There is a new office manager at Johnson Branch.
Todd Davis joined the parks agency two years ago as assistant manager and last year climbed the ladder to his current position.
“After a year, I was able to get promoted up to office manager, so that’s a recent happening,” Davis said. “I ran an outdoor hunting company for a while where we guided hunts, but with the economy and everything it slowed down, so I was looking for something where I could still stay in the outdoors. I’ve always enjoyed camping and fishing and the things that go along with the lake, so when I saw that opportunity I thought, ‘Man, I really don’t care what I do. I just want to get into the parks.’” Davis came to the parks after a career in the military, 24 years as a solutions architect and time organizing guided hunts.
“In the military, I was a non-commissioned officer for a maintenance company and ran the motor pool,” Davis said. “All of that transferred over. Then running my own business helped a lot because I understood point of sale and inventory and budgets and the things that go into the fiscal control part of the job.”
Given the recent weather events, from the tornado in May and heavy snowfall in January, Davis said his time in the woods prior to taking the position has served him well.
“We did our own brush hogging, tree cutting, and weeding and everything, so all of that transferred as well, which worked out great because
Basil Gist/The Post-Signal I was just here a few months when we had the tornado and flood and recently the seven inches of snow,” Davis said.
In a career where everyone is as passionate as the folks working in the parks are, coming on in a management position with little history in the business can present unique challenges, Davis explained.
“Everyone has that feeling out period when you first start, and one of the things they want to know is, ‘Do you love this park and are you passionate about it?’” Davis said. “That was my big thing coming in as the new manager. ‘Do you love it enough to go the extra mile, cross every T and dot every I?’ Once you do that, you’re part of the family.”
That family, Davis shared, is focused both on protecting and maintaining the natural spaces under its care and on doing the same for the guests it invites to enjoy them.
“Even I didn’t really realize what happens on the other side of the fence,” Davis said. “You see the parks and they always look nice, but there is a lot of training that the staff goes through. We just had our annual training on active shooters or robbery, so it was natural for me, but behind the scenes, people don’t realize how important customer safety is for us.”
He offered several examples, both broad and specific.
“We want to know when a truck comes in with three kids and two adults,” Davis said. “We’re not trying to charge you more for those people. We just want to know that if we find that boat beached somewhere, how many people we’re looking for. Those are the kinds of things we look for, but the public just sees it as having fun.”
He said the water is a particular point of attention.
“Especially on the water, like with the Bassmaster Classic on [March] 21st, we’re already working with law enforcement on the park to provide the best service we can and bring in extra staff to be on the water to make sure the boaters are all safe,” Davis said. “Our maintenance rangers are always cruising the park [and] checking boat ramps to make sure people are launching correctly.”
Despite the number of guests the park welcomes day to day, Davis and his staff welcome special cases as well.
“For a case and point, we have a lady who has a disease that’s disabling for her and a dog that’s specially trained for her, and when she stopped by, she wanted to know if she could use the trail,” Davis said. “We absolutely want everyone to enjoy the park but because she stopped by and told us, we were able to put into effect a plan specialized for her so we know that if she falls there is a special way to pick her up and we train the staff, if you get a call from this person, this is who you call.”
Safety is a chief priority. “One of the things we do with our staff is get them out on the park so they know where they are at any given time, so if someone is hurt, they can ask a few questions and know where they are at,” Davis said. “I think the public doesn’t always recognize that those little things we’re asking could mean a lot if there was some kind of emergency.”
Married for 42 years and boasting a collection of seven grandkids, Davis explained he’s shared his love of nature with his family.
“The whole family is into fishing and hunting,” Davis said. “It’s fun to take the grandkids out and introduce them to things they’ve never seen. We’re kind of an outdoor family, so when I’m not here, I’m either dad or grandpa most of the time, still in the woods, just somewhere else.”
He explained that instilling a love of the outdoors in his kids and later his grandkids was by design.
“That’s purposeful when it comes to the kids,” he said. “We wanted them to enjoy that lifestyle. Now they’re older, so if they don’t pursue it, that’s on them, but we raised them that way and we’ve been very fortunate that they all love it and are passing it on to their kids.”
