Friends of Headlands group deserves credit for its efforts
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Many of us like to visit local parks for recreation or relaxation.
But a lot of park guests don’t engage in any other activities to improve those properties.
There are however, people who have formed a nonprofit group that demonstrates its dedication to a park in Lake County that’s located along the Lake Erie shoreline.
The Friends of Headlands Beach State Park has a mission statement that includes goals to support, promote, protect and preserve the park in Mentor and Painesville Township by holding special events, fundraising and making improvements.
The group also aims “to promote the education of the public of the importance of our natural resources.”
President of the Friends of Headlands Board Amy Smith sums up the spirit of the group in a somewhat more direct way.
“The park is a pretty cool place — we just hope to make it cooler,” Smith told The News-Herald’s Bill Tilton.
Friends Board member Pam Gelormino says in many ways the park, located at 9601 Headlands Road, has been taken for granted for a long time and people are not aware of it.
“It’s time to give us a second look,” Gelormino said.
Friends of Headlands Beach State Park got started in 2019 when Mary Mervo of Grand River Village was riding her bike through the park and thought it would be nice if the park looked a little nicer.
Mervo came across Headlands Beach Park Director Gary Gerrone and was able to set up an FOH group as a nonprofit organization.
“Parks can have Friends group on a volunteer system under a national program,” Gelormino said. “Mary recruited an attorney and public relations person, reached out to those who love the park and nominated people for the board who are interested in the lake and beach.”
However, the Friends didn’t initially get much traction because of the COVID-19 pandemic and other factors, but it resumed in 2023 with a new board and Smith says they seem to be on their way now.
“After COVID, Mary had to step down as did the rest of the board, but now we have six people on board dedicated to the park and doing the best we can with a few fundraisers and trying to draw volunteers to help,” Smith said.
Fundraisers for FOH include raising money for volleyball nets for proposed courts.
The group, which also has interest in raising funds for a second pavilion, has its third Trunk or Treat coming in October and several other events that offer sponsorship and donation possibilities, including an upcoming appearance at Earth Day at Wildwood Cultural Center and several Bird Walks.
Gelormino also is part of Community Cleanup Lake County, which on Wednesdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. runs a volunteer effort to keep the beach and park clear of litter and small items scattered around.
“The State Parks have Geneva State Park and Headlands Beach Park paired together, but Geneva pretty much has an entity of itself with concessions and many other amenities,” Gelormino said. “And no income had come into Headlands Beach Park and nothing was being upkept in recent past, and we feel, for example, if we had volleyball playing three nights a week there would be less chance for problems of delinquency.
“However, now there is staff there more often and somebody oversees the park — not like it was before,” she added. “We want people to see there is a lot to offer at Headlands Beach State Park and it is a beautiful resource that should be appreciated.”
People can get more information on Friends of Headlands Beach State Park on its Facebook page, or its website, friendsofheadlands.org.
In conclusion, The News-Herald praises the Friends group for taking some specific and important steps to support and enhance Headlands Beach State Park.
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