City of Seattle Mike McGinn, Mayor

Parks Gives "Denny Awards" for Volunteer Service
to Starflower Foundation and 3 Individuals

Seattle Parks and Recreation and the Seattle Parks Foundation today announced the winners of the second annual Denny Awards for volunteer service. This year’s winners are the Starflower Foundation, Darrell Drew, Al Smith and Amy Tsai.

Parks Superintendent Ken Bounds will present the awards on Tuesday, Nov. 16, at a ceremony and reception, 6 to 8:30 p.m., at the Seattle Asian Art Museum in Volunteer Park.

"We couldn’t do what we do at Seattle Parks and Recreation without the tremendous support of volunteers," said Bounds. "These awards are a small token of our appreciation and esteem for the people and organizations who help us fulfill our mission to take care of the environment and provide safe and welcoming recreation opportunities."

The Denny Awards recognize the contributions of volunteers to Seattle Parks and Recreation parks and programs. In 2003, hundreds of volunteers worked more than 225,000 hours for parks and recreation programs throughout the city, donating the equivalent of $3.7 million in labor. The Denny Awards are named after David and Louisa Denny, who donated land for the first Seattle park in 1884 (Denny Park).

The award winners are:

• Starflower Foundation: Founded in 1996, Starflower Foundation provides grants in the form of in-kind donations and technical assistance to community groups involved in native plant restoration projects, especially in public parks. Projects Starflower has funded include restoration work at Roxhill Park, Greg Davis Park, Magnuson Park, Seward Park, Colman Park and the Pritchard Beach wetlands. The monetary value of Starflower’s contributions is more than $1 million. For more information on Starflower Foundation, please call 206-789-3282.
• Darrell Drew: Currently president of the Magnolia Community Center Advisory Council, Darrell has been a community volunteer in the Magnolia community for more than 30 years. He has served on the Magnolia Chamber of Commerce and the Magnolia Community Club. He has been a volunteer docent at Discovery Park, where he gives nature tours every weekend, rain or shine. He also serves as chair of the Magnolia Summer Festival Parade. He has participated in almost every civic and volunteer opportunity in the neighborhood.
• Al Smith:A founding member of the Friends of Seward Park, Al Smith is Seward Park’s greatest champion. He has been heavily involved in the effort to remove invasive English Ivy from the park’s old growth forest. He spends much of his free time working alone in the park, removing ivy and other invasive plants. He also has provided invaluable support for the Seward Park Environmental Learning Center and a teen environmental stewardship program called TREC.
• Amy Tsai: As volunteer park steward for the Northacres Park Off-Leash Area, Amy has committed her time and hard work to protecting native vegetation at the off-leash area, creating a unique and beautiful space for both dogs and their owners. Amy organizes and leads monthly volunteer "work parties" to take care of the park. She also led the effort to make Northacres a permanent off-leash site while it was still a pilot project.

Other Denny Award nominees, all of whom made significant volunteer contributions to Seattle Parks and Recreation parks or programs, were:

• Patrick Boland, Friends of Frink Park
• Friends of Discovery Park
• Marilyn Firlotte, Green Lake Community Center Advisory Council
• Sharon Gowdy, Special Programs Adult Summer Camp
• George Hildreth, Volunteers of Lower Woodland Park
• Ken Shaw, Schmitz Preserve Park
• Robert R. Stephens, Jr., Garfield Advisory Council
• Darrell and Barbara Williams, Seattle Aquarium
• Lauren and Glenn Yasuda, Annie’s Playground at Meadowbrook Playfield

For more information about the Denny Awards, please contact Robert Stowers, Seattle Parks and Recreation, at 206-233-1503 or robert.stowers@seattle.gov

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Parks and Recreation

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