Nancy Shuman of Newberry Township has much to talk about when you bring up volunteers in York County Parks. Nancy has led the way for volunteers within York County Parks, as she has been involved since the early days of Nixon Park’s Nature Center. Nancy’s first visit to Nixon Park goes back to 1983. Since the Nature Center was only open for  several years, word was slowly spreading around York County about its existence. With her interest in the outdoors and nature since being a teenager, Nancy saw a chance to become more involved in assisting the staff at Nixon Park.

     Between 1984 and 1986, Nancy assisted the naturalists in clerical work and hikes. She apparently was so good at the job that she was hired as a clerical/custodian in 1986 and 1987 when she moved to Mechanicsburg. However, Nancy moved back into York County in 1990 and resumed her volunteer duties. Today, Nancy volunteers on Friday afternoons, where in addition to her clerical work, she updates the display windows and maintains the Asiatic walking sticks and hummingbird feeders. Nancy is also a great storyteller, and does many of the children’s Fox Story Times throughout the year in her ranger-style uniform. She has also prepared breakfast for the Nature Discovery Program III students at Rudy Park during their sleepover.

     Why does Nancy volunteer at Nixon Park? She finds satisfaction in serving the visitors and enjoys watching the children during programs. “Kids have just a wonderful sense of imagination,” says Nancy following a story time about turtles. Nancy also enjoys the atmosphere at the Nature Center from both visitors and staff.

     Since Nancy has been involved in the operation of the Nature Center all but a handful of years, she has seen many improvements. The largest improvement was the donation of the wildlife collection from William Kohler that added a new wing to the Nature Center. From the dioramas created by the Kohler donation, Nancy’s favorite display is the Arctic scene with the 12-foot- all polar bear. She also enjoys Maple Sugaring Weekend as Parks staff and volunteers demonstrate the process of producing maple syrup.

     Nancy has set some milestones during her tenure at the Parks. She was the first person to achieve the 1,000-hour token for volunteering within the Parks. This past March at the Mid-Winter reception at Penn State York, Nancy was awarded her 3,500-hour token, the first time a volunteer gained that amount of hours. Volunteers are a very important part of the operation of York County Parks, providing us with over 21,000 hours in 2008. Nancy is an icon to volunteerism, and all of her efforts are both greatly recognized and appreciated.

For more information on volunteering, please call the Parks at (717) 840-7440.