william
hammond hall
awards
In partnership with the Laborer’s International Union of North America (LIUNA!) Local 261, the San Francisco Recreation and Park Commission and
Rec and Park hosted the 7th Annual William Hammond Hall Awards on July 15. The annual awards ceremony honors the top professionals in
gardening and horticulture and recognizes the men and women who work day in and day out to make our parks clean and beautiful. This year’s
event was emceed by Supervisor Mark Farrell and Assessor-Recorder Carmen Chu.
The award was presented to the following gardeners for their outstanding work in keeping San Francisco Parks clean and beautiful: Eric Chow,
Kori Dean, Jonathan Dixon, Richard Hernandez, Christine Hussell, Michael Johnson, Toby Kanzawa, Brendan Linnane, Francisco Macuer Contreras,
Owen O’Connor, Roberto Rodriguez Garcia, and Jennifer Sotelo.
Mario De La Torre Pre-Apprenticeship
Academy- We celebrated the dedication of the
Mario De La Torre Training Academy at
Gleneagles Golf Course in June. The course is the
site of a six-week job readiness and
pre-apprenticeship program for public service
trainees.
EPA Brownfield Cleanup Grants for
India Basin- Rec and Park was awarded
$400,000 in EPA Cleanup Grants for Parcels
1 and 2 at the newly acquired 900 Innes
property at India Basin. An application for
an additional $400,000 in grants is
currently being considered for Parcel 3.
Governor’s Historic Preservation AwardCoit Tower received the 2015 Governor’s Historic
Preservation Award for the recent renovation
of the historic landmark, which included the
restoration of the WPA murals, replacement of
the roof, repainting of the lobby ceiling, ADA
upgrades and other improvements.
Youth Stewardship- The department’s
Youth Stewardship Program (YSP) engages
youth, 2nd–12th grade, in environmental
education and service-learning projects in
parks citywide. To date, more than 1,600
students have spent nearly 5,000 hours of
their time in our parks.