s parks in the 1990s, and the department won a National Gold Medal under his leadership.
He later headed the Cincinnati Recreation Commission, and served on several regional and national parks and rec panels before retiring from the Mecklenburg County Park and Recreation Department in North Carolina in 2017.
• Mertz is a native of Mad River Twp., what is now the city of Riverside. She was appointed to lead ODNR in 2019 by Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine after serving on his staff when he was attorney general.
At ODNR, Mertz “has pioneered conservation initiatives including the H2Ohio Water Quality Program. She has been instrumental in leading ODNR’s efforts to tackle water quality challenges across Ohio,” according to the OPRA.
Credit: Jim Noelker
Credit: Jim Noelker
• Carter has been with the Centerville-Washington Park District for 28 years, 15 of those as the operations manager.
He helped set the “standard in safety and innovation and has saved the lives of park visitors” while being a key player in implementing the district’s ADA transition plan, according to the state association.
• The Lehners spent hundreds of hours volunteering for Five Rivers MetroParks after Chaminade-Julienne Catholic High School freshman Leo Lehner of Kettering died in 2021, according to the OPRA.
They have helped maintain the nature play area and — through personal fundraising — have “supported plans for significant additions to it that will make it more hands-on and accessible to children and parents,” the association said.
• Of the jurisdictional awards, Kettering won three, including two for first place. The top awards were for its EcoFEST 2024 event and the construction of Gentile Nature Park. It also finished second for its Urban Forestry Education program.
Greene County won first place for its Junior Ranger Academy program and third for its Babbling Bunnies program.
Miamisburg earned second and third place awards, both involving Riverfront Park. Fairborn won a second place for a summer staff training program.
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