Yosemite National Park Superintendent Don Neubacher talks with Honorary Yosemite National Park Ranger Gabriel Lavan-Ying (Ranger Gabriel) during the kick-off ceremony to celebrate the 125th anniversary of Yosemite National Park. Approximately 500 people, including 300 school children, attended the ceremony at Yosemite Falls today.
Photo Credit: Al Golub/Golub Photography
Ranger Gabriel Lavan-Ying named Honorary Chairman of anniversary with over 300 students in attendance at ceremony at Yosemite Falls
March 24, 2015 - Yosemite National Park kicked-off its celebration of the park's 125th Anniversary with a ceremony at Yosemite Falls today. The theme of the event was Youth of Today: Park Stewards of Tomorrow. Approximately 500 people attended the event, 300 of whom were students from the Yosemite region and Sacramento. The guest of honor was Gabriel Lavan-Ying, better known as "Ranger Gabriel." Ranger Gabriel was named an Honorary Yosemite National Park Ranger last June through a visit arranged by the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Ranger Gabriel addressed the crowd and was named Honorary Chairman of the park's 125th Anniversary Celebration by park Superintendent Don Neubacher.
(Left) Ranger Gabriel became an Honorary Yosemite National Park Ranger during his visit to the park in June, 2014 through the Make-A-Wish Foundation. He is nine years old and lives in Gainesville, Florida. Ranger Gabriel returned to Yosemite and was named the Honorary Chairman of the 125thanniversary celebration. He is pictured with a plaque that was presented to him during a ceremony at Yosemite Falls on March 24, 2015. Photo Credit: Al Golub/Golub Photography
"The focus of today’s celebration and next year's Centennial of the National Park Service is on young people. The students of today will be the park stewards of tomorrow and we are making every effort to connect young people to national parks, an integral part of America's heritage," stated park Superintendent Don Neubacher. "We are so pleased that Ranger Gabriel was here to help us kick off the Anniversary. He is truly an inspiration to us all, and we're honored that he agreed to serve as the Honorary Chairman of the year-long Anniversary celebration."
The event also featured five students, from third grade through university, reading letters to the future stewards of Yosemite National Park. Other highlights included the Yosemite Mounted Patrol and the serving of commemorative cakes. After the brief ceremony, all of the students in attendance participated in educational activities related to Yosemite National Park and the importance of its preservation.
Yosemite National Park would like to thank NatureBridge, Delaware North at Yosemite, Yosemite Conservancy and the Ansel Adams Gallery for their generous support of the event.
Yosemite National Park Superintendent Don Neubacher, with Ranger Gabriel on his shoulders, poses with a group of school children at the kick-off ceremony to celebrate the 125th anniversary of Yosemite National Park. The ceremony included over 300 school children, Yosemite’s Mounted Patrol, letters read by students, and commemorative cakes served to all who attended the ceremony. Photo Credit: Al Golub/Golub Photography
