Carol and Ward Klein to Receive Forest Park Forever’s Leffingwell Award
Recognizing the couple’s longstanding support and dedication to Forest Park
Carol Klein has been coming to Forest Park since she was a young child. She and her husband, Ward, enjoyed one of their first dates on Art Hill as the native St. Louisan Carol showed Ward around his new hometown.
Together, the Kleins have recognized, experienced and avidly supported the Park’s importance to St. Louis since the 1980s, the decade when Forest Park Forever was founded to help restore, maintain and sustain Forest Park.
On Thursday, Sept. 26, the Kleins will be honored with the Leffingwell Award during the nonprofit conservancy’s celebration of its lead donors in the Leffingwell Society. The Leffingwell Award is bestowed annually to a corporation, foundation or individuals who have made a significant contribution of time, talent or resources to the restoration and maintenance of Forest Park.
Carol’s memories of the Park go back to holding her father’s hand as they walked into shows at The Muny, one of several cultural institutions that call Forest Park home. When Ward arrived in St. Louis with Ralston Purina and later led Energizer and Edgewell, he saw how this popular regional asset not only tied the community together, it also helped recruit top talent and leadership to St. Louis.
Both have also been dedicated volunteers, with Carol having served on the Forest Park Forever Board of Directors, its Executive Committee and Strategic Planning Committee; she is also past chair of the Marketing Committee, which she continues to serve today. Ward has dug his hands in, grabbing gloves and lopper to join the annual Invasive Species Removal and Forest Restoration Day.
Today the Kleins remain frequent visitors to the Park, particularly its east side, where the restored Klein Prairie – Carol’s favorite, magical spot – reflects their support of that space and the FOREVER campaign that helped build the endowment needed to safeguard the Park’s dramatic restoration.
In any season, the Kleins can be found in Forest Park walking, biking, entertaining grandchildren or taking in a prescribed burn as part of the on-going management that promotes a thriving, diverse ecosystem in the prairie. In 2024, in commemoration of their support of the prairie, they funded the acquisition and installation of “Prairie in Motion,” dynamic wind sculptures by international sculptor Lyman Whitaker that highlight the flow of wind through the prairie grasses.
“Carol and Ward are cherished friends of Forest Park Forever,” said President and Executive Director Lesley S. Hoffarth. “Their major campaign support has been vital to Forest Park’s restoration. Just as importantly, their loyal support as annual Leffingwell Society members exemplifies what this giving society means to Forest Park’s 1,300 acres and 15.5 million annual visitors. Such dedicated generosity ensures the Park’s needs are addressed year after year, season after season.”