Virginia State Parks could not do all we do without our volunteers, and we want to honor them and recognize their hard work. In 2024, more than 8,000 volunteers donated a total of 221,132 hours of time. That is a valuable gift not taken for granted. The time shared with Virginia State Parks makes a difference in our ability to care for our resources as well as our ability to share environmental education with future generations. There are a few volunteer groups and individuals that stand out and it is our honor to introduce the 2024 Volunteer of the Year Awards.

Volunteer stats from 2024

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Friends Group of the Year: Friends of Caledon State Park

Friends of Caledon State Park

Friends of Caledon has provided funding for interpretation and environmental education at Caledon for the past 24 years. They have recently allocated $6,000 to improve the park's interpretive displays in the visitor center. They offer up to $500 in assistance for youth service projects, like Eagle Scout projects, done at the park. They fundraise by managing the annual Art and Wine Festival, which is one of the county's best-attended events and brings people to the park and surrounding businesses while providing local vendors, artisans and non-profit groups a chance to bring in business.

The group also sponsors a 4-race series at the park, held a Bark in the Park event to promote being a responsible pet owner within the park setting, and hosts a trail maintenance fundraiser each year. The group has recently been actively working to get a volunteer trail maintenance group started at the park and has already assisted in three trail maintenance projects. Despite losing key members over the years, the group has managed to stay active by consistently seeking new members, mentoring and providing support to new members and encouraging new ideas. Friends of Caledon members are great ambassadors for the park and park system, advocating for the park's needs.

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Group of the Year: CHAOS (Chapel Hill Astronomical Observation Society)

Chapel Hill Astronomical Observation Society

Staunton River State Park has been the beneficiary of world-class volunteerism for more than 13 years due to the efforts and resources of the CHAOS group. Members of the group spend hundreds of hours every year interacting with the public and guests of Staunton River State Park and introducing them to one of the park's most valuable resources, the dark skies.

Along with volunteering their time for astronomy programs, the group donates their financial resources as well. If the park needs an appliance, a maintenance fix, a facility improvement or anything that helps the park, they are always willing to purchase the needed resources. Volunteer astronomers assist twice a year during the Staunton River Star Party Public Night. They allow the public to use their telescopes to observe and interact with hundreds of people each year. A few of the astronomers also host astronomy events during the summer months. They host at least one advertised program a month. They also come out to the park on clear nights when no programs are scheduled to see if there are any stargazers in the park.

We receive dozens of positive remarks about the volunteers from this group throughout the year. This group was able to put Staunton River State Park on the map in a BIG way. Due to their efforts, Staunton River became the very first Certified International Dark Sky State Park. CHAOS doesn't do what they do for awards and recognition. They do it because they love what they do, they love the resource, and they are truly some of the most good-hearted and hard-working volunteers you will ever meet.

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Camp Host (or Host Couple) of the Year: Cathy and David Dieter

Volunteers Cathy and David Dieter

Camp Host volunteers are not your average volunteers. These volunteers move into the park for a month or more to serve by helping in the campgrounds and throughout the park. Cathy and David Dieter serve at Twin Lakes State Park. The typical duties as Twin Lakes park hosts in September included assisting with office tasks, performing light maintenance and repairs, small construction projects and contributing to various volunteer initiatives.

The Dieters went above and beyond by creating volunteer projects for National Public Lands Day in September. They handcrafted the itinerary for the day, gathered the materials needed for the projects and marketed the event as well.  On the day of the event, the Dieters grilled hot dogs for the volunteers to eat for lunch. Their meticulous planning and organization for National Public Lands Day not only enhanced the experience for volunteers but also set a new standard for future events. The manuals continue to serve as valuable resources for future volunteer events, ensuring smoother coordination and consistency in future volunteer efforts.

They took this on even while conducting other duties, like clearing tree limbs throughout the park, re-blazing each trail, conducting trail maintenance and assisting the camp host with campground cleaning. Their efforts had a significant and lasting impact on the park, its visitors, volunteers and the surrounding community.

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Youth Volunteer of the Year: Shelby Schuchhardt

Volunteer Shelby Schurchhardt

Shelby Schuchhardt assisted with nearly every children's program offered at Southwest Virginia Museum Historical State Park over the last year. She assists weekly with the WiseJAMS Music Program, which is held in the fall and spring semesters for elementary and middle school-aged students. It can be challenging to keep up with a large group of children with limited staff availability to help. Shelby assists with keeping up with the students, distributing snacks, and doing whatever is asked of her. Shelby does a wonderful job helping make sure that everyone is safe and sound and having a great time. This helps make the program a success and ensures parents that their child will be well looked after during their time at the Museum.

