Volunteer Spotlight

Maggie Toole

Maggie Toole is the type of volunteer who does it all!  Maggie came to FRIENDS as an office volunteer, but she has exceeded all our expectations -- she gives FRIENDS two days a week on a regular basis.  She enters volunteer hours, processes new online volunteer applications, maintains Trails Forever program data, and works with FRIENDS' office staff to streamline and simplify office procedure.

On top of all that, Maggie has volunteered her time to plant seedlings at the April 2007 Saving Parkway Views event.  She and her husband, Kregg, planted seedlings with a group of 100 volunteers on April 14 at the final planting at Milepost 125.5.  Over 1000 trees and seedlings were planted at this Roanoke County site by over 700 volunteers -- we are so grateful for our volunteers!

FRIENDS hopes to recruit more Maggie's to assist with administrative functions.  She comes in with a smile on her face and brightens our day with her readiness to help where it's needed most.

Maggie work for Schottenstein, Zox, and Dunn LLP.  With a Masters degree in Library Science and Information Science (MLS) from Florida State University, Maggie hails from Atlanta, and she and her husband, Kregg, have lived in Roanoke County for 1 year.

2006 VIP Volunteers of the Year

Tom Bachmann was one of hundreds of volunteers who helped the Blue Ridge Parkway during 2006. But his achievements stand out – making him the Parkway Volunteer of the Year. Mindy DeCesar, Plateau/Highlands North District Supervisor on the Blue Ridge Parkway, originally nominated him as the Volunteer of the Year in the Plateau District following his 20 years of volunteer service. He was ultimately named the Volunteer of the Year for the Blue Ridge Parkway.

In nominating Bachmann, DeCesar says: “Over the past five years, Tom has been an invaluable volunteer at the Blue Ridge Music Center. He has spent countless hours on a weekly – sometimes daily – basis, helping to set up parking lots, assemble furniture – including the beautiful breezeway rockers – direct traffic and shepherd musicians and VIPs like Ricky Skaggs. Tom even takes a turn at the desk for lunch breaks. There have been many days when there has not been enough NPS staff available to provide even the minimum services at the music center (like keeping it open the advertised hours) and Tom has always been available at the last minute’s notice to help out.”

Highlands District Volunteer of the Year: Allison Carlyle

DeCesar says Carlyle’s talents are many. She provides historical tours of the Brinegar Cabin. She also learned to process flax and does demonstrations at the Brinegar Cabin, and cares for the garden there. She prepares a weekly campfire talk about the beginnings of the Blue Ridge Parkway; helps lead the monthly Basin Cove Hike; works as a peer with school groups; takes care of delivering maps, directories and other information to the Bluffs Lodge and Bluffs Coffeehouse; pitches in wherever staffing is short, and is currently organizing the Doughton Park interpretation office’s library.

Ridge District Volunteer of the Year: Jim Woodall

Woodall is humble, but appreciative, about being named Volunteer of the Year. He tackles multiple responsibilities which includes helping out at the Humpback Rocks Visitor Center where he often mans the front desk, or guides traffic for special events and even serves as an interpreter at the farm museum. He also spends a day a week as a “Parkway Rover.” He drives a parkway car to several overlooks where he stops and chats with visitors and offers them Parkway literature. He says over a 40-year span, he and his wife camped regularly along the Blue Ridge Parkway. At that time, they lived in Williamsburg, Va., but four years ago they moved to Waynesboro. “When we moved here, I asked them if they could use a volunteer. They said yes and I got started.”

 

Headquarters District Volunteer of the Year: Marian Horne

Marian Horne, a retired librarian who lives in Roanoke, Va., laughs when asked about her Volunteer of the Year award. She serves as the librarian at the Parkway Headquarters in Vinton, Va. “I drive 10 miles each way. It’s such a joy to do. I get to see what’s happening on the Parkway from milepost 220 to 224.” She says while the library is open to the public, it’s most often used by Parkway rangers who pull books, slides, videos and pamphlets for educational programs they are hosting.

 

 

 

 

 

Highlands District Volunteer of the Year: Sara Jane Hall

Volunteers come in all ages – 16-year-old Sara Jane Hall, demonstrating maturity beyond her years, helped plan and carry out both the 2005 and 2006 historical Overmountain Victory special events near Spruce Pine, N.C. And she’s planning more: “Sarah Jane plans to combine her volunteer work on the parkway with a special project for her Girl Scout Gold Award (the highest honor for Girl Scouts),” says Tina White, acting chief of interpretation and highlands district interpretive ranger on the Blue Ridge Parkway. “This project entails recruiting and training other young people to prepare and present special interpretative programs on the Parkway. Sarah Jane is a wonderful young lady and already a dedicated parkway volunteer.”

 

 

2005 Volunteer of the Year

Aubrey Arrington
Trail Maintenance Crew, Fishers Peak Chapter

Aubrey Arrington has lots of experience in this kind of work over the years in different parts of the U.S. In 2005, he was named Volunteer of the Year for the Blue Ridge Parkway, a tribute to the enjoyment and dedication he brings to the job.

Aubrey's view on volunteering is that it "expresses one's interest in community activities and other concerns (social, environmental, etc.,) It connects you in a meaningful way with the project for which you are volunteering and to people with similar interests."

A volunteer with FRIENDS, he moved to the Galax, VA area upon retirement. His love of trail maintenance is fueled by the desire to see others walk the trails and be inspired themselves to protect the natural habitat. He hopes they in turn will "become active in keeping wild places wild, water and air clean, and in moving mankind toward a more sustainable lifestyle."