Manager Search Ongoing For James Floyd State Park

By JIMMY ESPY
Staff Writer
Interviews are currently being conducted for the park manager position at Floyd State Park, according to Joe Yeager, District One manager for the State Parks and Historic Sites Division of the Department of Natural Resources.
Steven Emery, who was hired to manage the park in the summer of 2017, left at the end of the 2018 for a position at Don Carter State Park at Lake Lanier.
Yeager told The News he was “still interviewing” for the open position.
“It’s hard to say when we’ll have someone,” he said.
Yeager said park management at Floyd was “being covered” by other managers from the region until Emery’s replacement was found.
Emery spent about 18 months as park manager. He followed Sam McDuffie, who managed the park for 2½ years. Before McDuffie, Will Wagner served as manager for about two years.
Yeager said managing a small park like Floyd serves as good training for employees who want to move on to bigger, busier parks. Emery, McDuffie and Wagner all remain with the parks department.
Yeager said park-related experience and experience with administration, supervision and leadership are assets the state is looking for in manager candidates. He said it would be a plus to find someone with experience in the region, “But sometimes that can be hard to get.”