State honors Raymond employee as ‘Parks Professional of Year’

Barry Alden, maintenance manager at Tassel Top Park in 
Raymond, center, receives congratulations from Raymond 
Parks and Recreation Director Joseph Crocker, left, and
Raymond Town Manager Don Willard, for winning the Maine
Recreation and  Parks Award as 'Parks Professional
of the Year.' PHOTO BY ANDREW WING 

By Andrew Wing

The employee that ensures that Raymond’s Tassel Top Park is a clean, safe and family friendly destination prefers to work behind the scenes, but on Monday afternoon Barry Alden received well-deserved recognition for his work.

Alden was honored by the Maine Recreation and Parks Association as the organization’s “Parks Professional of the Year.”

For nearly two decades now, Alden has displayed a work ethic second to none while keeping Tassel Top Park a place visitors and residents of the Lakes Region want to go.

An awards committee of the Maine Recreation and Parks Association selected Alden for the honor which is presented annually to municipal employees in the state who work in recreation. Alden is just the fourth recipient of the award since its inception in 2018.

Alden’s wife Karen, who serves as the Operations Manager for Tassel Top Park, Raymond Parks and Recreation Director Joseph Crocker, Raymond Town Manager Don Willard, and the current Chair of the Raymond Select Board, Teresa Sadak, attended the award ceremony at the park.

This summer will mark Barry Alden’s 17^th year working at Tassel Top Park. His official title is maintenance manager for the park but his diligent efforts and the pride he takes in his job have endeared him to thousands of park visitors through the years.

Keeping the park in great shape is no easy task. Tassel Top itself is a 38-acre park with a 900-foot sandy beach with a secured swimming area, and includes a popular snack shack, and a hiking and nature trail situated on Jordan Bay of Sebago Lake.

Alden said he was humbled by the surprise awards ceremony staged in his honor.

“I’m pretty happy about it,” he said. “I’m excited, I’m honored, and I never expected anything like this to happen. I just do my job and I enjoy doing it.”

Crocker, who is entering his third year as Raymond’s Parks and Recreation Director, first nominated Alden for this award two years ago, and then Linda Brooks, the Parks and Recreation Director for Windham, renominated him again this year for the award.

According to Crocker, Alden goes above and beyond expectations for his work and pays attention to details.

“Barry has been here for a long time, and he has really just taken the planning piece of it and run with it,” said Crocker. “He shared his vision, which is the same vision I have, which is to create almost a state park feel for Tassel Top by making it cleaner and more usable. He has been really forward thinking when it comes to changing how this park operates and he has made the park a lot better.”

During the awards ceremony, Raymond officials were able to check out some of the newly refurbished cabins at Tassel Top Park and Raymond  Town Manager Don Willard said he is amazed at how much the park had changed and been transformed during Alden’s time working there.

“You’ve really made a difference,” Willard told Alden. “You’ve made a lot of improvements and it really shows.”

Willard said without Alden’s hard work and devotion to the park and his job, Tassel Top Park would not be what it is today. <