FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:    John Yarbrough, Lee County Parks & Recreation
                (941) 461-7410

LEE COUNTY PARK FEES WAIVED VETERANS DAY WEEKEND TO HONOR VICTIMS

FORT MYERS, Fla. (November 6, 2001) – Lee County is waiving all entrance and parking fees in county park facilities this Veterans Day weekend as part of a national effort to inspire healing after the tragic September 11 terrorist attacks on America.

The Board of Lee County Commissioners today unanimously approved the waiver, which will be in effect Nov. 10, 11 and 12.

The waiver is part of a nationwide lifting of fees being supported by the National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA) and the U.S. Department of the Interior as a way to inspire National Unity, Hope and Healing through public parks. U.S. Interior Secretary Gale Norton has waived all National Park Service entrance fees and is urging Americans to join together with family and friends to honor the victims of the tragedy, along with veterans who have protected the nation’s freedom and democracy.

Destry Jarvis, NRPA executive director, says that every person can find a way to join with family and neighbors at a local, state or national park or at other special places during Veterans Day weekend to remind ourselves of the diversity of our parks and the strength and cooperative efforts it took to ensure that we have these places for solitude or community.

Lee County’s Parks & Recreation Department maintains and operates 3,500 acres of developed park land, 14 centers, 9 pools, five boat ramps, three Gulf beach parks, one lakefront beach, 76 beach accesses, 60 tennis courts, 73 ballfields, and 13 preserves. The department also manages the more than 7,500 acres of environmentally sensitive lands the county has purchased in the last five years through its Conservation 2020 Program.

In October, the Lee County’s Parks & Recreation Department was awarded national accreditation – a rigorous process and prestigious honor that has been bestowed on only 33 other systems nationwide. Lee County had to meet 153 standards to qualify for accreditation.