Potomac Runners Dash to Restore Park

NEWS RELEASE

For Immediate Release:
April 27, 2004

For Additional Information:
Potomac Runners
703-548-5100
run@PotomacRunners.org


Potomac Runners Dash to Restore Park
Damaged During Hurricane Isabel

ALEXANDRIA, VA . . . Potomac Runners, a free year-round training program
with hundreds of runners from Alexandria, Arlington, and the District of
Columbia (www.PotomacRunners.org), recently raised $4,800 to donate to the
National Park Service to replace four American Elms along the George
Washington Memorial Parkway that were felled by Hurricane Isabel last
September 2003. The trees were planted on April 7, 2004.

The National Park Service and Potomac Runners have scheduled a
Tree Planting and Donation Ceremony for May 15, 2004, at 9:45 AM at the
northern Belle Haven Marina picnic area, approximately one mile South of
the Beltway. The ceremony will start following the completion of Potomac
Runners’ regular Saturday morning training run.

“The group has met near the large Elms at Belle Haven Marina for more than
seven years,” said Philip Davis of Potomac Runners. “As frequent users of
the Trail, we wanted to do our part to replace some of those fallen
trees. One of trees that went down was where our group meets each week so
we felt the loss right away. Eighty of our runners stepped up and helped
us raise the money. The biggest contribution, though, came from Tim
English, who came up with the idea and made all of the necessary contacts
with the National Park Service.”

Hurricane Isabel did more than $82 million damage along its path leaving
more than 2,000,000 people without power for hours and days, as well as
felling more than 12,000 trees onto roads and trails at 26 federal parks
across six states. Locally the flooding caused evacuations of many
residents, including many near the Belle Haven Marina and the damage
closed large sections of the Mount Vernon Trail, washing out bridges and
paths between Old Town Alexandria and the Mount Vernon Mansion.

Local, regional and state leaders have been invited including Governor
Warner, an Alexandria City resident, Congressman Moran and Mayor Bill
Euille of Alexandria, as well as representatives from the National Park
Service.

From idea to completion took about three months of communications between
Potomac Runners and various government contacts. We would like to
acknowledge the persistence and commitment of the employees of the
National Park Service and volunteers from Potomac Runners:
- Adam Badowski, George Washington Parkway Grounds Maintenance Supervisor
- Audrey Calhoun, Superintendent of the George Washington Memorial Parkway
- Glenn Eugster, Assistant Regional Director, Partnerships Office
- Phillip Davis, Potomac Runners
- Tim English, Potomac Runners

The Potomac Runners donated the funds for planting the trees to the NPS
Tree & Shrub Replacement Fund. The fund is intended to provide reliable,
significant monies on an annual basis, in perpetuity, to supplement funds
appropriated by Congress for the replacement of trees and shrubs in
National Park units throughout the NPS National Capital Region.

For more information on the Tree & Shrub Replacement Fund, or the Greater
Washington National Parks, contact Glenn Eugster, Assistant Regional
Director, Partnerships Office, National Capital Region, Room 350, 1100
Ohio Drive, SW St., Washington, DC 20242. Mr. Eugster’s phone number is
202.619.7492 and his e-mail address is glenn_eugster@nps.gov.