Park Authority

Diane Willen’s sunrise photo of Burke Lake Park was named the People’s Choice Winner in the 2019 First Hike Fairfax Photo Contest. More than 1,250 people voted on the 15 finalists in the People’s Choice category. Willen’s photo received 209 votes, earning her 16 percent of the total vote.  

Fairfax County Park Authority also named Brian W. Knight the Judges’ Choice Winner. Judges felt that his photo of fiancée Christy Wahle striking a pose at Scott’s Run Nature Preserve perfectly captured the spirit of the annual First Hike initiative.  

Hundreds of people rang in the new year by taking a hike on Fairfax County Park Authority trails  and nearly 280 of them submitted photos for this year’s contest – more than triple that of last year. This year’s contest was expanded to encourage more park-goers to get outside and explore Fairfax County parks and trails.  Photo eligibility was expanded from five trails to the entire Park Authority trail system and voting was expanded to include more than just Facebook users. Both winners will receive a four-month RECenter pass valued at up to $300. For more info on First Hike Fairfax, visit First Hike.

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The Fairfax County Park Authority (FCPA) and the Friends of Green Spring (FROGS) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on Friday, January 4, 2019, at Green Spring Gardens.

FROGS was established in 1993 with the sole mission of supporting Green Spring Gardens. Over the last 25 years, it has provided more than $2 million in funding for the public garden and historic site in Alexandria, Virginia.

An MOU establishes a framework for a productive working relationship between organizations in order for mutual support to continue and prosper. Friends group MOUs cover issues ranging from services offered to finances to governance and administration.

Pictured are (left to right): FCPA Deputy Director/Chief Operating Officer Sara Baldwin, FROGS President Sarah Munroe, and Green Spring Gardens Site Manager Nicole Conners. Susan Voss, who was not present in the photo, was instrumental in the MOU process for FROGS and the Federation of Friends Groups that support FCPA.

For more information about the Park Authority, visit online at Parks.

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Parks and recreation icon William “Bill” Beckner, who passed away earlier this summer, was remembered fondly and honored on Saturday, November 17, 2018 with a park bench dedicated in his memory at Huntley Meadows Park. Beckner joined the Park Authority in 1977 as the agency’s chief naturalist. Eight years later, he led the agency’s detailed strategic planning process, and in February of 1989, he was named the Park Authority’s director. He served in that post until December 1993, when he left the FCPA to establish his own consulting business.

Friends, family and colleagues joined together for the occasion including (from left to right) Harry Glasgow, former Park Authority Board member; Paul Baldino, former Park Authority Director; Lynn Tadlock, former FCPA Planning Division Director; Jean Van Devanter White, former Director, Park Foundation; Connie Weyant, former assistant to Bill Beckner; Jack Weyant, Director, Fairfax County Code Compliance; Nancy Magill, Bill Beckner’s life partner; Susan Allen, former member FCPA Conservation Division; Tim White, former Acting Director, FCPA; Annemarie and Rob Gremminger; Mona Enquist Johnston, former FCPA employee and volunteer; Kirk Kincannon, Executive Director, FCPA; Cindy Messinger, former Director, FCPA; Carolyn Gamble, former Huntley Meadows Park employee and volunteer, Nancy Vehrs, Prince William Native Plant Society.

A post detailing Beckner’s contributions to the field of recreation and parks can be found at our blog.

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Members of the community and local officials gathered this past Saturday to celebrate the Fairfax County Park Authority’s official opening and ribbon cutting at Backlick Park located at 4516 Backlick Road in Annandale, VA. Renovations at the park included installation of a new shelter and picnic tables, new playground areas, a new fitness area, renovation of the tennis courts, new tennis court lighting and the repaving of the trails and parking lot. This $1 million project was funded through voter-approved Park Bonds.

Pictured from left to right are members of the community and Park Operations staff members plus community activist Binod Gupta; Penny Gross, Mason District Rep, Fairfax County Board of Supervisors; Dave Bowden, Director of Park Planning and Development, Park Authority; Ron Kendall, Mason District Rep, Park Authority Board; Kirk Kincannon, Executive Director, Park Authority; Pat Rosend, Project Manager, Park Authority; Steve Rugen, community activist; and Julie Tahan, Community Support Specialist, Park Authority.

