Park Pride believes that through great parks, we can strengthen communities. Our 2026 Inspiration Award winners are part of the network of hardworking and dedicated community members who help us advance our mission of activating the power of parks!
Through our annual Inspiration Awards, we honor local park champions who nurture the bond between parks and communities in the City of Atlanta and DeKalb County. Each year, the winners are recognized in a dedicated ceremony at the Parks & Greenspace Conference in March.
Meet Park Pride’s 2026 Inspiration Award winners!
Coreen Dent, Harper Park & Empire Park
Coreen Dent’s guiding mantra is “Leave that which you touch better than you found it.” She has certainly done that at both Empire Park and Harper Park in southeast Atlanta.
For Coreen, the power of parks means that a park isn’t just a place to go but rather an experience to be had.
One of the defining moments that showed Coreen that her efforts went deeper than the parks themselves was when she was at Harper Park and saw two men sitting on a bench together – just relaxing and talking. Coreen shared that it spoke volumes to her that the park gave two Black men a space to just be. It showed her that parks are living and have power, and that power is transformative.
Working in her neighborhood parks has shown Coreen that if you focus on something and set a goal, you can achieve it. One person can influence others, and that influence can bring change. Change doesn’t come overnight, but it does come with consistency and persistence.
Thank you, Coreen, for your passion and dedication to Empire Park and Harper Park.
Will Hazleton, Herbert Taylor-Daniel Johnson Park
For Will Hazleton, working in Herbert Taylor-Daniel Johnson Park is like an easy escape valve from the pressures of the outside world. He loves spending time in nature, and when he realized how much he enjoyed our local parks, it was an easy step to join like-minded friends who were volunteering their time to make the parks more accessible and enjoyable for others. And from his perspective, the Friends group’s regular volunteer workdays are not only for ourselves, but for generations to come.
Plus, he said the volunteer days keep him feeling young!
Will recognized the deep impact of his and the Friends group’s work when he saw how many people use the park and are interested in getting involved. He describes parks as a town square for neighborhoods, with our greenspaces acting as the stage where we can interact with nature and with people who are also looking for beauty and peace. The interactions that take place in a park can never be replicated by sitting in your house or by driving in your car!
When considering the future of Atlanta’s parks, Will thinks of our parks system as an ever-growing and expanding organism, and he hopes that more young people will participate in this vital local commitment to protect and preserve our urban refuges for future generations to enjoy.
Thank you, Will, for your passion and commitment to Herbert Taylor-Daniel Johnson Park.
James Hicks, Mozley Park
James Hicks’ work in the Westside’s Mozley Park is driven by what parks make possible across every stage of life — where kids build confidence and community through play, families create traditions, and neighbors meet each other for the first time. Parks also give our communities room to breathe, to move, to gather, and to connect in ways that don’t require an invitation or a price tag.
For James, when a park is cared for and activated, it becomes more than greenspace. Businesses may change, people may move, and development may shift the look and feel of a community, but the park remains, acting as one of the few spaces that carries a neighborhood’s story over time.
Recently, James was walking through the park, and he overheard two kids talking about one of the latest improvements that the Friends of Mozley Park helped bring to life. What really struck James wasn’t just that the kids noticed the improvements; it was the pride in their voice, and the sense that the park belonged to them and represented something good in their neighborhood. This was one of those moments that James remembered that his work is about more than “just a park.”
James put it perfectly when he said, “When we invest in parks equitably, we’re investing in people, and that investment pays dividends for generations.”
Thank you, James, for your service to your community.
Barbara Mobley, John Evans Legacy Park
“In nature, nothing is perfect, and everything is perfect. Trees can be contorted, bent in weird ways, and they’re still beautiful.
That quote from author Alice Walker is one that’s guided Barbara Mobley through her work in DeKalb County’s John Evans Legacy Park.
Barbara really felt the impact of her hard work in the park in 2024, when Barbara and the Friends of the Park group successfully spearheaded an effort to rename the park from Shoal Creek III to John Evans Legacy Park. This new name honors John Evans’ legacy as a civil rights activist. He was the first Black County Commissioner for DeKalb County, and the longest-serving DeKalb County NAACP President, holding the position for 16 years.
During the name change celebration, the Friends group celebrated with Mr. Evans himself, along with his family, family, former colleagues and constituents, and more! The park also features a Free Little Library named in honor of his late wife, Ina Evans, who served on the Atlanta School Board for 14 years. Barbara is proud to have advocated for a park name that reflects the area’s rich, proud history.
Barbara is also a graduate from the first class of the Park Stewardship Academy!
Thank you, Barbara, for your commitment and hard work at John Evans Legacy Park!
Lifetime Achievement Award: “Able” Mable Thomas
This year, we are honored to present a Lifetime Achievement Award to “Able” Mable Thomas. Able Mable was raised in Atlanta’s English Avenue neighborhood and has dedicated her life to public service—as a community leader, activist, and elected official. She was elected to the Georgia General Assembly in 1985 as one of its youngest members and went on to serve multiple terms, as well as on the Atlanta City Council.
But titles only tell part of the story.
Able Mable has always been, first and foremost, a community leader. When she looked at the challenges facing her neighborhood, she didn’t just see what was missing—she imagined what was possible. When President & CEO Michael Halicki came to Park Pride, her impact was already well established—especially her connection to the Proctor North Avenue Study, or PNA Study.
After a new park was created in Vine City, Able Mable began advocating for a park in English Avenue. But those conversations with Walt Ray (who was Director of Park Visioning at Park Pride at the time) quickly grew into something bigger. It became clear that one park alone wasn’t enough.
Residents spoke about flooding, mold, years of disinvestment, lack of jobs, and serious health concerns. And it was Able Mable who asked whether parks could help to solve this larger set of issues. Out of those conversations came a bold, community-driven vision—to capture stormwater, address blight, and rebuild the neighborhood through green infrastructure and parks across the Westside.
Years later, in a meeting someone referred to the PNA Study as “Park Pride’s plan.” Able Mable quickly corrected them. It wasn’t Park Pride’s plan—it was the community’s plan. And she was absolutely right. It was—and still is—the community’s plan.
We are proud to honor Able Mable Thomas—an elected official, a community leader, and a true champion of her community—with the highest honor we can bestow: a Lifetime Achievement Award.