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JoAnne (Jo) Baker

The Rockford Park District is celebrating Women’s History Month by honoring the life and legacy of a Rockford woman who not only accomplished a lot of “firsts” in the Rockford Park District, but brought recreational trends to our community that are even more popular today.

  • First Woman on Rockford Park District Board of Commissioners

  • First Woman President of Rockford Park District Board of Commissioners

  • First Woman Administrator in the Rockford Park District

Jo Baker was the first woman elected to the Rockford Park District Board of Commissioners (1973), and served as President of the Board of Commissioners from 1977 to 1981. During her time on the Board, she played a major role in many projects such as the Riverfront Museum Park, Mercyhealth Sportscore One, and the Festival of Lights at Sinnissippi Park. Jo once stated, “My view is that parks and open space add a quality of life not possible in any other way, and quality of life is one of my principal concerns.”

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She was also the reason the Rock River Recreation Path exists today. In the early ‘70’, Commissioner Jo Baker brought an idea to then Executive Director Webbs Norman after visiting a walking, biking, and jogging path in Wichita, Kansas. Her push to expand recreational opportunities to our community was timely, as nationally, there was a huge push to increase opportunities for Americans to become more physically fit. Jo thought the Park District should provide a safe and inexpensive place for people to exercise. At that time, biking was only thought about as a mode of transportation, and something only kids did. Jo worked hard over the years to change that perception, and chaired the District’s Greater Rockford Bicycle Committee, which educated the community about the health benefits of biking. The Rock River Recreation Path opened in 1977, extending from the YMCA in Rockford to Martin Park in Loves Park. Today, this is a 10-mile paved path that is one of the most popular and heavily utilized path systems in the community.

After serving on the Board, Baker took on the role as planner before eventually becoming Deputy Director of Planning and Administrative Services in 1981. She retired from the Rockford Park District in 1992 and moved to Arizona. Jo passed away on November 15, 2011, at the age of 81. Jo will forever be known throughout the District as an “Agent of Change,” as she took time to get people together with common concerns and was the bridge to helping them develop mutual respect and trust for one another.