May 2023 Volunteer of the month

By Beth MacCallum, Outreach & Volunteer Coordinator

The May 2023 volunteer of the month is Richard Naylor. Richard has been a member of the Friends of the Pine Bush Community executive board since 2015. He has served in several different executive positions and is currently finishing up his stint as treasurer.

Richard has been a treasure of a volunteer and hails from the home of National Treasures, Ft. Knox, Kentucky.  Born in Kentucky but raised across the river in Clarksville, Indiana, he graduated from Indiana University with his Bachelor of Arts and his Master of Library Science degree.  Richard had a long and storied career in public library service, most recently retiring from the William K. Sanford, Town of Colonie Library.  Since his retirement he has been able to devote his time to the pursuits of two things he loves in equal measure, travel, and the Albany Pine Bush.

Richard shared that his favorite part of volunteering with the Friends is “knowing that I’m helping preserve and protect the beautiful Pine Bush preserve and working with the dedicated and interesting staff and fellow board members.”  Richard has hiked all twenty miles of trails in the preserve and his favorite trailhead is the Truax Trail.  One of his most cherished memories was the time he co-lead a hike with Lead Educator, Jackie Citriniti for the Colonie Regional Chamber members.  On that hike Jackie was able to spot and identify an insect that was crawling through the sand and shared her knowledge with the group.  Richard loves these moments of learning and collaborating with preserve staff.

Of Richard’s years of dedicated service, Beth MacCallum, preserve Outreach and Volunteer Coordinator said, “Whenever you see Richard he is ready with a warm greeting and friendly conversation.  Richard is a numbers man, and he can always be relied upon to answer a budget question.  His financial skills have served the Friends balance sheet well over the years and staff and volunteers alike are so blessed to associate with him. Congratulations Richard on an honor well earned as May volunteer of the month.”

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