Volunteer Spotlight
Larry and Cathy Thurow
Larry and Cathy Thurow grew up in Yorkville, Illinois, 60 miles southwest of Chicago, and currently reside in Monticello, Illinois. Larry was raised on a farm, so being outdoors was part of life. Over the years, he has guided numerous groups in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area in northern Minnesota. Cathy has enjoyed the outdoors since childhood and was active in Girl Scouts, which included many camping trips throughout the United States. The couple enjoys paddling, walking and bicycling. Larry is an avid golfer, too.
Larry and Cathy’s love of the outdoors and warmer weather in the winter led to many Florida vacations, particularly the Florida Keys. They love the tremendous variety of Florida State Parks and the things to do, and giving back to the parks as volunteers was something that came naturally. One reason they wanted to volunteer at Pennekamp was because they had visited with their children and enjoyed the park. They have been resident volunteers at John Pennekamp since 2018 and combined have logged over 2,000 volunteer hours.
Having been high school sweethearts, Larry and Cathy make a great team. They work tirelessly together and are always in great spirits. As resource management volunteers, they do volunteer work at both John Pennekamp and Dagny Johnson state parks. They can be given a list of tasks for the season and hit the ground running. Both capably help with group volunteers, often supervising them for a given project and coming in on days that they were scheduled off to do so.
Larry and Cathy love volunteering at John Pennekamp and Dagny Johnson not only because they are in the Keys, but because of the positive relationships that they have with the staff. They enjoy the variety of tasks and making new friends with other park volunteers. When you visit the park, they recommend what they love: kayaking the many trails through the mangroves. If you’re camping, Cathy recommends sunrises at Far Beach. Larry also recommends hiking the trails at Dagny Johnson.
In the winter months, they greatly enjoy the Delicate Balance of Nature Lecture Series, the ranger campfire programs and the Native Plant Day event (all of with which they have helped, in addition to their regular assignments). Larry and Cathy hope to continue to volunteer for years to come, learning about the plants and animals that are native to the Florida Keys, and doing their part to restore the natural resources of these state parks.