2013 Empoyee Achievement Awards

This week we held our annual 'All-Staff Meeting.' This meeting is one of the few times that all the full time employees, and some of the part time employees, get together to review the business of the Park Authority. We have presentations from each department on the major accomplishments of the last year and hear about some of the big goals for the coming year.

The highlight of this gathering is always the Employee Achievement Awards. Employees nominate co-workers in a number of categories and in the nomination tell the story of what they did to merit the award. A cross functional team of employees is pulled together each year to review the nominations and make the selections. Each year these awards help highlight some of the many great accomplishments that help drive the Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority forward. Below are the results from this year.

(In most photos from left to right: Brian Knapp, NVRPA Chairman, Stella Koch, NVRPA Vice Chairman, Award Recipient, Paul Gilbert, NVRPA Executive Director)

Service Award for 25 years with NVRPA:

Ed Ambrosone

Ed Ambrosone has been an amazing asset, and team player for the Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority for 25 years. His great skills have benefited all of the parks in the system through his work with Central Maintenance.


Employee Achievment Awards:

(Mark was not present to accept his award)
Mark Whaley has achieved recognition in the area of Above-and-Beyond. Faced with many challenges over the past year, including the loss of several key employees, extensive damage to the park as a result of the derecho and a fire that claimed the park’s maintenance facility, Mark continued to provide superior leadership to staff and dedication to NVRPA. Mark’s great efforts meant the visiting public would always find the park as they expected, well maintained and managed.

Dennis Rust

Dennis Rust has achieved recognition in the area of Team Player.  Dennis continues to be a vital part of NVRPA’s overall success.  Dennis is often asked to balance the everyday needs of the NVRPA system with the complex and challenging maintenance issues that come about, and he does this in a timely and detailed manner with exceptional results.  This keeps the NVRPA facilities available and safe for the public to enjoy

Ben Bilko

  Ben Bilko has achieved recognition in the areas of Above-and-Beyond and Team Player. In the absence of a full-time Park Manager at Upton Hill, Ben stepped in to provide support to the Upton staff while continuing to manage the busy operations of Cameron Run. This role required Ben to spend significant time at Upton or in consultation with staff to assist with the park and waterpark operations. The result of Ben’s hard work was a safe and successful year at both Cameron Run and Upton Hill.

Clint Bennett

  Clint Bennett has achieved recognition in the areas of Above-and-Beyond and Versatility. Clint has taken an active interest in planning, designing and improving many aspects of the garden, in addition to his normal duties. Clint consistently displays a willingness to take on special projects, including the redesign and execution of the rock garden project. These qualities and skills make Clint a valuable asset to Meadowlark Botanical Gardens.

Dale Hook

  Dale Hook has achieved recognition in the areas of Above-and-Beyond and Team Player.  In addition to Dale’s normal duties handling the front desk, she is always quick to take on new projects with great results.  These projects have included coordinating reservations and customer payments for numerous special events and managing promotional sales of seasonal offerings and passes.  This has resulted in a great “easy to use” system for our customers and an increase in our overall revenue.

Seth Fleming

  Seth Fleming has achieved recognition in the area of Above-and-Beyond. Recognizing the need for a garden as exceptional as the Bell Pavilion itself, Seth took the lead on the design and implementation of the planting and landscape plans for the Korean Bell Garden project. Seth researched and obtained the proper plants, shrubs and trees to help create a well landscaped garden that was ready in time for the Grand Opening.

Laurelyn Rawson

Laurelyn Rawson has achieved recognition in the area of Safety. Laurelyn has successfully cultivated a “safety first” approach at the Bull Run Shooting Center. Laurelyn was instrumental in assessing the existing safety rules of the range and worked hard to improve their wording and presentation throughout the range. Laurelyn also created a program that provides certification training for all range safety officers, improving the overall safety of the facility.

