Recognizing the 2025 Elly Doyle Park Service Awardees

Floor Speech

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Mr. WALKINSHAW. Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize the honorees of the 2025 Elly Doyle Park Service Awards. These awards, sponsored by the Fairfax County Park Authority Board in cooperation with the Fairfax County Park Foundation Board, recognize individuals and organizations for their extraordinary contributions to our environment and public park system.

The Elly Doyle Park Service Awards were established in 1988 in honor of former board member Ellamae Doyle's many years of outstanding service. Recipients have also been selected for the Eakin Philanthropy Award, named in honor of the family that donated the first parcels of parkland to the park authority more than 50 years ago; the Mayo Stuntz Cultural Stewardship, named in honor of a celebrated local historian and military veteran; the Sally Ormsby Environmental Stewardship Award, named in honor of a local champion of environmental education and protection; and the Harold L. Strickland Partnership and Collaboration Award, named for the former Sully District representative on the Park Authority Board. In addition, a special recognition will be given to Park Authority volunteers, who play an integral role in the agency's success.

It is my honor to congratulate all the recipients of the Elly Doyle Park Service Awards and to include in the Record the names of the following individuals:

Elly Doyle Special Recognition: Cynthia Glakas, Paul Gross, Brian Keith, and Christina Tyler Wenks.

Elly Doyle Park Service Award: Tim Bowers and Carolyn J. Gamble.

Harold L. Strickland Partnership and Collaboration Award: Marc Kohn.

Sally Ormsby Environmental Stewardship Award: Sara Holtz.

The Mayo Stuntz Cultural Stewardship Award: Mary Lipsey.

Fairfax County Park Foundation Eakin Philanthropy Awards: Helen L. Kafka (posthumously), McLean Central Park Playground Team, Pohanka Automotive, and the Scott A. & Phyllis P. Crabtree Family Foundation.

Chairman's Choice Award: Ken Quincy and Aimee Vosper.

Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in congratulating this year's awardees. Fairfax County is regarded as one of the best places in the country in which to live, work, and raise a family, and our nationally recognized park system has played a key role in that distinction. Our community has a strong commitment to promoting and preserving our environment, including our public parks and outdoor spaces, as the efforts of the individuals and organizations recognized tonight reflects. These are truly selfless actions done for the benefit of all and merit our highest praise.

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