On The Job: Honored GF&P Employee Sees Both Sides Of Department
By Andrew Atwal
andrew.atwal@yankton.net
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The 2012 South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks (GF&P) Seasonal Employee of the Year award was recently given to a local worker.
Brian Odens has spent the last two summers working at the Lewis and Clark Recreation Area near Yankton. He has been involved both in management and maintenance in his two seasons working at Lewis and Clark.
“The State of South Dakota has a seasonal employee award they give out each year,” Odens said. “Last year I worked on the maintenance side of the internship. I worked with the custodial guys and maintenance crews to fix anything that needed to be fixed and tending to those issues on the grounds that needed work.”
This past summer, Odens saw a different side to working at Lewis and Clark when he worked as the park manager intern.
“I dealt more with management issues like dealing with the public and helping to delegate jobs to park rangers and other staff members,” he said. “One of the favorite parts of the job that I like most is working outdoors and working with people. It’s just a blast.”
Despite being an aspiring park manager, Odens said he enjoyed both internships a lot.
“I’m a really hands-on person, so I really enjoyed the maintenance side of the internship,” he said. “However, the management side was great just because it’s more of a challenge I saw and benefited me with learning in life.”
Odens is currently a student at Mount Marty College in Yankton where he is studying recreation management with a minor in business. He is slated to graduate in May 2013.
He said when he found out he got the award at the South Dakota Parks and Recreation (SDPRA) meeting in September in Huron, he was in a state of shock.
“I was taken aback when I found out that I got the award. I wasn’t expecting it at all and was very surprised by it,” he said. “I was so shocked when I got the award and appreciative that people recognize you for the work you’ve done. I was also caught off guard big time because I’m the type of person that likes to stay low-key, and to get such high recognition threw me off.”
Other awards that were given out at the conference included employee recognition awards and volunteer of the year awards.
Odens said this was the first year that he has attended the conference and he may have been invited partly because of the award he received. However, he decided to go — not knowing about the recognition — in order to network with other employees around the state.
Shane Bertsch, who is the district park supervisor for the South Dakota GF&P and was also Odens’ supervisor for his internships, said there are a number of traits that helped Odens stand out.
“His demeanor really separates him from all other seasonal employees here,” he said. “He is business-like, yet cordial to the public. He also kept me well informed of things he ran into and always asked if he had any questions or problems.”
Bertsch added that Odens has a lot of the skills that a park manager needs to possess when they go to run their own park.
“He has a really well-rounded background that has prepared him well with the experience he has from his other jobs and schooling,” Bertsch said. “He’s a good guy to have on your staff. He rubs off well on other staff members and people really like working with him.”
Bertsch noted that there are about 400 seasonal employees in the state park system and the director takes nominations from several different categories, one of which is the seasonal award that Odens won.
“I really think he has a future with the GF&P,” Bertsch said. “He will be applying as positions open up and I think he will be a good manager at some point.”
“I want to be a park manager and work my way through the ranks up to a district or regional manager,” Odens said. “I want to put my time in and work my way up and am currently applying for open park manager positions.”
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By Andrew Atwal 