DATE: November 08, 2007
CONTACT:
Brett Wright, (864) 656-3036
wright@clemson.edu
WRITER:
Ross Norton, (864) 656-4810
rnorton@clemson.edu
Hazelwood earns Mainella Award for innovation and leadership
CLEMSON — Almost 25 years of innovation and leadership have earned the Fran P. Mainella Award for the superintendent of National Capital Parks-East in Washington, D.C., during Clemson University’s annual George B. Hartzog Jr. Environmental Awards program.
Clemson University’s Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management presented the award to Gayle Hazelwood at a ceremony and luncheon on campus. The award, named for the 16th director of the National Park Service and current Clemson visiting scholar Fran Mainella, is handed out every two years for sustained and innovative achievement by a woman in the management of North America’s natural, historic or cultural heritage.
An Ohio native, Hazelwood started working for the National Park Service in 1983 at Cuyahoga Valley National Recreation Area when she was still a graduate student. She created the first in-park overnight experience for inner-city children, which provided the first — and for many, the only — experiences in a national park for hundreds of young people from Cleveland and Akron, Ohio.
In accepting her award, Hazelwood told the audience — which included many park professionals — that she was in her 20s before she ever saw a national park. She reminded them that they can have a profound impact on someone’s life simply by inviting them to a park.
Hazelwood was the chief of interpretation at Martin Luther King Jr. national historic site from 1991 to 1997 and spearheaded the completion of the permanent exhibits in the new visitor center in 1996. She managed a multi-agency welcome center during the Centennial Olympic Games in Atlanta. Hazelwood also served as interpretive specialist of the Southeast Regional Office of the National Park Service and, from 1998-2003, was superintendent of the New Orleans Jazz National Historical Park.
In 2003, Hazelwood was selected assistant superintendent of National Capital Parks-East. Today as superintendent, she is responsible for day-to-day operations of the park, including oversight of 13 individual sites, four divisions and a $13 million budget.
The Hartzog Fund at Clemson University allows the PRTM department to sponsor the Hartzog Lecture Series in Resource Management. Established in 1966, Clemson’s PRTM department is one of the largest and oldest of its type in North America.
The department has enjoyed a longstanding relationship with the National Park Service and other federal and state land-management agencies.
The Hartzog Lecture and Award Series is in its 29th year.
END
Editors: Clemson University is a public, land-grant university in Clemson, S.C. The university is committed to world-class teaching, research and public service. Approximately 17,000 undergraduate and graduate students study on the 1,400-acre campus. Students may choose from more than 70 degree programs offered through the university’s five colleges: Agriculture, Forestry and Life Sciences; Architecture, Arts and Humanities; Business and Behavioral Science; Engineering and Science; and Health, Education and Human Development.