The first Frederick Law Olmsted Award was presented to Earl F. Jones, Executive Counsel for GE Appliances, at the 2019 American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) and National Association for Olmsted Parks (NAOP) Conference hosted by Olmsted Parks Conservancy on April 13. The award recognizes an individual who has significantly contributed to Olmsted Parks Conservancy’s mission to “restore, enhance, and forever protect” Louisville’s Olmsted park system.
“This was an easy choice. Earl has been involved with our organization longer than just about anyone and remains one of our most significant and generous donors,” said Layla George, President and CEO of Olmstead Parks Conservancy, who presented Earl with the award. “He has been a guiding force and led this organization through numerous transformative capital investments. His keen intelligence and cool demeanor have helped us navigate important leadership transitions internally and externally.”
Earl attended Columbia University for both his undergraduate and law degree, and is currently Executive Counsel for GE Appliances, a Haier Company. Earl served on the Olmsted Parks Conservancy Board of Trustees for over 20 years and spent the last five years in a leadership role, most recently as board chair from 2016-18. Within the organization, Earl is known and appreciated for his sense of humor, passion for cycling, and ability to lead by example.
“I’m very honored to receive this recognition. Our 17 Olmsted parks are some of Louisville’s most important assets,” said Mr. Jones, upon receiving the award. “Working with the Conservancy and the city to fully implement Olmsted’s designs and, equally important, his conviction that everyone, regardless of income, has a right to beautiful parks, has been one of the greatest pleasures of my life.”
In Earl’s honor, a swamp white oak will be planted in a ceremony at Rugby Field at Cherokee Park at 10 A.M. on April 26 – the birthday of Frederick Law Olmsted.
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