V for Vibrant is only the beginning

Darke County Parks thanks its volunteers

V-Vibrant, O- Outgoing, L-Loyal, U- Unstoppable, N- Nutty, T- Terrific, E- Energetic, E- Enthusiastic, R- Reliable, S- Service, this is what the Darke County Parks experienced the last weekend in September during our Prairie Days Festival from our VOLUNTEERS! With nearly 300 volunteers assisting with various tasks all of the stations/activities were able to run smoothly which allowed the public to enjoy numerous pioneer activities such as pottery, candle dipping, visiting the Log House, apple cider, making rag dolls and lots more!

It’s amazing to see how many citizens, of all ages, will come together and assist the Park District to make our festival possible. This year we gained several new volunteers! Several citizens that had a free weekend or family members and friends of current park volunteers came out and helped because they heard how enjoyable and rewarding it was to volunteer for Prairie Days. A Huge thanks goes out to the following volunteers for managing certain areas during the festival: Carolyn Hollinger- General Store, Ray Bradbury-Mad Anthony’s Tavern, Margaret Hensel- Gift Shop/Wandering Musician, Dee & Tom Carrington- Candle Dipping, Phill Hollinger- Pioneer Toys, Ron Gross, Bill Henry & Collin Jennings -Blacksmith Shop. Along with these volunteers, some were involved all weekend (both Saturday and Sunday) and others were able to help with a station or two. Everyone who came out to volunteer did a marvelous job and we couldn’t have done it without you. Again we can’t say THANK YOU enough, but the Park District Commissioner’s and staff greatly appreciates the time you were willing to donate to the District!

Also, the volunteers of the Park District were once again surprised when they arrived to the Volunteer Luncheon during our Prairie Days Festival for their “picnic style lunch”! A special thanks goes to Parks Volunteer, Mindy Dickey, for assisting with picking up food donations and managing the food line while volunteers stopped in for lunch. A Huge thanks goes out to the following businesses for making this possible; John’s IGA, Big Lots, Buehler’s Meat Processing, Hot Head Burrito, The Bistro off Broadway, Arby’s Restaurant, Montage Café, and Brenda’s Beanery. All of your donations were greatly appreciated and enjoyed by a large number of volunteers who assisted during the festival weekend. We truly hope we can continue the partnerships that we have created. Thank you so much for all of your generosity.