- April 20, 2024
-
-
Loading
Loading
Two of the city's Leisure Services programs recently won awards from the Florida Festival and Events Association, and the faces behind the program will be honored at the annual conference in Naples in late August.
Siobhan Daly, cultural center coordinator at The Casements, will be recognized for her role in the Enviro Camp program with an Education Program award. Annie Evert, Environmental Discovery Center coordinator, will accept a Green Program award for the city's community garden program.
Both women said it was an honor to be recognized.
“We’re kind of doing what we love to do and working with the children is just fun," Daly said.
Evert added that the awards wouldn't have been possibly without outside support. In her case, she emphasized the help she receives from the master gardeners, garden monitors and the residents who partake in the program.
"We really all work together to make sure the program runs smoothly," Evert said.
This is the first year that Evert and Daly have been included in the FFEA, and Daly said they were excited about joining. Enviro Camp is a brainchild of hers, as she was part of the program's creation back in 2006 when it started at The Casements.
The program has grown since then, and has been moved to the Environmental Discovery Center. It nows offers fishing programs, archery and benefits from the over 50 partnerships the center has. This year, the camp's registration was fully booked within an hour and a half on the first day.
“We can look back and say ‘I did that,’" Daly said. "There’s a lot of different things I’ve done at The Casements that I know that I had a part in that, and that’s what’s kind of unique about it.”
Evert has also been able to witness the effect of the two community gardens in Ormond Beach. This year, the Garden to Give initiative was introduced, and the gardeners donated green beans to the Jerry Doliner Food Bank. Executive Director Gloria Max sent them a letter to thank them for their donation, especially because the food bank doesn't get much fresh produce.
“And that’s really when it hit home to me what a huge impact we make in the community with the community gardens," Evert said.
