Congratulations to our friend and former Partner, John A. Wannemacher, president of the Miami County Park District Board of Commissioners, for being selected the Ohio Parks and Recreation Association (OPRA) 2012 Citizen of the Year. Each year OPRA recognizes an outstanding citizen, volunteer or board member who has enhanced parks and recreation in their community and/or Ohio.
John has been a park commissioner since January, 1973 and board president since 1975. Under his 37-year leadership, the Park District has grown from 5 acres of donated land to 15 parks with over 2,100 acres of land. His dedication and enthusiasm for the Park District mission has inspired the staff to create and maintain pristine parks and innovative, award winning events and programs.
John is an advocate of preservation, conservation and environmental education. He has helped to build a generation of future land stewards by encouraging and supporting the Park District’s award winning, environmental education programs. The curriculum-based programs meet state science requirements and are in every school in Miami County. His commitment to school education programs is very strong. When schools began cutting field trips due to the cost of bussing, he supported the Park District providing grants so that children wouldn’t miss out on valuable learning experiences.
Through his work at the Park District, John’s vision and leadership has added to the exceptional quality of life in Miami County. On behalf of the Park District and the community, we would like to thank John for his continued service and congratulate him on being selected Citizen of the Year.