Senate Bill sb2144
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Florida Senate - 2006 (NP) SR 2144
By Senator Dockery
15-1262-06
1 Senate Resolution
2 A resolution commending the Division of
3 Recreation and Parks within the Department of
4 Environmental Protection on the excellence of
5 its management of Florida's magnificent state
6 park system and declaring a year-long
7 celebration of Florida State Parks.
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9 WHEREAS, the Division of Recreation and Parks manages
10 an expansive and diverse state park system spanning 720,000
11 acres and 159 park properties, and has again received national
12 recognition for its partnerships, resource management,
13 recreation programs, and innovative marketing initiatives
14 promoting ecotourism, and
15 WHEREAS, Florida's park rangers, managers, and support
16 staff have dedicated their lives to "the Real Florida" as
17 great interpreters and stewards of the state's most treasured
18 natural and cultural resources, and
19 WHEREAS, Florida's countless public and private
20 partners have helped to provide expanded resource-based
21 recreational opportunities for more than 17 million annual
22 visitors to Florida's state parks, and
23 WHEREAS, the Friends of Florida State Parks and 78
24 Citizen Support Organizations assisted the Florida Park
25 Service last year and more than 6,000 volunteers donated a
26 record-breaking 1 million hours of service, the equivalent of
27 505 full-time employees, having a value of more than $18
28 million, and
29 WHEREAS, the division's program known as "Get REAL in
30 Florida State Parks" uses parks as classrooms and provides
31 programs for school-aged children, seniors, other residents,
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Florida Senate - 2006 (NP) SR 2144
15-1262-06
1 and visitors to boost interest and participation in cultural,
2 historical, and resource-based recreation, and
3 WHEREAS, in addition to preserving 720,000 acres of
4 Florida's finest, most pristine natural areas for enjoyment by
5 this and future generations, the Division of Recreation and
6 Parks has an annual direct economic impact of $665 million and
7 has created more than 13,000 jobs for Florida's communities,
8 and
9 WHEREAS, the Division of Recreation and Parks was
10 awarded the prestigious 2005 National Gold Medal Award for
11 excellence in the field of park and recreation management and
12 Florida was recognized as having the best state park system in
13 all 50 states at the recent meeting of the National Recreation
14 and Park Association Annual Congress in San Antonio, Texas,
15 and
16 WHEREAS, the Division of Recreation and Parks is the
17 first state park system in the nation to receive this award
18 twice, and has been named a finalist or winner in each year of
19 eligibility, NOW, THEREFORE,
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21 Be It Resolved by the Senate of the State of Florida:
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23 That the Senate proclaims that the entire year of 2006
24 be celebrated statewide in honor of Florida State Parks and
25 authorizes the Department of Environmental Protection to
26 celebrate and publicize the great accomplishments of the
27 Division of Recreation and Parks.
28 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this resolution,
29 with the Seal of the Senate affixed, be presented to Colleen
30 M. Castille, Secretary of Environmental Protection; Bob
31 Ballard, Deputy Secretary of Environmental Protection; and
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Florida Senate - 2006 (NP) SR 2144
15-1262-06
1 Mike Bullock, Director of the Division of Recreation and
2 Parks, as a tangible token of the sentiments of the Florida
3 Senate.
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