Published March 3, 2023
Five Rivers MetroParks earns awards for law enforcement, leadership and Hills & Dales MetroPark
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Five Rivers MetroParks earned two awards at the Ohio Parks and Recreation Association’s annual conference. The Annual Awards of Excellence honor parks and recreation districts across the state, with 24 different park and recreation agencies receiving an award this year.
MetroParks’ Rangers took home the first place in the Law Enforcement Programs and Events category for their Explorer to Ranger Progression program. The ranger division of MetroParks provides 24-hour law enforcement to MetroParks visitors and staff at more than 30 locations covering more than 16,000 acres. Currently, 31 rangers work together to protect the region’s natural heritage and provide outdoor experiences that inspire a connection to nature.
To foster an appreciation among local youth and engage in community police programming, MetroParks rangers began its Explorer program in 2015. “The core goals of this program are to inspire the next generation of rangers, support promising and committed candidates through their formal law enforcement training and – if possible –hire them as a Five Rivers MetroParks ranger,” said Chief of Public Safety Mark Hess.
In summer 2022, one of MetroParks rangers’ first Explorers, Victoria (Tori) Suhr, graduated from Sinclair College’s Police Academy – her tuition funded by Five Rivers MetroParks – and was sworn in as a MetroParks ranger in July.
Five Rivers MetroParks Chief Executive Officer Rebecca Benná was presented the Harvey Woods Lifetime Achievement award, which recognizes leaders who have excelled not only in their day-to-day responsibilities over the course of at least a 30-year career, but who have also worked to mentor young professionals and have served in leadership roles at the state and national level. Benná, who began her career in parks and conservation with the City of Kettering in 1983, has served 40 years in the industry, and has been the Chief Executive Officer of MetroParks since 2012. Benná announced her retirement in late 2022 and is slated to retire this spring.
“During Becky’s tenure we were exposed to her vision and foresight,” said Board of Park Commissioners President Karen Davis. “As she adjusted our sails, we systematically became an even more impressive organization than when she started. We are grateful to now have her as part of Five Rivers MetroParks heritage.”
Benná served as President of the Ohio Parks and Recreation Association from 2002 to 2004 and as the State Conference Co-Chairperson twice. Additionally, she served in many roles with the National Recreation and Parks Association’s (NRPA) Board of Directors, Chairperson of the National Professional Certification Board, and the Board of Regents for the NRPA’s Revenue Development and Management School, among others.
Lastly, Hills & Dales MetroPark received the Historic American Landscape Survey’s National Association for Olmsted Parks Certificate for Work of the Olmsted Firm in Ohio. The award – given annually since 2010 – celebrates landscape architecture preservation throughout the country.
“It’s exciting to be recognized for our work,” said Cultural and Historical Resources Manager Bernadette Whitworth. Whitworth and the team from MetroParks gathered more than 100 years of documentation regarding Hills & Dales and was their first time applying for a Historic American Landscape Survey award.
Like many MetroParks locations, the park had a history of its own before becoming part of the Five Rivers MetroParks system. Hills & Dales began as a park founded by NCR President John H. Patterson, who hired John Charles Olmsted and Frederick Law Olmsted Jr., the sons of world-famous landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted. The relationship began in 1894 and continued until the park opened in 1907. In 1999, it became a Five Rivers MetroPark location.
