Press Release from Five Rivers MetroParks
DAYTON — Five Rivers MetroParks Executive Director Charlie Shoemaker will announce to the Five Rivers MetroParks Board of Commissioners today his decision to retire as of February 28, 2011. The Board meeting is scheduled for 6:00 p.m., Friday, August 13, 2010, at Cox Arboretum MetroPark, 6733 Springboro Pike, Dayton.
“I have spent more than 33 wonderful years with Five Rivers MetroParks,” Shoemaker said in his address to the park system’s management team earlier in the day on Friday, August 13. “I will never truly be able to separate myself from what this agency stands for, or from the people who have made it the outstanding organization that it is today. I have seen tremendous growth over that time and know that the Board, along with MetroParks management, employees and supporters, will continue to honor the role of Five Rivers MetroParks,” Shoemaker said. “I also know that the tradition of community involvement will continue in new and creative ways that maintain and expand loyalty to this extraordinary asset.”
Alan Pippenger, president of the Five Rivers MetroParks Board of Commissioners, said, “Under Charlie Shoemaker’s leadership, MetroParks has accomplished a very significant feat: The park system has created new ways to serve the community while always adhering to its mission of protecting our land, connecting the community with nature and conservation, enhancing quality of life, and increasing awareness of our rivers as recreational assets. Equally important, with Charlie’s leadership, MetroParks has consistently acted as a responsible steward of Montgomery County taxpayers’ dollars.”
Pippenger cited the PNC 2nd Street Market, the enhancement of RiverScape MetroPark, the expansion of bikeways, the agency’s first mountain bike facility, and the re-designed Hills & Dales MetroPark as just the most recent accomplishments of MetroParks under Shoemaker’s leadership.
Pippenger also said the Board will undertake a national search for Shoemaker’s replacement. He said the three-member Board has discussed the process, reviewed prospective search firms, and plans to select a search firm with specific experience in finding and recommending senior leadership for park systems and land conservations organizations.
