John Henry Beck Park

Well, 29 August came and went. We had a huge day, but no one wrote about it. I'm rectifying the situation with this post here.

Since early April, we've had two volunteers working on John Henry Beck Park in East Biloxi. They had a vision for a green space that the whole community could enjoy. From their initial interest in building a park, a plan developed in fits and spurts. By the time 29 August 2006 rolled around, Niko Poore and John Harlow waded through beauracracy heaped upon beauracracy, delays, lack of equipment, hot weather, and long days.

Despite the frustrations, on August 29th, it all came together. In honor of the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, the City of Biloxi, Hands On Gulf Coast, and KaBOOM all worked together to reopen the park. KaBOOM built a playground while lots of Hands On folks and community members layed sod to turn the brown park into a green oasis.

In recognition for their efforts, John and Niko received the President's Volunteer Service Award. For me, seeing the look of total surprise on their faces when they received their award put the icing on the cake. They deserve every bit of recognition they received and more. I'm proud of what John and Niko did for the park.

:: Chris ::