The Valley Chronicle - Respected Valley-Wide board member honored

Larry Minor named 2018 Champion by CA Park & Recreation Society

Courtesy of the Valley-Wide Recreation and Park District.
Former longtime Valley-Wide Recreation and Park District Board of Directors member Larry Minor, pictured with his wife Sandy at the recent “The Weekend” fundraiser, has been recognized as a 2018 Champion of the Community by the California Park & Recreation Society. ■ Craig Shultz / Contributed Former longtime Valley-Wide Recreation and Park District Board of Directors member Larry Minor was recently named as a 2018 Champion of the Community by the California Park and Recreation Society. The Champion of the Community award honors and recognizes individuals and organizations who have contributed significant effort to influence and improve the quality of their community through parks and recreation. Minor received his award during the annual Service Awards of Excellence Recognition Banquet on Mar. 22 in Sacramento. Minor has become synonymous with parks in the San Jacinto Valley. He served on the Valley-Wide Board of Directors for 22 years before retiring in May 2018. During that time, he was instrumental in many programs and helped the district grow to more than 80 parks and community centers, serving 250,000 residents over 800 square miles in three cities and unincorporated areas of Riverside County. Most notably, his vision and direction led to a state-of-the art snack bar/restroom building at Diamond Valley Park, a facility with eight ball fields. The building allowed the Park District to expand its sports leagues and major national and international tournaments at the park, which draws more than 100,000 visitors annually. Over the last 10 years, during his time on the board, Minor and his wife Sandy also donated more than 300 bicycles that were given to children at Valley-Wide’s annual “Breakfast with Santa” event. Minor also built softball fields on his property and allowed park district teams to use them for no fees. He never took pay or benefits while serving on the Board of Directors. He was the board president several times and was honored as Board President of the Year by the California Special Districts Association in 2014. Minor’s vision was to provide recreation to as many children as possible and this was achieved through his dedication to provide more places for them to play. His positive and meaningful impact on the San Jacinto Valley community has laid the foundation for thousands of children and adults to participate in recreational events. Valley-Wide Recreation and Park District operates 86 parks and community centers in French Valley, Hemet, Menifee, San Jacinto, Sage and Winchester. Information, gorecreation.org.