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2012 SESSION


HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 69
Commending Carolyn Gamble.

 

Agreed to by the House of Delegates, March 10, 2012

 

WHEREAS, Carolyn Gamble, the site manager of Huntley Meadows Park in Alexandria, will retire in 2012 after 30 years of outstanding service to the Fairfax County Park Authority and local residents; and

WHEREAS, a graduate of the University of Vermont, Carolyn Gamble earned a master’s degree from the University of Massachusetts and worked for the United States Fish and Wildlife Service and the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natural History before joining the Fairfax County Park Authority as the site manager at Huntley Meadows Park, the largest park in Fairfax County; and

WHEREAS, Carolyn Gamble helped guide and parent Huntley Meadows Park through growing pains as it went from its original 1,261 acres to today’s 1,554-acre oasis in the midst of bustling Fairfax County, which offers local residents the opportunity to get away and enjoy the beauties of nature; and

WHEREAS, dedicated to ensuring a positive visitor experience that also educates, Carolyn Gamble has helped guide and manage an array of environmental education programs and played a pivotal role in the creation of new interpretive programs and exhibits; and

WHEREAS, Carolyn Gamble helped develop a new visitor center that serves 200,000 visitors a year, worked with local artists to showcase their nature-themed works, managed the park’s coffee house, Café Cattail, and created publications that highlight Huntley Meadows Park offerings and explain the benefits of environmental stewardship and natural and cultural resource management; and

WHEREAS, Carolyn Gamble possesses a wealth of information about the park and its history, including Historic Huntley, the home of George Mason IV, which is nearly ready to open to the public in large part because of her tireless efforts with Friends of Historic Huntley and the Fairfax County Park Authority’s Cultural Resource staff and her own years of research; and

WHEREAS, over the years, Carolyn Gamble has trained and mentored countless naturalists, educators, and park staff who have gained valuable insight from her years of distinguished service; and

WHEREAS, Carolyn Gamble was a passionate and dedicated voice for protecting, preserving, and interpreting Huntley Meadows Park’s unique 50-acre wetland; and

WHEREAS, Carolyn Gamble helped local citizens create the Fairfax County Park Authority’s first Friends group (Friends of Huntley Meadows Park), which not only stopped a four-lane highway from cutting through the park, but to this day supports funding, programming, advocacy, and volunteer activities at the park; and

WHEREAS, Carolyn Gamble guided and facilitated comprehensive bird and plant surveys by volunteers throughout Huntley Meadows Park—30 years’ worth of in-depth biological data exist today and help guide all the park’s resource management because of her efforts; and

WHEREAS, Carolyn Gamble’s exemplary work as site manager of Huntley Meadows Park has resulted in rewarding park experiences for countless individuals over the years while the programs she helped establish will continue to serve future visitors; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, That Carolyn Gamble hereby be commended on the occasion of her retirement as site manager of Huntley Meadows Park; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to Carolyn Gamble as an expression of the House of Delegates’ congratulations and admiration for her commitment to ensuring that visitors to Huntley Meadows Park have an educational and enjoyable experience.