“I Didn’t Get a Degree to Clean Bathrooms”

That phrase is one that I hear from people that are not meant for the conservation board or parks and recreation world. Working as a public servant in the parks and recreation world does unfortunately involve cleaning bathrooms, but it is so much more than that! What is it like working at a conservation board? You are a jack of all trades and a master of none. Winters mean making replacement signs, removing diseased ash trees, equipment maintenance, burning brush piles, getting materials purchased for the summer projects, deep cleaning cabins, watching safety videos, etc. Summers involve a lot of landscaping, which is a great way to say picking up sticks and mowing. It also involves public interaction as we provide campers and other park users clean areas with working facilities to stay in our parks. (Yes, there’s the cleaning bathroom part.) It also means providing educational opportunities for youth by providing summer camps where we end of up floating the river, petting animal furs, going on bug scavenger hunts, making s’mores, etc. It also means development and improvement. Maybe we replace or install a concrete pad, add amenities for a campground, pull a discarded window A/C out of a pond, paint picnic tables, replace rotten boards on picnic shelters, weed whip, hike trails to remove downed tree limbs, and many more random things. Unfortunately, last summer we spent a lot of time dealing with our flooded buildings and parks. One thing is for sure, every day serving the public is different and mostly rewarding. If any of this being outside, occasionally talking to people, working with a great group of people, and having a unique experience everyday sounds appealing to you, I encourage you to give us a try. We hire two Seasonal Park Technicians each summer and we’re currently hiring for this summer. Applications are available to print from our website (www.cherokeecountyparks.com) or can be picked up at our office at 629 River Rd and are due at noon on March 7^th. Applicants must be 18 yrs old or older and no degree is required, but you may have to clean a bathroom or two.  We ALL clean bathrooms.