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"Our volunteers are doing great work by helping at state parks and
with our other programs, such as nature preserve restoration, the
Urban Fishing Program, safety education and the state museum, just
to name a few," said Joel Brunsvold, Department of Natural Resources
director. "This recognition program is one way we can thank them for
the valuable service and expertise they provide to us and to the
people of the state of Illinois." This year's volunteer
recognition awards ceremony begins at 2 p.m. on Saturday at the
Conservation World Amphitheater on the Illinois State Fairgrounds.
This year's honorees are:
Tri-City Ducks Unlimited Chapter, Granite City
Over the past several years, members of Tri-City Ducks Unlimited
have taken a volunteer approach to duck hunting. The chapter members
have volunteered their time, making sure that there are better
waterfowl hunting opportunities for all hunters at Horseshoe Lake
State Park at Granite City. They have spent countless hours
assisting site staff with the dewatering of the site's feeding area,
as well as other projects to enhance hunting at the site. Site and
regional staff, wildlife biologists, hunters, and other site
visitors have appreciated their efforts. The Tri-City Ducks
Unlimited Chapter has helped provide many years of good waterfowl
hunting opportunities at Horseshoe Lake State Park.
Friends of Fort Massac, Metropolis
With the efforts of the Friends of Fort Massac, the Living
History Program brings history to life at Fort Massac State Park in
Metropolis. The Friends of Fort Massac group is dedicated to raising
money for various educational and historical projects at the park.
Members have raised more than $14,000 to aid the park with special
events. They worked with the city of Metropolis to obtain a donation
for the Fort Massac Encampment, an annual event each autumn that
attracts more than 100,000 visitors. The group helps on the Friday
before the encampment with programs for 1,400 grade school and
junior high school students. Without their help, this program and
other special events would not take place. The Friends of Fort
Massac are looking toward the future to do whatever it will take to
help Fort Massac State Park with improvements to its historic area.
Rock Falls Chapter of the Rock River Development Authority
The Rock Falls Chapter of the Rock River Development Authority
was established in 1985 as part of a larger project that coordinated
local municipal volunteers along the Rock River in an effort to
improve the Hennepin Canal State Trail in Sheffield. This
enthusiastic group of approximately 15 people began by volunteering
to open up the canal by hand, clearing a meandering trail along the
old canal towpath and turning it into a trail that was safe, clean
and attractive for all to enjoy. They also took on another project
that raised more than $10,000 in contributions, materials and
in-kind services to add a gravel surface, then oil and chip the
first three miles of the recreational trail -- the start of what is
now a 91-mile Hennepin Canal trail network. Since records were
initiated in 1990, this group has provided 12,500 volunteer hours to
the Hennepin Canal project. Last year, they purchased 12 can buoys
for the Sinissippi channel at a cost of more than $1,200. In May,
they sponsored a canal cleanup day with more than 100 participants
working. Just last week, they donated $3,000 to the resurfacing of a
section of the canal recreational path. Plus, many more projects and
volunteer efforts have been donated by the Rock River Chapter. Their
efforts are extraordinary, and it shows at Hennepin Canal State
Trail.
Friends of Volo Bog, Cary
Since 1983, the Friends of Volo Bog have provided both volunteer
and financial assistance to Volo Bog State Natural Area in
Ingleside. With 30 active members among approximately 220, they have
funded projects such as fencerow removal, installation of a wetland
water control structure and installation of a 9,000-gallon garden
pond to enhance landscaping and draw wildlife to a viewing area
within the Volo Bog Visitor Center, accessible to people with
disabilities. The Friends of Volo Bog assist with youth programs,
which attract approximately 5,000 students annually, and they help
with special events. The group has several committees, including the
Adopt-a-Road Committee, the Prairie Gardener Volunteers and the
Spurge Patrol. The Friends of Volo Bog have volunteered to help
people of all ages experience the Volo Bog wetland, as well as many
other natural wonders that make up the biodiversity at Volo Bog
State Natural Area.
