Volunteers show off their muscles and the trash they collected during the 2021 Great Lake Allatoona Cleanup.
Volunteers Lead The Way to a Better Lake BY CHRISTOPHER PURVIS
April is National Volunteer Month, and a great time to recognize the volunteers on Allatoona Lake. In 2021, more than 39,000 service hours were completed by 2,272 volunteers, in efforts such as water safety, trail maintenance, fish attractors, natural resource management, shoreline cleanups, park hosting, Boy Scouts of America Eagle Scout projects and many others. Allatoona offers a variety of volunteer opportunities, such as lake events, as well as positions as park hosts at day-use areas or in the Allatoona Lake Volunteer Village. Of course, the biggest volunteer event on the lake, and perhaps in the nation, is the Great Lake Allatoona Cleanup (GLAC). This event is held every year in September and usually is in the top three Public Lands Day events in the United States. Last year, despite COVID-19 conditions, 1,625 volunteers came out for the event. The GLAC is managed by the Lake Allatoona Association (LAA) and partners with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) on this worthy environmental cleanup. LAA also sponsors the Allatoona Lake Warriors Program, which completed an additional 943 volunteer hours cleaning the lake throughout the year. This year’s GLAC is scheduled for Oct. 1. Volunteers also work as park hosts in many USACEmanaged day-use areas. In return for a free campsite, these volunteers open and close gates, check for fee compliance and generally maintain surveillance of the areas. You probably have seen these volunteers in places such as Cooper’s Furnace, Riverside, Blockhouse, Galt’s Ferry, Victoria, Sweetwater, Kellogg Creek, Tanyard and 24
AROUND WOODSTOCK | April 2022
Stamp Creek day-use areas. Interested in working and living on the lake at one of these locations? USACE still has a number of volunteer positions available. For more information, contact the USACE Operations Project Management Office at 678-721-6700. Some of the best volunteer work being completed on the lake is coming out of the Allatoona Volunteer Village. This 10-site campground houses volunteers who seasonally donate their time to assist the lake office. The “village people” were responsible for completing nearly 12,000 hours last year on projects, such as pressure washing ramps and day-use areas, mowing recreation areas, maintaining trails, manning phones and radios, presenting water safety programs, assisting campground staff and many other duties. In March, we received great news that Allatoona Village volunteers Brenda Grano and her mother Wynonna Brakeman were named USACE National Volunteers of the Year! Brenda and Nony have built a recycling program at Allatoona that is second to none and have expanded the program into almost every area managed by USACE. Their passion and hard work finally paid off with this tremendous award. Finally, don’t forget that April 22 is Earth Day! If you would like to volunteer for an Earth Day project, or if you’re interested in a park host or Volunteer Village position, call our office and ask for the volunteer coordinator.
Christopher Purvis is lead ranger at Lake Allatoona over Partnerships, Volunteers and Project Security. He has been a ranger on Allatoona Lake since 2005.