Kelly Koster

Kelly Koster has achieved recognition is the area of Above-and-Beyond. Kelly assumed the day-to-day management of Upton Hill Regional Park in the absence of a full-time Park Manager. This responsibility extended throughout the entire waterpark season and included such things as the derecho and participation in the World’s Largest Swim Lesson. Kelly handled these responsibilities with superior leadership and a “can do” attitude.

Brent Hodnett

Brent Hodnett has achieved recognition in the areas of Above-and-Beyond and Versatility. Brent has held the positions of Roving Park Naturalist and Park Specialist over the last year. Brent has taken on each of these very different roles with passion and a willingness to learn. Brent is constantly looking for ways to make himself and in turn NVRPA better. Brent’s enthusiastic approach and readiness to take on new challenges is a valuable asset to NVRPA.

Chris Liebermann

Chris Liebermann has achieved recognition in the areas of Above-and-Beyond and Versatility. Chris was an instrumental part in the overall success of the new Winter Walk of Lights event. Chris’ planning, implementation and management of several key aspects of the show were extraordinary. Chris’ leadership and ability to take on such a large and important piece of the show led to the flawless delivery of this first-year event.

Casey Pittrizzi

Casey Pittrizzi has achieved recognition in the areas of Above-and-Beyond and Programming. Casey filled in admirably after the retirement of the full-time park manager, which required him to oversee all aspects of the park’s management for several months. From a programming perspective, Casey continues to provide public programs that challenge the norm. These programs are well received for their exceptional content and approach to learning.

Tammy Burke

Tammy Burke has achieved recognition in the area of Above-and-Beyond. Tammy’s management of the Atrium gardens, both inside and out, provides the visitor with a fresh and ever changing visual experience. Tammy’s creativity continues outside the growing season with the installation of elaborate seasonal décor that transforms the Atrium into a “must see” destination for holiday parties and events.

John Moore

John Moore has achieved recognition in the area of Innovation. John created a vision for a full service retail store for the annual corn maize operation. Utilizing space inside the new visitor center, John created Temple Hall’s own Country Store. John’s work included the purchasing of new retail displays and appropriate inventory. This new operation led to a dramatic increase in retail sales over the previous years.

Kate Rudacille

Kate Rudacille has achieved recognition in the areas of Cost Savings and Versatility. In addition to Kate’s other duties in the planning and development department, she has successfully obtained more than $1 million in grant funding to go towards such projects as the purchase of additional acreage for Gilbert’s Corner Regional Park, the Fountainhead Regional Park mountain bike trail and the purchase of the Jackson House property near Ball’s Bluff Battlefield.

Kim McCleskey

Kim McCleskey has achieved recognition in the area of “Internal” Customer Service. Kim has the ability to clearly explain and interpret budget information across all levels of staff. Kim is patient and insightful with her explanations and continues to take on whatever role is needed to ensure NVRPA’s budget is a useful, easy to understand tool for those inside and outside of the organization.

Andy Kaganowich

Andy Kaganowich has achieved recognition in the areas of Above-and-Beyond and Team Player. Andy stepped in to manage Sandy Run Regional Park in the absence of a Park Manager during the spring regatta season. He worked closely with the regatta directors and participants and managed the park’s part-time staff. Andy did this with a positive attitude and achieved outstanding results.

Kim Marie Levesque

Kim-Marie Levesque has achieved recognition in the area of Customer Service. Kim is the perfect first face many of our golf course patrons see when visiting Algonkian Golf Course. Kim consistently brings a professional and courteous attitude to work every day, and it is contagious. Kim works hard to meet the needs of the customers and making them always feel welcome.


Reduction in energy usage:

Brad Jackson & Matthew White of Sandy Run/Fountainhead

Fountainhead, Sandy Run and Bull Run Marina -25.58 %


Brambleton Golf Course -14.24%

Meadowlark Botanical Gardens -12.22%


Improvement in net financial performance:

Staff of Algonkian: Kim Marie Levesque, Rebecca Flaherty, Ed McGee, Dustin Betthauser, Anna Cote, Bryan McFerren

Algonkian Regional Park +42.56 %


Pohick Bay Regional Park +35.22%

Cameron Run Regional Park +29.42%