News Release

2023 Annual Conference

NPS Ice Age NST employees pictured with Anne Helsley- Marchbanks who accomplished 6000 hours of volunteer work

NPS Photo

News Release Date: May 23, 2023

Contact: Katherine Frauen

On April 22, 2023, National Park Service employees of the Ice Age National Scenic Trail (NST) had the honor of attending the Ice Age Trail Alliance’s 17th Annual Conference at the Blue Harbor Resort in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. There was a record breaking almost 500 enthusiastic attendees who participated in first aid training, hiking, and listened to presenters over the 3-day conference. During the training portion of the conference, 79 volunteers received the first aid training they need to become a certified chainsaw swamper and better assist their fellow volunteers in the face of a medical emergency.At the award ceremony, Dan Watson, NPS Volunteer Coordinator, presented awards to hundreds of volunteers. In 2022, the Ice Age NST had 1,839 volunteers provide 84,349 hours of volunteering. That service equates to over $2.5 million in private sector value. Ice Age NST volunteers make up 1.48% of all NPS volunteers and 2.29% of all NPS volunteer hours. During the ceremony 63 volunteers were presented with awards for volunteering 100 hours, 39 volunteers were presented with NPS water bottles thanking them for 250 hours of volunteer work, 25 volunteers were presented with a hat to honor 500 hours of volunteering, and 12 volunteers were awarded with an embroidered shirt for contributing 1000 hours of volunteer work to the Ice Age NST. Cheryl Gorsuch and Jerry Pfeifer were presented with custom NPS volunteer embroidered jackets to honor there 3000 hours of volunteer work. In addition, Jon Bishop, Bruce Jaecks, Joe Jopek, Melanie Lord, and Mark Struve were presented with the Presidential Achievement Award for providing over 4000 hours of service to the Ice Age NST. The Ice Age NST staff was enthused to present Anne Helsley-Marchbanks with a Master Corps sweater vest to thank her for over 6000 hours of volunteer work.In closing, it was indicated that John Kolbe, newly elected IATA Board President, was nominated to be a recipient of the Hartzog Award for his outstanding contributions to the NPS volunteer program and the Ice Age NST.  During the presentation, Dan presented a video provided by provided by Shari Orr, NPS Volunteer Program Manager can be found below. You can also find a copy of Dan’s full presentation here.