Friends of the Parks of the Wood County Park District records

The Friends of the Parks of the Wood County Park District collection primarily contains proceedings, correspondence, reports, printed materials, and newsletters.

The proceedings contain the organizations initial bylaws, drafted by the original members in 1989, along with the revisions that were made the following year. The information presented in these consists of the duties and obligations of members, officers, and committees. Not only are the minutes for the regular and board meetings found in the collection, but the agendas for these meetings as well, both covering the span from 1989 to 1993. While the agenda provided a skeleton of the ideas that would be covered in the meeting, the minutes, written by the secretary, contain the date, location, and the officer reports of the meeting. The last parts of the proceedings, the membership records, are extensive lists of the members of the Friends of the Parks. These records contain the names of the members along with their addresses.

The correspondences found in the collection are various letters, with dates ranging from 1989 to 1993, sent by the organization as a whole, sent by the members of the board of trustees, or sent to the Friends of the Parks. The letters sent out from the organization served as an update and reminder to the members, or potential members, of the Friends of the Parks. The letters cover such topics as membership, events, and elections. The other letters in the collection are more business oriented, sent out from the members of the board of trustees. These are letters were sent out to foundations asking for grants, the IRS regarding taxes, and other professional matters. The collection also contains the letters that the Friends of the Parks received back, answering their questions and concerns. These letters are arranged chronologically.

The reports contained in the collection cover bother the finances and the projects of the Friends of the Parks. The reports, ranging from 1988 to 1993, are categorized in to the finance, treasurer’s, and park district reports, and are arranged chronologically. The finance report contains the total balance of the organization with the money spent, and the money received in donations. The report also contains detailed listings of the members of the community who donated to the organization, along with their addresses and donation amount. The treasurer’s report contains similar information, although they cover specific events. The information provided in these reports is the amount of money spent on supplies and the amount of money that was made from the event. The collection also holds the yearly report for the Wood County Park District. While this report also has financial information, such as park and project grants, it also has information on the additions and improvements of the parks in the community.

There are a few different types of printed material in the collection including certificates, brochures, flyers, and programs. The dates of these items range from 1986 to 1995 and are arranged chronologically. The certificates are either awards that have been won by the Parks Department, or documents certifying the Friends of the Parks of Indain Trails Park District and also for the Friends of the Parks of the Wood County Park District, after the name change. The brochures in the collection contain information and brief histories of the parks and projects of the Friends of the Parks, while the flyers contain information and locations for the events and meetings hosted by the organization. Programs are also included for the annual Friends of the Parks Meeting, recognizing the volunteers, donors, and board members.

The collection contains the quarterly Friends of the Parks, the Oak Leaf, and the Trailblazer Newsletters. They are arranged chronologically and span the dates of 1989 to 1993. The Friends of the Parks Newsletter contains information about the organizations recent activities along with advertisements for upcoming events at the parks. The Oak Leaf Newsletter contains more information about the Wood County Parks District and their projects. Just like in the Friends of the Parks Newsletter, each issue of the Oak Leaf Newsletter also has a listing of the upcoming events at the parks. The final newsletter in the collection, the Trailblazer, contains more material about the projects similar to the Slippery Elm Trail’s conversion from railroad to bike path.