Former County Commissioner Henry Dean has joined the St. Johns County Parks Foundation Board, officials announced in a Tuesday press release.
Robert Brown, news director at News4JAX, and Travis Ramsey, executive director of Retail Banking at JPMorgan Chase & Co., were also appointed to the panel as part of a reinvigoration push by newly installed Executive Director Marithza Ross.
Dean, who lost a narrow re-election bid to Ann Taylor in November, is “widely recognized for his environmental stewardship,” the foundation said in a statement.
Brown, a Jacksonville native and media veteran, will help to bolster the SJCPF’s profile, while Ramsey will bring “strategic financial insight and a passion for recreation and youth sports,” the group said.
The splashy appointments coincide with the recent groundbreaking for the $1.5 million renovation of Aberdeen Park — a widely lauded project that includes significant upgrades to the Field of Dreams, a baseball field designed for kids with disabilities.
“The Foundation has also committed to raising $200,000 to help replace and expand the field’s aging turf—a key element of ensuring continued safety and accessibility for the growing program,” the release stated.
“This is exactly the kind of project our Foundation was created to support,” Ross said. “With the County making a major investment in the park, we’re stepping up to enhance it even further—and leaders like Henry Dean help bring both vision and credibility to that work.”
A longtime former TV personality at ActionNews Jax, Ross took the organization’s helm at the start of the year.
“The Parks Foundation partners with the county’s Parks and Recreation Department to support improvements that increase access, safety and quality in public spaces,” the release stated.
It can secure grants, accept land donations, seek sponsorships — and then transfer those assets to the local government for management, Ross told The Citizen previously.
