Community Corner

Three Rivers Park District Honors Maple Grove Volunteer

Terry Spohn of Maple Grove has been awarded the Distinguished Volunteer Service Award for his contributions as an Alpine Ski Patroller.

In recognition of his contributions to Three Rivers Park District, Terry Spohn of Maple Grove, has been awarded the Park District’s Distinguished Volunteer Service Award for his contributions as an Alpine Ski Patroller at Hyland Ski & Snowboard Area and Winter Recreation Area.

"The Distinguished Volunteer Service Award is a way to acknowledge outstanding representatives of our dedicated park volunteers,” says Deb Vosler, volunteer coordinator for the Park District. “In 2011, 784 volunteers donated more than 31,938 hours to programs and services within the park system. We simply would not be able to deliver the number of high-quality programs and services to the public without them.”

Spohn has been volunteering for Three Rivers for more than 11 years. During that time, he has volunteered a total of 731 hours, including 64 hours in 2011. As an Alpine Ski Patroller, Spohn provides emergency first aid care to park guests who sustain injuries while skiing and snowboarding.

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Spohn not only spends his time patrolling the slopes; he also trains new patrollers in safe toboggan handling skills. This training enables patrollers to help get any guests who are injured safely off the slopes so they can receive more intensive assessment and treatment.  Spohn says he enjoys his time volunteering because “the group of patrollers at Hyland are really dedicated and the staff are a great group to work with.”

“Terry was already a highly skilled and respected ski patroller when he began volunteering for us.  He’s won several awards and been recognized for his skill and commitment to ski patrolling. We’re glad to have him working with us,” said Three Rivers Alpine Services Manager Fred Seymour.

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This year, six volunteers were honored with the Distinguished Volunteer Service Award recipients. In addition to Spohn, the  2012 recipients are:

  • Bev Anderson, Bloomington, for her contributions as a Park Patroller at Hyland Lake Park Reserve and as a Natural Resources Monitor.
  • Betty Magnuson, Hopkins, for her contributions as an event volunteer and volunteer Office Assistant at Lowry Nature Center.
  • Sarah Reinke, Minneapolis, for her contributions as a Cultural Heritage Program Interpreter at The Landing-Minnesota River Heritage Park.
  • Jim Rogne, Champlin, for his contributions as a Prairie Seed Collection Project Assistant and Natural Resources Monitor.
  • Kathy Smith, Minneapolis, for her contributions as Project Specialist and Program Interpreter at Richardson Nature Center.

Spohn and the other recipients will be honored by the Park District Board of Commissioners at an award ceremony at 4:30 p.m. Thursday, April 19, at the Administrative Center in Plymouth.

For more information about volunteer opportunities with the Three Rivers Park District, visit www.ThreeRiversParks.org/volunteer or call 763-559-6706.

Information provided by the Three Rivers Park District.


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