We are grateful for all of our Sponsors who support Partners for Parks as we make a very specific impact on equity and inclusion, and were delighted to see them in person again during our 2022 Spring Sponsor Celebration!
Nearly 100 Annual Sponsors and friends joined the party at Stevens Creek Nature Center and Preserve, which was blessed with beautiful weather so guests could enjoy both the interactive exhibits inside the Nature Center and the gardens and trails outside at the newest gem in Mecklenburg County’s Park and Recreation system.
“I can’t adequately describe our excitement and appreciation – and especially enjoyment – of having the Sponsors Celebration event at Stevens Creek,” says Brad Chambers, Vice President of the Partners for Parks Board of Directors. “The opportunity to thank our sponsors – IN PERSON – was priceless. And simply getting to see our fellow Board Members and professional colleagues was the cherry on top for all of us.”
Chambers says the Sponsor Celebration was one of the largest and most successful in recent memory, and he thanked the Planning Committee and hosts at Stevens Creek Nature Center for their hard work and attention to detail. “My personal thanks go to fellow Board Members Sydney Swafford, Michelle Huttenhoff, and Al Brown, as well as Kristen Haas at Stevens Creek Nature Center,” he adds.
Board President Beth Poovey began her address to Annual Sponsors with a moment of silence to remember the life and hard work of Partners for Parks founding member, Doug Youngblood. Afterward, she thanked guests for their support during the past couple of years when so much was closed, but parks were wide open. Her message reflected Partners for Parks’ continuing mission to reach out to underserved communities with the message that Parks Build Community.
“The work we do is so important. Creating places for the community to come together, relax, recharge, use our voices for public discourse – and get out of our sometimes confining walls of home and work to explore and learn – makes our daily life even more joyful,” she said. Poovey recounted steps Partners for Parks is taking to engage historically underserved communities like West Charlotte while pressing for support for an expanded greenway system.
“These spaces and the things that we do in them are the glue, the face, the living rooms, and the grand hallways, arteries of our communities,” she continued. “We need to make sure that public open space is understood as crucial pieces of our urban infrastructure and make sure it gets the funding, the staffing, and the support to ensure our region is a place of choice to live, work and play.”
Treasurer Al Brown notes that Partners for Parks was honored that the Mayor of Mint Hill, Brad Simmons and his wife, and three of our Mecklenburg Board of County Commissioners (Laura Leier, Elaine Powell, and Susan Rodriguez-McDowell) joined us in this Spring Celebration. He tips his hat to Lee Jones, Alice Chambers, and Kristen Haas of MCP&R for their support in hosting the event.
“We were proud to honor and celebrate this evening with so many of our Annual Sponsors,” he adds. You can see a complete list of supporters on the sponsor page of our website: https://partnersforparks.org/sponsor/
“On behalf of the entire Board of Directors, I want to again thank everyone for coming out and enjoying a fun evening of fellowship and reconnections,” adds Chambers.