Shelby also helped with the Junior Ranger and music camps offered during the summer months. At the Gathering in the Gap Music Festival, Shelby managed to get her father, brother and a friend to volunteer as well. Her passion and eagerness to help is contagious! She can always be counted on to show up when she has volunteered, and not only will Shelby show up, but she'll arrive a little early with a smile on her face. She's eager to help, learn new things and be involved.

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Individual Volunteer Award for Exceptional Service: Gee Brownley

Volunteer Gee Brownley

Although she focuses most of her volunteer time confirming birds at the park and assisting with the park bird list, Galoris Brownley (better known as Gee) has also helped in most park areas. She has helped with small and large projects and consistently looks for opportunities to assist the park. Gee has helped with trail building, invasive species removal, log splitting, gardening, mulching, planting of flowers, trees and shrubs, bird counts and verification, and public programs/field trips. She was a member of the Friends of Machicomoco group for a year. She also spends much of her time gardening and maintaining the garden beds around the park, especially the Interpretive Area.

Josh Mazzatenta believes Gee's greatest impact with her volunteer work has been with the maintained garden beds around the park. Gee loves to garden and has shared ways for the staff to maintain specific species, such as little bluestem, more easily. She believes this work to be her most important and has even enjoyed speaking with visitors as she volunteers, teaching them about gardening and the different species found in the beds. She advocates for the park and has convinced others to sign up as volunteers. She leads by example and always positively represents the park and volunteers. She proudly wears her volunteer polo as much as the weather permits when gardening and volunteering. Visitors see Gee working with the maintenance team a lot, and she always tells them and the park staff how much she enjoys working with the team. Gee brings a lifetime of experience and perspectives that broaden knowledge and skills at the park.

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Individual Award for Interpretive Programming: Joseph Fioramonti

Volunteer Joseph (Joe) Fioramonti

Joseph (Joe) Fioramonti leads guided tours of the Sky Meadows State Park historic Mount Bleak House, hearth-cooking demonstrations in the log cabin and point-duty for Explorer Outposts. In addition to volunteering for ongoing programs, Joe has created new programs such as a Historic Mills Explorer Outpost and a special House Tour centered around the enslaved community. Joe is constantly researching Mount Bleak and Fauquier County's history to share it with the public better.

He has jumped in to assist with hearth cooking demonstrations to keep the Settle's Kettle program alive after a volunteer who previously led the program stepped down. Joe's continued service to the park has had an immense impact on the park's cultural and historical resources and interpretive programs. Through the knowledge he has gained and the research he has conducted on his own initiative, he has made a valuable contribution to expanding the information the park is able to share with guests, especially on sensitive topics such as Mount Bleak's enslaved community.

The programs Joe leads take place in a central area of the park and always attract high numbers of visitors. Because Joe's programs are central to the history and mission of Sky Meadows, they are attended by many new volunteers and staff who wish to learn about the park and be inspired by seeing an experienced presenter in action.

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Individual Award for Significant Achievement: Matt Hawk

Volunteer Matt Hawk holding his award

Matt Hawk became a member of the Friends of Occoneechee State Park group very early in their conception. Matt conducts committee meetings, designs projects, assists with interpretive events and programs, works with maintenance on facility upkeep, trail maintenance and invasive species removal, and has led many special projects throughout the park. 

Just this year, Matt developed the concession firewood sales program for Occoneechee, managed by the Friends of Occoneechee State Park. He assisted Friends members with completing projects, such as fishing line collection tubes, sign design, project implementation, community outreach and Music in the Park events. Matt's passion for this park has poured out amongst the group members, and his leadership and direction have inspired many of those volunteers to remain active in the incredible improvements being made to this park. He embraces the saying, "Lead by example."

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Lifetime Achievement Award: Gloria LaBoone

Volunteer Gloria LaBoone receiving her Lifetime Achievement Award

Over the last 28 years and nearly 2,000 hours of service, Gloria LaBoone has certainly made an impact at Chippokes State Park. She provided tours of the Jones-Stewart Mansion every first and third Monday (from April through October) for 27 years.

Gloria's love of history drew her to Chippokes to give mansion tours. Her tours are engaging as she shares the park's history professionally yet graciously. Her knowledge of the people from the past, the property, the house and even the furniture is exceptional. Gloria tailors her tours to fit each group according to their ages and interests. Her enjoyment of meeting people is inspirational, and guests immediately feel welcomed and at ease. She has even inspired some to become mansion tour guides themselves. Gloria is an exceptional ambassador for the park.

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Interested in volunteering? See our Volunteer page to learn more.