Volunteer Voices - Tracy Dunkel

2026 Canaveral Volunteer of the Year - Tracy Dunkel

Tracy Dunkel Honored as Canaveral’s Volunteer of the Year

Tracy Dunkel of Scottsmoor was honored on Feb. 28, at the Volunteers in Parks Picnic as Canaveral National Seashore’s Volunteer of the Year. The native of Hershey, Pa., logged 341 volunteer hours in 2025, participating in a variety of roles at the National Seashore. Get to know Tracy and what she does in the park:

Where do you volunteer?

I volunteer in all districts. I help with Turtle Watch in both the Apollo and Playalinda districts, work at the desk at Seminole Rest and volunteer with beach cleanups and at rocket launches, as well as out-of-district things.

How long have you been volunteering at Canaveral National Seashore?

I started volunteering in July 2019.

How did you get started?

I came out to watch a turtle lay her eggs one night and I got hooked. That was it!

What do you enjoy about it?

Just meeting people. And I like the rocket launches a lot.

What does a volunteer do at rocket launches?

We go to Playalinda and put up a boundary and have to keep all of the spectators behind it until after the rocket launches. We also inform them what kind of rocket it is, which launch pad it’s taking off from, the rocket’s trajectory and the payload if we know what’s in them. We also try to keep people out of the sand dunes during the launches.

Some of the launches are really early in the morning, aren’t they?

Yes, but we only work during park hours. Sometimes, when they keep moving back the launch time, we might have already been out there for eight hours. We are supposed to be out on the beach two hours before each launch. If upper-level winds or thunderstorms move through, sometimes the launch gets moved back several hours. You must work very close with park staff at rocket launches because of the safety concern. There are only a handful of us who work the launches, so we’re a pretty tight-knit group and we all get along.

Are guests super-disappointed when launches are scrubbed?

Sometimes they are. We just tell them to come back tomorrow or to get the app and watch the launch on their phone.

How long have you lived in Florida?

Seven years.

Why do you volunteer your time?

When I retired and moved down here, I needed something to do with my time. I was a nurse’s aide for 25 years, so now I have the time to volunteer.