Jan. 8, 2009: Fritz Byers, an attorney from Waterville, has been appointed to a three-year term on the Board of Park Commissioners, governing body of Metroparks of the Toledo Area. He replaces retiring, long-time board member Jack Gallon.

Lucas County Probate Court Judge Jack Puffenberger, who appoints all three board members, made the appointment official in his courtroom, making Mr. Byers only the 22^nd person to serve on the volunteer board in the park district’s 80-year history.

Byers, 53, is in solo practice in Toledo, where his work includes representing The Blade in First Amendment matters. He frequently lectures and presents seminars to lawyers, journalists and others in Ohio and elsewhere on the First Amendment, privacy, the Internet and related topics.
 

Fritz Byers

A graduate of Duke University and Harvard Law School, he also teaches communications law at the University of Toledo.

A runner and cyclist, Byers is a frequent user of the Metroparks, especially the Towpath Trail in Waterville.

Jack Gallon
Gallon, a noted Toledo area labor attorney and founder of the law firm Gallon & Takacs Co., LPA, is the third longest-serving member of the Metroparks board and a leader in parks and recreation at the state, regional, and national level.

In 2002, Mr. Gallon was honored by the Ohio Parks and Recreation Association as the Outstanding Citizen-Board Member in Ohio. The following year, he was named Commissioner of the Year by the eight-state Great Lakes Region of the National Recreation and Park Association.

He established and funded the Jack Gallon Board Development Institute, a two-day, annual training program offered through the state association. This year’s Institute will be held Sunday in Columbus. His law firm is also the sponsor of Metroparks Volunteer Trail Patrol.

The Board of Park Commissioners, which also includes Scott Savage and Lera Doneghy, meets on the third Wednesday of each month.

Metroparks of the Toledo Area is a regional system of natural, historical and cultural parks serving residents of Lucas County. It is one of just 79 park agencies in the nation, and the only Metropolitan Park District in Ohio, accredited by the Commission for Accreditation of Park and Recreation Agencies (CAPRA).