The man who built the park

For 33 years Ralph White managed the James River Park System, until his retirement in 2013. Hired as a "Teacher Naturalist", he found himself the sole employee of the park system only a handful of months into his tenure. Over the decades that followed he successfully redirected the focus of the parks from a planned, urban use to a natural respite from the surrounding city. I would argue that this is the reason Richmond has become the desirable place to live, work, and play that it is today.

This year marks the James River Park System's 50th birthday, and Mr. White was the focus of an event titled "Ask Ralph" held at Basic City Beer Co. here in Richmond. I was excited to hear him speak again because I've only attended a few of his events in the past. Also, he was being interviewed by Parker Agelasto, Executive Director of the Capital Region Land Conservancy, another person I admire for the great work he has done in this area. Additionally, Basic City is one of those places I've wanted to check out for far too long. After a couple Bask IPAs and a pepperoni pizza I can say that you shouldn't sleep on this place.

Ralph entertained the crowd with stories of the numerous times he stood up to the local government to protect the best interests of the parks. He certainly embodies the spirit of "it's easier to ask for forgiveness than permission." You couldn't get away with half of the things he did these days, but that's simply because people actually care about the city now. He was able to make changes because no one was paying attention. Thanks to his actions over the years we have a river that is now considered our greatest asset and a park system that is our crown jewel. As Ralph succinctly put it, "There is something magic about water... people are drawn to water... all we had to do is keep it clean."

So what did I take from this talk that can be applied to my personal journey? Well, for one thing, I've always known that every city and town has the potential for greatness on some level or another. Listening to Ralph talk about the early days of the park I now understand that sometimes the people who live in a place are so familiar with what it is now that they can't imagine what it could be in the future. What if I start using my creative endeavors to introduce people to the diamonds in the rough that are in their own backyard? I'm not saying that I could ever have the impact that Ralph White has had, but it's certainly an aspiration worth striving towards.