HomeMy WebLinkAbout(0089) Marty Leonard Boardwalk Naming Request 2021.pdfFRIENDS OF THE. PORT WORTH
NATURE CENTER
& REFUGE
President
February 3, 2021
Pete McKone
President -Elect
Richard Zavala
Linda Christie
Director
City of Fort Worth Park & Recreation Department
Past -President
4200 S. Freeway, Ste. 2200
Lynda Gearheart
Fort Worth, Texas 76115
Treasurer
William O. Rodgers
Dear Richard,
Secretary
Dr. Ellen Browning
On behalf of the Friends of the Fort Worth Nature Center & Refuge Board of Directors, I
am writing to request that the Lotus Marsh Boardwalk at the Fort Worth Nature Center &
Board Emeritus
Refuge be renamed for Marty Leonard, who has dedicated a substantial portion of her
Marty Leonard
time and energy over the years to conserving nature and the environment, both within
Directors
Fort Worth and beyond.
George Bristol
Christie Eckler
Marty is a passionate advocate of water conservation. She successfully ran for the Tarrant
Greg Fitzgerald
Michael Fouraker
Regional Water District (TRWD) Board of Directors in 2006 and was recently re-elected to
Joanna Gant
her fourth four-year term. She also serves on the board's Environmental Committee and
Joe Gearheart
represents TRWD on the City of Fort Worth's Water Conservation Advisory Committee.
Cassie King
Marty's efforts have helped the district's annual conservation budget grow significantly.
Kristy Odom
Bob O'Kennon
Vernon Rew
For more than two decades, Marty has also been a loyal, impassioned supporter of the
Mary Margaret Richter
Fort Worth Nature Center & Refuge. In 2004, she founded the Fort Worth Nature Center
Lydia Saldana
& Refuge Conservancy to advocate for improvements outlined in the Nature Center's
Robin Sanders
2003 Strategic Master Plan. She served as president of the Conservancy until 2011. At that
Chris Smith
Laura Wood
time, the group merged with the Friends of the Fort Worth Nature Center & Refuge, Inc.
She became president-elect of the newly merged organization and was elected president
Executive Director
in 2013.
Haily Summerford, MBA
Marty's generous support of conservation efforts has extended to the Great Plains
Restoration Council as well in its efforts to conserve 1,000+ contiguous acres of native
prairie in southwest Tarrant County.
Marty's service on both boards has dramatically raised the profile of the Nature Center
within the community, and funding for major improvements has been secured through
her efforts, including the establishment of trail amenities for a Texas Parks and Wildlife
Department paddling trail, installation of interpretive and directional signage, donation of
a mini -bus for outreach programming, and major reconstruction of infrastructure at the
P.O. Box 471486 1 Fort Worth, Texas 76147 1 naturecenterfriends.org
The Friends of the Fort Worth Nature Center & Refuge, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) organization. Accordingly, contributions
may be tax deductible as permitted by law. Please consult your tax advisor regarding any questions.
Page 12
Nature Center's Lotus Marsh Boardwalk and Cross Timbers Trail. Most recently, Marty's
generosity and advocacy helped lead to improvements at Greer Island Trail through a
$200,000 Texas Parks and Wildlife Department Recreation grant and construction of the
new Lotus Marsh Pavilion located adjacent to the Boardwalk.
Based on Marty's generosity, advocacy, and service, we strongly believe she deserves this
honor, and we hope you will agree. If at all possible, we would appreciate receiving
notification by April 15, 2021, so we can announce it at our April 29 Fort Worth Wild
event honoring Marty.
Please contact me if you have any questions or need additional information on Marty's
many accolades.
Sincerely,
George Bristol
Chair, Development Committee/Board Member
Friends of the Fort Worth Nature Center & Refuge Board of Directors