Job Spotlight: Desmond Timmons, manager of Georgia's largest state park a rising star with winning programs

Desmond Timmons grew up on a 100-acre family farm in rural Lee County, Ga., with hunting and fishing and playing outdoors his favorite form of recreation.

So it shouldn't be a major surprise to anyone who knows him that his professional career has taken a road pretty much in that direction, with nary a detour.

A brief stint as an academic adviser at Eastern Illinois University all but wiped away any notion that Timmons might want to make a living at a job inside a building. It was at the university that he found himself staring out a single window in his office while assisting students.

"After I got my master's, I thought maybe I could be an academic adviser. But I was miserable doing that," he said.I knew then that I couldn't have a sit-behind-the-desk job."

Timmons' life -- personal and professional -- has taken various paths and turns. At 6-foot, 7-inches, he played basketball for two years at Columbus State University under beloved coach Herbert Greene, who passed away this year. He also married former Indiana University and WBNA basketball player Quacy Barnes-Timmons, who now coaches the Tuskegee University women's team.

Timmons, 36, has worked with Columbus Parks and Recreation, with the Boy Scouts of America in two cities, and with a defense contractor that took him overseas. Nearly four years ago, he landed at F.D. Roosevelt State Park, becoming manager and also serving as a law enforcement-certified park ranger.

It is in the 9,049-acre park that Timmons has thrived, setting up programs and activities that pushed attendance from about 4,300 to nearly 12,000 in a mere one year, while also functioning within his annual budget of $925,000. Those feats led to the state's largest park receiving the "Best State Park Year-round Programming Award" at a recent Georgia State Parks & Historic Sites managers conference.

With that as the backdrop, the Ledger-Enquirer talked with Timmons recently about his job, why he has a passion for it, and what the future may hold for one of Georgia's budding state park stars. This interview is edited a bit for length and clarity, with an expanded version available at www.ledger-enquirer.com.

You've had a great impact quickly at the park. How did you do it?

Having a good staff is one thing, motivating a staff and selling a vision is another thing. People bought in and wanted to make this park the best park in the state.

Doing those events (and activities) is great and everything. But the big picture is just providing a good experience for every visitor that comes to FDR State Park, and make them want to come back.

What's it like being manager of such a large park?

It's busy, demanding, and you have to have great skills at prioritizing and managing your time. I also provide the law enforcement at the park, so I'm making rounds, and there's search and rescue when we have lost hikers, and administrative duties and managing staff, and also providing maintenance. During the summer there's 30 employees; during the rest of the year there's 19 to 20. It's almost like running a small city. We don't have a public works department. We do everything in house, from drinking water to wastewater. Just to sum it up in one word, it's demanding.

Does that equal challenging, the juggling you do?

It does. Everyday is a challenge. I've worked with Columbus Parks and Rec coming out of college, and with the Boy Scouts of America. I did two years as a contractor in Iraq and I worked in the Champagne Park District in Illinois. But with this job here, you can't get bored. Everyday is different. That's what I like about it. Some jobs you master and you feel like you know everything. You will never feel that way here.

Do you spend a lot of time outdoors?

I do. Where our main office is at, there's a beautiful view. Some days I come to work and I'm like, man, I can't believe they're paying me to do this. ... That is a benefit, being in a nice area and in a great location. You're 30 minutes north of Columbus and you feel like you're miles away. And you're close to Auburn and 70 miles to Atlanta. You couldn't ask for a better centrally located place.

I've heard a lot of folks from Florida stop here to visit because it's the first mountains they reach driving north?

We get so many people from Florida, it's amazing. And we do get some people from Atlanta. What's amazing is how many locals we don't get. We get more tourists from Florida, Alabama, and even some people from Tennessee, than we do from around here. We've had people from as far as Alaska here.

Do local residents take the park for granted?

I think that's what it is. The other thing is marketing locally to let people know what's in your area. I grew up in south Georgia, close to Albany, in Lee County, and I was 15 minutes from a state park. I never knew what all went on there until I started working for the state parks. I thought it was just a place you would go to picnic and camp and fish. But I think it's just getting the word out to people, because the state parks are here for the citizens of Georgia and everyone else who wants to come visit the state.

What about staffing the park?

We're running one of the largest state parks in Georgia with mostly part-time staff and underpaid fulltime (employees). It's a challenge as a manager because you've got to motivate people to work, knowing they're underpaid, and try to give them benefits for working in the state park. ... It's staff morale more than anything.

What's the most rewarding part of your job?

Honestly, what I enjoy most about this job is being a public servant and enhancing the guest experience for those who visit the park. I like interacting with the public and putting a quality product out for them. Even with doing a search and rescue, you have people lost in the woods, and it might take you six hours in the middle of the night to look for them. When you're able to get them to safety, that's rewarding.

What's your favorite area of the park, because it is so diverse?

I enjoy going to Dowdell's Knob, with the life-sized statue of Roosevelt. But this park, being so diverse, it's hard to pick out a favorite area.

I understand camping is a major thing to do?