The Weldon Springs Foundation
More than 175 associate members pay annual dues that help pay for
ongoing interpretive needs at the Weldon Springs State Recreation
Area in Clinton. Specific projects include the renovation of the
one-room schoolhouse porch, at a cost of more than $500, and new
cordless phones for the office. Members helped raise funds for the
construction of the $120,000 veterans memorial in the park. More
than 30 active members of the foundation volunteer their time by
hosting at the one-room schoolhouse and town hall nature centers,
maintaining the butterfly garden, assisting with school groups,
maintaining trails, and monitoring 50 bluebird boxes, plus much
more. The Weldon Springs Foundation is a very special group of
unselfish and hardworking stewards who give back to Weldon Springs
State Recreation Area in many different ways.
Louis and Frances Borio, Peru
Since March of 2003, Louis and Frances Borio have logged 1,587
volunteer hours at Starved Rock State Park in Utica. The husband and
wife are both retired teachers. Louis was head of the Natural
Science Department at Illinois Valley Community College in Oglesby
and taught biology for many years. Frances taught many years in the
Waltham Public Schools. She volunteers her time in the LeRocher Book
Store at the Starved Rock State Park Visitor Center. Her efforts to
keep the store open are important to the success of the store and
the foundation's fundraising activities. Lou helps run the
information desk in the visitor center. He has a good working
knowledge of the park, its history, geology and park activities. He
answers hundreds of questions from park visitors. Together Lou and
Fran will do whatever is asked of them. They have become valuable
volunteers at Starved Rock State Park.
Joyce Hundley, Winthrop Harbor
In the past 12 months, Joyce Hundley averaged more than 22
volunteer hours per month and she has volunteered as much as 54
hours per month at North Point Marina in Winthrop Harbor. She
represents the Department of Natural Resources and the marina with
enthusiasm, grace and dignity. Hundley plays a critical role by
acting as the eyes and ears for security, public safety and the
protection of the property at the marina. She walks the grounds and
reports back on activities and conditions that require immediate
attention. She has discovered such things as water leaks and sinking
boats. She also distributes literature to visitors, updates the
bulletin boards and brings comments to marina management from
visitors. She has done an excellent job in communicating to slip
holders and visitors the status of maintenance repairs and projects,
why they are necessary, and when they will be completed. She
volunteers on hot days, in the rain and in the snow. She is
well-liked by the staff and visitors at North Point Marina and is a
great asset.
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 East St. Louis Urban Fishing Volunteers, East St. Louis
Dee Toombs, conservation education representative with the
Department of Natural Resources, is on track to having the highest
participant numbers yet at the Southern Illinois Urban Fishing
Program at Jones Lake in Kenneth Hall Park in East St. Louis. She
attributes the success of the East St. Louis program to five
faithful, patient, dependable volunteers. Hosting over 1,200 youth
-- preschoolers as well as teenagers -- is no easy feat. She could
not do it without her helpful group of volunteers. They all share a
love for fishing and helping people learn to fish. Porchia Toombs
helps the kids net the big fish, she baits and removes hooks, and
she makes sure the kids have cold drinks available. Bo Stacker,
known affectionately as Grandpa Bo, helps with the classroom
training and fishing line knots, but his specialty is untangling
lines. He also brings ice every day so the kids can have a cool
drink. James Perry, also known as J.P., enjoys helping kids with all
aspects of fishing by baiting hooks and teaching them how to cast,
while encouraging the kids to do it themselves properly. Arthur
Dean, called Coach Dean, brings a wealth of knowledge to share with
the participants in the clinics. He is a retired educator and helps
with all aspects of fishing. Greg Armour does everything. He loves
to fish, has been fortunate to fish in many areas of the country,
and shares his travels and expertise with the kids. The East St.
Louis Urban Fishing Volunteers are there every day for the summer
clinics, through good weather and bad. They are always willing to
help the Urban Fishing Program with anything it needs.
