Ohio Parks and Recreation Association is pleased to announce the winners of the 2016 Outstanding Leadership Awards.  Parks and recreation professionals, citizens and legislators were nominated by parks and recreation professionals from around the state for these awards.

“These individuals really represent some of the best in parks and recreation, past, present and future,” said OPRA Executive Director Woody Woodward.  “Each of these winners understands the vital role that parks and recreation plays in establishing and maintaining community and building quality of life.”

There are two 2016 inductees into the OPRA Hall of Fame.

The first is Frances Seiberling Buchholzer.  A former director of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Buchholzer was also one of the longest-serving commissioners in the 95-year history of Summit Metro Parks creating stability at a time when the district doubled in size, expanded the multipurpose Ohio & Erie Canal Towpath Trail and established several new metro parks in previously under-served communities. An avid hiker and park user, she championed the benefits of parks and recreation and helped pass four separate tax levies as a commissioner.

Hall of Fame inductee Bob Feldmann served the Centerville-Washington Park District for 40 years, first as Superintendent and then as Development Manager. During Bob’s tenure, the Park District grew to meet the community’s demands for parks, facilities and programs. Bob played a major role in the acquisition and development of 33 parks for the residents of Centerville and Washington Township, bringing the district up to 50 total parks with nearly 1,000 acres of open space at his retirement in 2014.

The 2016 OPRA Professional of the Year is Brian Zimmerman, CEO of Cleveland Metroparks. Led by Zimmerman, Cleveland Metroparks was recently named the best Park District in the nation and presented the 2016 National Gold Medal Award for excellence in Parks and Recreation Management. Zimmerman’s leadership has been instrumental in activating transformative projects for Northeast Ohio, including an $8 million federal grant, the largest ever awarded to Cleveland Metroparks. With nearly 1,500 employees, more than 23,000 acres, 18 park reservations, eight golf courses and a nationally acclaimed Zoo, Zimmerman’s guidance empowers Cleveland Metroparks to serve the community at the highest possible level.

Bill Thomas of Mayfield Village is the 2016 Harvey Woods Lifetime Achievement Award winner.  Thomas will retire in February after more than 40 years of service to the parks and recreation profession. Thomas oversaw the development of the first Community Center for the City of Cleveland Heights and led multiple projects for Mayfield Village, including a family waterpark, soccer facilities, enhanced walking and biking trails and a new Community Center.  Thomas also was also a co-founder of the East Side Roundtable, a collaborative group of parks and recreation professionals in the Cleveland area and was a long time chair of the OPRA Foundation Golf Outing, providing tens of thousands of dollars in scholarships to Ohio students.

The Jack Hanna Resource Conservation Award winner is Tim Schetter of Metroparks of the Toledo Area. Tim has been integral in creating and promoting The Green Ribbon Initiative, which is a collection of agencies working to protect and restore the Oak Openings.  The Oak Openings is one of the rarest areas in the Midwest containing several globally imperiled habitats and is important to the health and survival of many rare and endangered species, as well as the area’s residents.  Schetter pushed the initiative forward through continued organization, planning efforts and overall collaboration with others. His commitment leveraged over $4 million which resulted in the restoration of over three-thousand acres and broad recognition by the public of the Oak Openings as an asset to the community. Additionally, he has brought in approximately $25 million for land acquisition funding and natural area restoration through grants that he wrote.

Our 2016 Youth Sports Coach of the Year is Tonaruse “Spoon” Witherspoon of the Cincinnati Recreation Commission.  As a coach in the inner-city, Spoon has always stressed community involvement with youth, through projects such as leading neighborhood cleanup campaigns, teen visits to area nursing homes and even teen and youth cooking projects for the homeless.  When one of those youth, Jamar Givens, was fatally shot earlier this year, Spoon helped other youth channel their anger and grief in a positive direction, organizing fundraisers to help offset the costs of their friend’s funeral.

The 2016 winner of the Outstanding Youth Leadership Award is Douglas May of Five Rivers MetroParks. Throughout his years of involvement with Five Rivers MetroParks, May has proven himself to be a leader among his peers and a sterling example of the positive influence both service and outdoor education have on children. May celebrated his 750th hour of service in 2016, the highlight being a reforestation project in which he led a group of peer-volunteers in the propagation of 3,000 native trees and shrubs being grown for planting at various MetroParks sites. While his accomplishments are impressive, knowing he has done so while overcoming the challenges of autism make Douglas an exemplary individual.

The 2016 OPRA Legislator of the Year is State Senator Frank LaRose of Summit County.  A strong supporter of Summit Metro Parks, Senator LaRose has been a leader in the Ohio Senate on issues relating to parks and recreation. He worked last session to restore nearly $4.5 million in funding to the park district road improvement program and consistently works to prioritize the needs of parks and recreation agencies and programs in the Ohio General Assembly.

These awards will be presented at the annual OPRA Awards Dinner on February 14 at the Kalahari Convention Center.