Success Story

Building Community at Lake People Park:

We all know that parks are places for recreation, beauty, and reflection, but they also build community. Lake People Park is a case in point.

Just ask Dan Lane and Dempsey Palmore, two park neighbors and stewards. According to Lane "I would never have gotten to know Dempsey otherwise. Lake People Park created more community because people got to know each other through the barbecues each year. It really helped me connect to the neighborhood."

Lane organized numerous work parties and headed up the Friends of Goat Hill, a neighborhood group that helped shape plans for the creation of Lake People Park, and continues to steward it. Over the past four years, the Parks Foundation and the Friends of Goat Hill led more than 16 work parties, engaging hundreds of volunteers in trail maintenance, weeding, planting native plants and slope stabilization. In addition there were annual celebration events ranging from the park dedication to several barbecues. 

Dempsey Palmore was hired on contract to caretake the upper grounds of the park during the three years that Parks Foundation was responsible for its maintenance. Palmore always went the extra mile in his work to keep the park well kept and safe. In his words, the park "did a lot for me. I may not know many people who visit here, but they know me!" Palmore especially cherishes the park bench dedicated to him for his service.