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On Thursday, November 1, 2018, Fairfax County’s second Resident Curator was officially approved and appropriate leases signed at Turner Farm Park. Members of the Great Falls community turned out for the lease signing ceremony. Sarah Kirk will serve as the Resident Curator of historic Turner Farmhouse in Great Falls, Virginia.

The Resident Curator Program allows for a curator to live in a historic Fairfax County property rent-free in exchange for rehabilitating the house and allowing public access. As required by the state legislation, lease agreements are required between the Park Board and Board of Supervisors, as well as the potential curator. Those approvals set in motion the right to rehabilitate the properties.

Ms. Kirk (acting as principle for the Turner Farmhouse Foundation) will rehabilitate the property. It will serve as a residence for the Kirk family, with its equine farm on the leased property. The lease will also repair the property’s milk house, restore and preserve its historic corn crib, and renovate an existing garage to serve as a retreat center.

Pictured signing the lease are Fairfax County Park Authority Executive Director Kirk Kincannaon and Resident Curator Sara Kirk. They are joined by (left to right): Reverend Jerry Pokorsky, St. Catherine of Sienna Catholic Church in Great Falls, Va.; Reverend Hank Langknecht of Christ the King Lutheran Church in Great Falls, Va.; Bill Canis, President, Great Falls Citizens Association; Tim Hackman, Dranesville Rep, Park Authority Board; John Foust, Dranesville Rep, Fairfax County Board of Supervisors; Stephanie Langton, Resident Curator Program Manager, Fairfax County Park Authority; David Buchta, Heritage Conservation Branch Manager, Fairfax County Park Authority; Jo Turner, former resident; and Michelle Meadows, Sr. Right of Way Agent, Fairfax County Park Authority.

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It’s now official; the Fairfax County Park Authority and the Friends of Pimmit Barn are working together to preserve this community landmark and allow neighbors to enjoy activities at the site. On October 9, 2018, representatives from the Friends group and Park Authority leadership came together to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that clarifies responsibilities and opportunities and lays the groundwork for continued collaboration. Plans are already underway for a host of community activities.

Pimmit Barn, located at 1845 Cherri Drive in Falls Church, VA, is a reminder of the agricultural roots in Fairfax County. The structure once served as a dairy barn on the Smith family farm. The building, constructed in 1937, is more than 75 years old. Eventually the farm was sold for development and the barn was used to house a community well. In 1997, the property was transferred to the Fairfax County Park Authority from the Fairfax County Water Authority. The Park Authority leased it to McLean Youth Athletics for storage of sports equipment. However, in 2011, the Park Authority proposed divesting this property. The Park Board and Dranesville District Supervisor John Foust agreed that the barn is worth preserving.

Today, Pimmit Barn continues to serve as a gathering spot, a community space, a reminder of our farming history and another green pocket of the Pimmit Hills neighborhood. The Friends of Pimmit Barn have organized outdoor movie nights, barn cleanup days, and fall festivals. Last year’s fall festival brought more than 300 neighbors and local businesses together to enjoy pumpkin painting, a costume contest, cake walk, story time and more.

An official MOU was signed on October 9, 2018 between the Park Authority and the Friends of Pimmit Barn. Pictured left to right are Russell Arrington, Area Manager, Fairfax County Park Authority; Connie Cordovilla, President of the Friends of Pimmit Barn; Kirk Kincannon, Executive Director, Fairfax County Park Authority; and Julie Tahan, Community Support Specialist, Fairfax County Park Authority.

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Park lovers from infants to octogenarians participated in this year’s Fairfax County Park Authority Discovery Trail Map summer activity, and four lucky visitors whose names were selected in a trail-ending drawing will soon receive a new bicycle and safety helmet donated by Spokes, Etc. and Trek through the Fairfax County Park Foundation.  The winning entries were selected by Fairfax County Park Authority Executive Director Kirk Kincannon and Park Foundation Board Chair John Osborne. The winners are Mati Lamb, 2, of Burke; Hyorin Choi, 9, of Vienna; Paula Reyes, 17, of Falls Church and the adult winner, Sharlene Ash of Alexandria.  The winners were among more than 1,300 people who qualified for the drawing by visiting eight of the twelve featured sites on this year’s Discovery Trail Map.  The winners will be presented their grand prizes at the Spokes, Etc. Fairfax location later this month.

