Friends of York River State Park
 
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Photo courtesy of: Melinda Colleen Rawles
Walking Through A Minefield performed for a crowd of a few dozen people last Saturday at York River State Park's amphitheater. Although Harvest Day was canceled due to lack of staffing, the band decided to go on anyway, performing for the small number of fans they bought with them in addition to other park patrons who happened to catch their performance. The band was reported to have "had a great time", and the band as well as the park have called the performance "a huge success", with Friends of York River State Park President Cynthia Kozak stating that the Friends group will begin planning for a possible music festival event for 2012, an event that has been talked about for several years. Friends member Joey Trask, who happens to be the band manager for Walking Through A Minefield stated that "The idea has been floating around for some time, but I think the problem was that the park simply didn't know how to pull it off. When our band performed, I think it proved that it could be done, and I hope that a music festival does become a reality at York River State Park, and I look forward to it becoming a major success."

 
 

Mention during broadcast segment creates free publicity

During the live broadcast, The Friends of York River State Park got free publicity on a locally-produced program called The Hampton Roads Show when Friends' member Joey Trask submitted a comment during a segment called "The Buzz". The Buzz is a segment where The Hampton Roads show will put out a hot topic and viewers can respond to it via their chat room or their Facebook page. The hot topic for the day was "Holiday Parties", and Trask decided to comment on how great the Friends of York River State Park's holiday party was, which was held recently on the evening of December 1st. Local anchor Keri Furrey read the comment on the air, and thus the Friends of York River State Park got its free publicity. Watch the video below to see the mention, which occurs around the 13 minute mark of the broadcast:
On a side note, The Friends of York River State Park has been looking to be on the show next year, as their studio audience regularly features numerous non-profit organizations.
 
 
Long overdue pictures from Harvest Day 2010! Taken by Webmaster Joey Trask.
 
 
Photos from Estuaries Day on September 25th, 2010.
Photo credits: John Gresham
 
 

First Edition Features Results From This Year's Fishing Tournament

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This month, the Friends of York River State Park launched a newsletter titled 'The Heron'. The newsletter was mailed to all registered members of the Friends of York River State Park as Volume 1, Issue 1, in what will be the first of many newsletters to come. Many of you have been anxiously browsing our site looking for the results of the Salt Water Fishing Tournament we had last May. Well, your patience has been rewarded as the first edition has a full account of the Salt Water Fishing Tournament. The newsletter, created by Friends' Secretary Sharon Stanley, has been made available on our website where you can view/print/download it for free. Be sure to check it out by simply going to the "Newsletter" page on our website.

 
 
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 Joey Trask, the webmaster for the Friends of York River State Park was officially commemorated today for his achievement of the Eagle Scout Rank: The Boy Scouts of America's highest honor, in which only 2 % of scouts ever make. Joey joins as the 35th Eagle Scout of Troop 313 based in Newport News, VA and has received congratulatory letters from political figures ranging from the Mayor of Newport News to the President of the United States. The year 2010 marks the 100th anniversary of scouting, making Joey one of the first 100 Eagle Scouts of the first 100 years of scouting. He is currently serving as an Assistant Scoutmaster for the troop.

Joey first joined the Friends of York River State Park in 2009 when he was executing a Eagle service project for the park by building benches. He became the Friends of York River State Park webmaster last December. 

 
 
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We had a very wonderful outdoor meeting, the weather was magnificent. Cooking hot dogs over an open fire, and watching the sun go down as the business meeting progressed, everyone got the opportunity to relax, mingle, eat, and enjoy the evening.  Read more to see our photo gallery!

 
 
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Joey Trask (right), shakes hands with the ranger on-duty.
17 year old Joey Trask joined the Friends of York River State Park back in March 2009 with one dream: to do something meaningful for the park he loved going to. Nine months later that dream became a reality as Joey built new benches for the park. With the help of his scout troop, he finished ahead of schedule, and managed to install all five completed benches in a single weekend. The new benches were placed at various parts along the main trail loop, strategically located where it was felt necessary. Joey plans to make Eagle Scout sometime next January, turning 18 years old on the 16th.