It is. And we just renovated 16 cottages, 1 through 16. It was about a $1.6 million project. The work that the contractors did was amazing. That really has boosted our rentals. They kept the historic look inside the cabin and outside. At the same time, we included up-to-date appliances, although we did change the layout of the structures on the inside. We're getting ready to do another renovation in our large group camp that got hit by the tornado. I'm excited about that.

There's also the Liberty Bell pool. We've been able to run it the last two years and see a profit from it. That was a big accomplishment that I was really excited about because of the profit, because they said it couldn't be done. ... It costs money to run a pool. Literally, it's money going down the drain. You're going to spend on chemicals. You're going to spend money on staff. And you're going to have to pay the electric bill. So you're already in a hole.

One of things we looked at was selling merchandise, selling food. By doing that, and creating activities during the pool hours, it enhanced the guest experience when they went to the pool. Basically, you run a pool like you run a community center or rec center. You need to have activities planned and make it a fun place.

It seems as if you're an upbeat person?

I'm the type of person, I look at the glass half full. There are some things you can control and some you can't. What I can't control, I don't worry about them, because there was nothing I could do to prevent or change the outcome. I just focus on the things that I can.

Have you always been that way? You mentioned you played at CSU for Herb Greene.

Yes, it's one of those traits that you pick up as an athlete. I was fortunate enough that I was able to play college basketball. It's like at Columbus State, we shot a basketball and you never worried about the shot you missed; you knew you were going to make the next one. So you can't fear failure, because you know the next time around it's going to be a success.

Playing for Herbert Greene was one of those things. He prepared you for basketball, but he also prepared you for life. He actually was a big influence on my life as a young teenager, as a young adult, and even as a professional ... He was a like a second father to some people.

Any notable memories from your days with the coach?

The biggest thing that I remember from my time playing there under Coach Greene was the type of person he was, and my teammates, and being able to get his 400th win at USC-Spartanburg. It was a game that I only played 13 minutes, and I had 10 points and 13 rebounds. Coach Greene came up to me and (joked): I should have been playing you like this all along. He had a great sense of humor.

Did the road map for your career have any hint of becoming a park manager?

Honestly, I never thought I would work at a state park. It was just one of those things, you don't see a lot of minorities working in a state park as a manager or park ranger. So it was never one of my goals.

But I grew up in the outdoors in south Georgia, so I hunt, I fish. Looking at one of the programs in my senior year, I wrote down some of goals, and one of them was I want to be a director in parks and rec. I wanted to get my master's in public administration. I'm not a director of a parks and rec department, but I'm the manager of a state park, so it's closely related.

But I always knew I wanted to better my community and be involved and give back to the community that gave so much to me. And I also want to be able to help someone else achieve their goals and dreams.

God works in mysterious ways, you know, and I believe if you're listening and patient, He will guide you in the direction for you to be successful. My success comes from staff and faith in God, because He's not going to give you too much you can't handle. If you trust in Him, He will guide your path.

What's the future hold for you professionally?

My next move will be the best move for my family. I don't know what the future holds, but I'm enjoying everything right now ... I'm enjoying working for the state parks and I don't see myself leaving any time soon.

Four or five years ago, I never saw myself working for Georgia State Parks. I'm having fun now. I'm enjoying the job. I'm enjoying the people that I meet. And I'm enjoying the staff that I have the privilege of providing leadership to.

What qualities would someone need to be a good park manager or ranger?

You have to have the ability to learn and adapt. You also don't have to be great in one thing, but you do have to be good at everything. It's like you've got to be a jack of all (trades). Then you have to have the work ethic and drive to want to be the best, to want to learn as much as you can. That's from replacing a broken water line, to changing a breaker at a camp site, or changing a toilet. You have to have that ambition to want to learn those things.

BIO

Name: Desmond Timmons

Age: 36

Hometown: Grew up in the country in Lee County, Ga., near Albany

Current residence: Pine Mountain, Ga.

Education: 1998 graduate of Lee County (Ga.) High School (went to school with country star Luke Bryan); earned bachelor’s degree in park and recreation administration from CSU in 2003; earned master’s degree in public administration from CSU in 2006

Previous jobs: Recreation program specialist with Columbus Consolidated Government; graduate assistant with Columbus State University; district executive with Chattahoochee Council, Boy Scouts of America; academic adviser with Eastern Illinois University; district executive with Boy Scouts of America, Lincoln Trails Council, in Decatur, Ill.; morale welfare recreation coordinator with defense contractor KBR; program supervisor with Champaign Park District in Illinois

Family: Wife, Quacy, head coach of Tuskegee University’s women’s basketball team (and former Indiana University and WNBA player, along with former CSU assistant coach); stepson T.J., 21; and daughters Taryn, 7, and Taylor, 5

Leisure time: Enjoys watching college basketball in general, but supports his wife’s teams by attending games; enjoys spending time with his kids and their activities

This story was originally published December 4, 2015 at 11:13 PM with the headline "Job Spotlight: Desmond Timmons, manager of Georgia's largest state park a rising star with winning programs ."