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NATIONAL PARK SERVICE MORNING REPORT BLACKBERRY EDITION Friday, February 3, 2006 =============================================================================================================== INCIDENTS Martin Luther King, Jr. NHS Funeral Services for Coretta Scott King The Eastern Incident Management Team (Gordon Wissinger, IC) has been assigned to the park to assist with the funeral services for Coretta Scott King, the late wife of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The team arrived in the park and met with park management yesterday morning and began work on preparations for the funeral. The IMT's primary responsibility will be to provide security and visitor services for events currently being planned for this coming Sunday and Monday. A memorial service for Ms. King is scheduled for 3 p.m. on Sunday, February 5th, at the historic Ebeneezer Baptist Church. Her body will then lie in state in the church from 10 a.m. to midnight on Monday, and funeral services will be held at a location outside of the park on Tuesday. [Eastern IMT] PARKS AND PEOPLE Intermountain Region Memorial Service Held for Randy Jones A celebration of life and remembrance for former National Park Service Deputy Director Randy Jones was held on Saturday, January 28th, at the historic Crags Hotel in Estes Park, Colorado. Over 130 friends, family and co-workers joined Randy's wife, Julie, sister Casey Gluckman, and in-laws Ken and Charlotte Franklin for an afternoon of thoughts, stories and memories. Director Fran Mainella opened the celebration by praising Randy as a "visionary" and as a mentor to her as she assumed the directorship of the NPS in 2001. Mainella presented Julie with a framed copy of the 2005 Presidential Rank Award for Meritorious Service that was bestowed on Randy prior to his passing this past November. Deputy Director Steve Martin noted that "for all those in attendance, there were many others who wanted to be here but were unable to," Martin announced the establishment of the Randy Jones Leadership Fellow program, which facilitates six month details to the deputy director's office in Washington. Randy began these developmental assignments by inviting Dan Kimball to the Washington Office in 2004/2005 to assist with the multitude of issues that arise on a daily basis. Martin presented Dan with the first Jones Leader Fellow Award. Additional gifts/awards presented included: a United States flag that had been flown over the Department of the Interior in honor of Randy from Kit Kimball, Director, Office of External and Intergovernmental Affairs, Office of the Secretary, on behalf of Secretary Gale Norton; the 2005 Rocky Mountain National Park Stewardship Award for leadership in protecting resources and serving visitors from Superintendent Vaughn Baker; a hand made quilt (see photo) from Katy Sykes on behalf of the Rocky Mountain NP employees; the Intermountain Region Career Exemplary Service Award from Regional Director Mike Snyder; and a hand made wooden cross from the employees of Carlsbad Caverns NP presented by Superintendent John Benjamin. Twenty-five friends, associates and co-workers spoke for fours hours before the event concluded with remarks from Julie Jones. Julie thanked all in attendance and all around the world who have called and written to express their condolences in the days that have followed since Randy's passing. [Kevin FitzGerald, Regional Chief Ranger] * * * * * Prepared by Visitor and Resource Protection, WASO, with the cooperation and support of Delaware Water Gap NRA. --- ### --- |