Yesterday’s Board of Supervisors meeting was an occasion to honor the civic duties of a couple of longstanding local officials. In what proved to be an emotional moment for many in attendance, the Board honored Fred Joyce for histhe Mollie Joyce Outdoor Education and Environmental Center to the Amador County Recreation Agency, or ACRA. Attending ACRA representatives included Tracey Towner-Yep, Rosalie Pryor-Escamilla, and Debbie Dunn, all of whom showered Joyce with praise for both his donation and his long-time commitment to the betterment of Amador County. Joyce graduated from Amador High School in 1939 and attended Stanford University before becoming a lieutenant in the Navy.

He returned home to eventually become the principal of the high school and work for Amador County schools until 1975. Joyce had cared for the donated property for 22 years before donating it to ACRA on February 5th. The property includes two baseball diamonds, an area for a future ropes course, a flat area where homes exist, and over 30 acres of forest. Joyce considerers ACRA an excellent organization to donate to. Currently, he spends much of his time working with seniors and follows the philosophy, “Always keep busy.” “generous” donation of nearly 80 acres currently known as.

Also, a long-delayed plaque presentation was held to honor outgoing 2007 Chairman of the Board, Louis Boitano. “You might all wonder why this took so long,” said Supervisor Richard Forster. “But we decided to consolidate all the plaques into one.” Indeed, Boitano has been Chairman of the Board four times, on top of his many other civic responsibilities and long years of civic service. The presentation was finalized with a hearty handshake between Forster and Boitano.