Parks and recreation icon William “Bill” Beckner, who died earlier this summer, was remembered and honored on Saturday, Nov. 17, with a park bench dedicated in his memory at Huntley Meadows Park.
Beckner joined the Park Authority in 1977 as the agency’s chief naturalist. Eight years later, he led the agency’s detailed strategic planning process, and in February of 1989, he was named the Park Authority’s director. He served in that post until December 1993, when he left the FCPA to establish his own consulting business.
Friends, family and colleagues joined together for the occasion including Harry Glasgow, former Park Authority Board member; Paul Baldino, former Park Authority Director; Lynn Tadlock, former FCPA Planning Division Director; Jean Van Devanter White, former Director, Park Foundation; Connie Weyant, former assistant to Bill Beckner; Jack Weyant, Director, Fairfax County Code Compliance; Nancy Magill, Bill Beckner’s life partner; Susan Allen, former member FCPA Conservation Division; Tim White, former Acting Director, FCPA; Annemarie and Rob Gremminger; Mona Enquist Johnston, former FCPA employee and volunteer; Kirk Kincannon, Executive Director, FCPA; Cindy Messinger, former Director, FCPA; Carolyn Gamble, former Huntley Meadows Park employee and volunteer, Nancy Vehrs, Prince William Native Plant Society.
A blog post detailing Beckner’s contributions to the field of recreation and parks can be found at https://ourstoriesandperspectives.com/2018/08/10/former-fcpa-director-bill-beckner-remembered/.