PLANNING AWARD

 

Friends of Thornby honored for preservation efforts

 

The Friends of Thornby received the oustanding grassroots non-profit initiative award from the Florida Planning and Zoning Association at the association’s annual meeting in Daytona Beach on June 7. Pictured from left are Friends members Carol Aymar, Jack Hoyt, Roy Walters, Sandra Walters and association president Paula McMichael.

News-Journal/Dinah Voyles Pulver 

From Staff Reports

 

Published: Thursday, June 13, 2013 at 5:30 a.m.

 

Last Modified: Wednesday, June 12, 2013 at 10:32 a.m.

 

The Friends of Thornby was honored by the Florida Planning and Zoning Association at its annual meeting in Daytona Beach, receiving the outstanding grassroots non-profit initiative award. 

 

The award recognized the group of Enterprise-area residents for its long battle to preserve the lakefront property where Thornby Park stands today. The land had been the former home of Dr. John Henderson Glass and his wife Annie, who built a home there in Enterprise in the 1920s, naming it after a woman who helped pay for his medical schooling. The home, which had been vacant for years, was destroyed by arson in 2003.

 

The Friends of Thornby fought for years to prevent intense development on the scenic and historic site, finally convincing the city of Deltona to buy the land and preserve it. The city bought the land in 2008 and developed an all-inclusive playground on the site, which opened in 2011 at 110 Providence Blvd.

 

Accepting the association's award at the June 7 luncheon were Carol Aymar, Jack Hoyt and Roy and Sandra Walters.

 

Also at the association's annual meeting, Volusia County Councilwoman Pat Northey, who represents Deltona, Enterprise, Osteen and part of DeBary on the County Council, was named the outstanding elected official for 2013. Northey was recognized for her efforts to spearhead development of a countywide trails network and to help create designated planning areas in the historic communities of Enterprise and Osteen.