News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
Pickett CCC Memorial State Park recognized as best in the state for Customer Engagement and Resource Management.
Park Manager Travis Stover said the recognition is an honor, a testament to the service they try to provide for people. Stover said the staff wants everyone to feel free to visit and enjoy the park.
“It feels really good to be able to acknowledge the staff at the park and the hard work that they’ve put in to achieve these awards on behalf of the park,” Stover said. “So the credit really goes to the folks that are here at the park putting in the effort and that has been a total team effort.”
Stover said much of the Resource Management recognition comes from the staff doing extensive projects themselves, saving money. Stover said much of the in-house maintenance done is with consideration of the park’s historical nature and fragile ecosystem.
Stover said that it is often time the nature of park staff to care for their visiting guests during their time at the park.
“Maybe I’m biased but I would say that rangers are good people who want to see people have good experiences,” Stover said. “So I think a lot of it is the people that we have on our teams.”
Stover said making visitors feel welcome in the park can even carry over to when conducting a search or rescue.
“All of those skills are things that they achieve through a variety of training and they implement those from just a kind of customer service,” Stover said.
TDEC announced the awards, honoring five parks statewide with different awards. The Customer Engagement category of the awards is for parks that have demonstrated excellence in the areas of marketing, community outreach, social media, customer service, gift shops, and any other efforts that serve customers’ needs while they are in the park or engaging with the park. The Resource Management category for the award includes parks that have demonstrated effective activities, natural or cultural, in managing resources within the park.
