Forest Park Forever has a new chairman of its Board of Directors: Lawrence E. Thomas, a partner at Edward Jones, is a longtime Forest Park Forever board member. Thomas learned to love Forest Park as an undergraduate student who came to Washington University from Vicksburg, Mississippi.
“It was a long time ago when I came to St. Louis as a college student, and Forest Park was my back door and front door,” Thomas said.
Thomas spent many hours during college in the park across Skinker Boulevard, collaborating with fellow students, meeting new people, and even snow sledding down Art Hill, a sports exercise not available back in Vicksburg. He currently serves on the Board of Trustees at Washington University and said he still considers the surrounding area his home.
Thomas said Forest Park still provides a welcoming entrance to college life for Washington University students like him.
“It benefits all that kids that come here to interview,” Thomas said. “They get to see the park, they get to what their home is going to look like for the next four years.”
Thomas was first asked to consider joining the board of Forest Park Forever by the late Lee Liberman, a former head of Laclede Gas (now known as Spire). The non-profit, now in its 32nd year, contributes to restoration and maintenance of Forest Park’s grounds in partnership with the City of St. Louis.
Thomas was elected to his first term in 2000. Since then, he said, he has learned a great deal about the operations of the park – particularly about the fact that the funding which helps it stay open does not come exclusively from the City of St. Louis. Forest Park Forever, a private nonprofit conservancy, has now taken on a collaborative role in maintaining the park, in a public-private partnership funded in large part by donations.
The $15 million a year required to maintain the park’s upkeep came as a surprise to Thomas when he first joined the organization.
“That’s really funding that comes from private citizens that partner with the city to make that a reality,” Thomas said. “Again, beforehand, why would I have known? I know today and I’m able to tell the story and help others understand. We’ve got great citizens of St. Louis that have stepped up and really helped out.”
At the end of 2017, Forest Park Forever completed a successful fundraising campaign that raised $30 million for immediate projects and $100 million for the park’s endowment, a fund that will ensure maintenance money is always available to maintain and sustain the park at a high level.
Thomas, who served on the cabinet of that campaign, said he emphasized to donors the unique nature of Forest Park. At 1,731 acres and with 12 million visitors a year, Forest Park is the seventh largest park in the United States and one of the largest located entirely within an urban area.
“I think about the people that get to use the park, no matter how old they are or young they are,” Thomas said. “It’s available, it’s accessible, it’s right in the middle of our city.”
In addition to its role as a recreation space and the several museums it is home to, the park also has many employees, in forestry as well as its financial and operational departments. Forest Park Forever is currently looking to hire for several positions, and is also accepting applications for summer interns in horticultural and nature reserve positions.
In the board’s 2018 elections, board members Vic Richey and Benjamin Akande were appointed to the board’s Executive Committee and previous director Barbara B. Taylor returned to the board as a full member.
Thomas said his tenure as chairman will be devoted to continuing Forest Park Forever’s success as one of the St. Louis region’s greatest civic assets that is welcoming to everyone.
“We have restored the park to glory,” Thomas said, “and now we really have to maintain the glory.”
For more information, visit https://www.forestparkforever.org, email info@forestparkforever.org or call 314-367-7275.