This year’s animal-themed Discovery Trail Map led to more than 20,000 park visits, a 38 percent increase in the number of park visits stemming from the 2017 map. Though only four bicycle grand prizes were awarded, all participants who visited at least eight featured park sites received a prize packet valued at $93, which included tickets to park amusements such as camping, mini-golf and boat, train and carousel rides. 

(From left to right) Park Authority Director Kirk Kincannon and Park Foundation Board Chair John Osborn take turns selecting winning entries in the 2018 Discovery Trail Map bicycle drawing while Foundation Executive Director Roberta Longworth assists. The drawing took place on September 18, 2018.

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On Saturday, September 29, 2018, the Fairfax County Park Authority celebrated the opening of the Griffith Park playground in Falls Church, Virginia.

Funded via voter-approved 2016 park bonds, the $80,000 project replaced outdated equipment with new play elements, interactive panels and swings for children ages 2 to 12. Safety surfacing and playground borders were also replaced and a new drainage system and fence installed. The project was part of a larger effort by the Park Authority to identify and replace playground equipment throughout Fairfax County that has exceeded its useful life.

Pictured left to right are Isabel Villarroel, Project Manager, Park Authority; Tim Hackman, Dranesville Rep, Park Authority Board; Finn Niemira, age 11; Ian Niemira, age 12; Delegate Marcus Simon, Virginia House of Delegates; John Foust, Dranesville Rep, Fairfax County Board of Supervisors; Dave Bowden, Director of Park Planning and Development, Fairfax County Park Authority; and Bob Heilen, Vice President, Pimmit Hills Citizens Association.

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On Saturday, September 29, 2018, Hidden Oaks Nature Center marked the 10th anniversary of Nature Playce and the park’s limited impact development (LID) parking lot with a free, three-hour celebration.  Nature Playce is a one-third acre, unstructured, woodland play area near the Hidden Oaks Nature Center. The nature center’s LID parking lot was redeveloped a decade ago to make it environmentally effective. Instead of creating runoff, the lot guides rain water through pavers and pipes and into a bio-mesh filtered rain garden where potential pollutants are siphoned.

The celebration honored community groups, including Fairfax Master Naturalists, Kiwanis Club, Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts of America Eagle Scouts. The boy scouts have contributed to the building and enhancement of Nature Playce for the past 10 years. The Fairfax Master Naturalists were recognized for their adoption of a native plant garden at Hidden Oaks Nature Center in Annandale Community Park as well as their many other contributions to Fairfax County Park Authority, its residents and visitors.

Pictured (left to right) are Kevin Holland, Fairfax Master Naturalist and Hidden Oaks Nature Center (HONC) volunteer; Marilyn Schroeder, Fairfax Master Naturalist, HONC volunteer and 2018 Elly Doyle Park Service Award Recipient; Michael McDonnell, HONC Manager, Fairfax County Park Authority; Penny Gross, Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, Mason District Representative; and Mimi Friedman, Fairfax Master Naturalist. 

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On Saturday, September 15, 2018, the Fairfax County Park Authority cut the ribbon on the newly renovated Valis Family Golf Learning Center at Pinecrest Golf Course in Annandale, Va. The expanded facility was named in recognition of Wayne and Angela Valis’ generous donation of a new TrackMan 4 Golf Simulator. The center offers year-round practice and play opportunities.

Pictured in the photo, from left to right: Penny Gross, Mason District Rep, Fairfax County Board of Supervisors; Wayne and Angela Valis along with members of the Valis family; Steve Thormahlen, Board of Director, Fairfax County Park Foundation; Sara Baldwin, Deputy Director, Fairfax County Park Authority; Dave Bowden, Planning & Development Director, Fairfax County Park Authority; Bobbi Longworth, Executive Director, Fairfax County Park Foundation; Todd Johnson, Golf Enterprises Manager, Fairfax County Park Authority; Sarah Oberther, Pinecrest Golf Course Manager, Fairfax County Park Authority; and others golf enthusiasts.

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