Congratulations to our 2015 Annual Award Winners

It was a beautiful evening overlooking Little Sugar Creek Greenway with over 115 Attendees. We celebrated our 53 Annual Sponsors and gave 5 Awards to individuals and organizations that have made significant contributions to promoting and enhancing the parks, greenways, open spaces, active play and recreational opportunities within our community!

In case you missed it, you can check out some of the event photos on our Facebook page here.

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CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR 2015 ANNUAL AWARD WINNERS 

BRAD DAVIS LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD Lewis Ledford – North Carolina State Parks Lewis Ledford retired as the director of the North Carolina State Parks System. In 2003 he was named the director of the system, the first entry-level ranger to head the agency. During his tenure, 5 new state parks, a state trail and 6 state natural areas were established. These include Grandfather Mountain, Chimney Rock and Carver’s Creek. Over 23.1 million dollars in donations were received in the last five years that he served as director. Much of this was to purchase the Grandfather Mountain and Chimney Rock locations. JOE COGDELL VOLUNTEER SERVICE AWARD Irwin Belk Irwin Belk served as a member of the United States Olympic Committee for 45 years. He received the organization’s highest volunteer award, the Olympic Order. USA Track & Field honored him in 2004 with its top award, the Pacesetter Award for his philanthropy and service. NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION AWARD Friends of Hickory A group of energetic ladies came and met with Partners for Parks several years ago with the dream of building a park in downtown Hickory. In the manner of what Partners for Parks was founded to accomplish, these wonderful people have captured the attention of the citizens of Hickory and as a partner with Partners for Parks, they have raised over $500,000 for their dream downtown park and playground. Construction will begin this summer. PROJECT RECOGNITION AWARD Novant Health BMX Supercross Track  Rock Hill Parks, Recreation and Tourism Department opened a BMX Supercross track in August 2014, which is considered to be one of the best in the world. In September 2015, they hosted a World Cup Championship that had participants from 26 countries. In 2017, they will host the BMX World Championships. Unknown to most, BMX is now an Olympic sport. CORPORATE RECOGNITION AWARD Charlotte Hornets The Charlotte Hornets have been a good community citizen for many years – hosting free clinics, working with kids that are hospitalized, rehabbing community basketball courts and many other community service activities that support parks and recreation. The original Charlotte Hornets were one of Partners for Parks first supporters, donating $25,000 a year for the first three years of our existence.