Deb Burrus, Arenzville
Deb Burrus, her family and a group of local volunteers she
organizes have been intimately involved with the dedication and
continuing management of Meredosia Hill Prairie Nature Preserve in
Cass County for more than a decade. She has contributed numerous
hours of woody brush control and exotic species removal. She
provides oversight to school groups and supervised prison inmate
work crews. She coordinates volunteers for the annual prescribed
burns on the preserve. She has even shown her dedication by
contributing 24-hour follow-up surveillance on all days that
prescribed burns are conducted. She also organizes and conducts
various nature and educational walks for school groups, senior
groups and volunteers on the preserve, helping to pass on a love of
nature and an ecology-friendly ethic to future generations. A
perfect example is her son Kevin, who began working with his mother
on the preserve when he was a young boy. Now, at age 21, he devotes
many hours to eradicating exotic species. He has a personal goal to
eliminate every invasive plant at the preserve. The IDNR Division of
Habitat Resources appreciates Deb's ceaseless efforts to instill a
proper ecological ethic in others and her dedication to the
maintenance of Meredosia Hill Prairie Nature Preserve.
Milt Waltermire, Champaign
The primary engine behind the annual Ron Ward Memorial Bass
Tournament is Milt Waltermire. In the event's first four years,
$20,000 was raised for scientific research on and conservation of
bass, undertaken by the Illinois Natural History Survey in
Champaign. In June of this year, the event raised an additional
$6,200 for scholarships and scientific research. While several
members of the Champaign-Urbana Bass Club assist him, Milt
Waltermire almost single-handedly organizes and promotes the
tournament year-round. He is also a tireless advocate and
soft-spoken voice for the bass resource, including a call for the
continued use of sound science in the management of fishery
resources. He also speaks of the important partnership that has been
created among resource managers, scientific researchers and anglers.
When Milt speaks, people listen -- and get excited, often asking
what they can do to help with research for the Illinois Natural
History Survey.
James Farris, Forsyth
James Farris has been a volunteer in the Illinois State Museum
Anthropology Section in Springfield since 2002. He has contributed
greatly to the museum's collections program, and his motivation is
an inspiration to staff and volunteers. He contributed many hours as
the principal assistant on the New Philadelphia pedestrian walk-over
survey by helping prepare approximately 7,000 artifacts for
cataloging and analysis. He sorted and inventoried approximately 170
boxes of artifacts from the Kuhlman Mound collections. His largest
project was assisting with organizing and inventorying 415 boxes of
prehistoric artifacts, biological materials and soil samples,
together with 20 boxes of flotation samples from the collection of
New York archaeologist Dr. Howard Winters when those were
transferred to the Illinois State Museum. Farris took this one step
further by bringing in his own equipment and photographing unique
artifacts so that future users of the collection would have a visual
record of some of the more interesting objects. He has become an
advocate of the museum and encourages interested volunteers and
students to learn from the collections and the expertise at the
Illinois State Museum.
Richard McLane, Springfield
If there is an open shift on the schedule for "A Place for
Discovery" at the Illinois State Museum, there's a good chance that
Dick McLane will call or e-mail and say, "Sign me up." He has been a
volunteer since 2001 in the hands-on children's gallery by greeting
visitors, answering questions and helping them with the various
activities. When asked what he likes most about volunteering, he
replies, "I like the chance to make the experience of our visitors
as educational and fun as possible." He recently helped obtain
partial funding from the Springfield Breakfast Optimist Club, of
which he is a member, for a new hands-on microscope for the room.
His willingness to volunteer and his dedication will benefit
visitors at the Illinois State Museum for years to come.
Edward and Karen Spearing, Bartlett
Ed and Karen Spearing have been promoting safe participation in
hunting and boating as volunteer safety education instructors for
the past 16 years. They also taught snowmobile safety courses for
three years. They are a smooth team, teaching 135 classes and
certifying 4,010 students. Between the two of them, the Spearings
have donated more than 1,200 hours to the Safety Education Program.
Ed serves as a master instructor for the Boater Education Program,
and Karen serves as a master instructor for the Hunter Education
Program. During their many years of service they have served as lead
instructors for various Department of Natural Resources events, such
as Becoming an Outdoorswoman and the Northern Illinois Hunting and
Fishing Days. They are also NSCA Level 1 instructors for IDNR wing
shooting clinics. In addition, they make sure they stay on top of
the latest advancements by furthering their own education in hunter
and boating safety. The Safety Education Program is fortunate to
have Ed and Karen Spearing volunteering their time as they play a
major role in the future of recreational activities.
[Illinois
Department of Natural Resources news release]
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