When the Parks and Recreation Department updated playground equipment at Veterans Park, Parks Supervisor Jason Griffin said the students at nearby Bush Elementary School would ask him excitedly about when it would open.
“This was my second year here…The kids asked every day, ‘When’s it going to be open? When’s it going to be open?’”, he said. “I finally told them ‘When you see this orange construction fence down, it’s open.’ We were trying to spread our last load of mulch. We weren’t quite done, but we’d taken a bunch of the fence down; then, school let out. I couldn’t stop them. Here they came, and they’re on the playground. I thought ‘guess the playground’s open’.”
That was about eight years ago, and one of Jason’s favorite parts of the job still is seeing what the department does for kids in the community.
As parks supervisor, Jason works on maintaining the parks facilities. Sometimes, that means conducting routine projects such as weekly inspections and maintenance, and sometimes it means getting ready for upcoming events such as sports leagues and the lighted Field of Joy.
“Part of it is, I like to be outside. The other part is, especially around some of the sports programs, watching the kids,” he said. “I like watching the kids just be happy. They get excited when they show up at a playground. I enjoy watching during kickball and baseball when they get a hit or get a kick and seeing the pure excitement in them. It’s a lot of fun.”
Outside of work, Jason also enjoys outdoorsy hobbies like hunting, fishing, and camping. He also spends time with his two sons who are into four-wheelers.
“They’re riding around like crazy,” he said. “They’re in sports, so that’s fun to coach a little bit and help out. My boys are scouts, and I’m den leader for my oldest son.”
More information about Fulton and what we have to offer is available at www.fultonmo.org/join-our-team.