The community spirit is alive and well for 80 Johnson Engineering employees, their families, friends, the Friends of Lovers Key (FOLKS), and park staff. The dedicated group pitched in for the 14th consecutive year to preserve one of Florida’s natural gems, Lovers Key/Carl E. Johnson State Park.

This is an opportunity for Johnson Engineering employees to make a difference in the community while also paying tribute to the Company’s founder, Carl E. Johnson. Johnson Engineering’s Coastal Cleanup began in 2003 in honor of Carl E. Johnson, whose efforts in the late 1960s, played a major role in making this popular recreational area a reality. He conceived the idea of connecting the islands with a causeway from the south end of Fort Myers Beach to Bonita Beach, helped get most of the land donated from several large landowners, surveyed and designed the road, while overcoming a variety of obstacles along the way. Today, Lovers Key/Carl E. Johnson State Park has become a world-famous tourist destination.

This past October, we had more than 80 volunteers head to the park early on a Saturday morning. Our volunteers divided into groups, each led by FOLKS volunteers, and dedicated the morning to tackling various park projects such as replacing old stairs, painting, landscaping, removing exotic plants, planting native plants, and trail trimming. In past years, volunteers have built picnic tables, kiosks, and recycle bins, constructed access pathways, installed rope fencing, replaced weathered bridge planks, and much more. In one morning, our team knocked out projects that typically take park staff months to complete. Keeping the park looking its best promotes repeat tourism to the area.

The event concludes each year with a company BBQ in the beach pavilion, followed by an employee raffle of items donated by local Fort Myers businesses. For more information, contact Juli Kern at [email protected].