Many things have changed at the Warsaw Parks and Recreation department since 1984, but one thing hasn’t — the presence of Larry Plummer.
Plummer has been working at the Warsaw Parks and Recreation Department for four decades.
“I started when I was 14 at the cemetery, worked there for three summers… and then went to Florida for about six months and then came back and worked for Dick Hammond, the superintendent, in 1984,” he explained in an interview. “Then in 1988, I was the assistant superintendent at the age of 21. [I] did that until 2012 and then I was appointed superintendent by Mayor Thallemer.”
There’s been lots of progress since Plummer first began, including new parks.
“When I first started here we had 15. So, [now] we've got 20 parks,” he said. “We have a lot of facilities, and we have 19 full-time employees.”
The number of employees varies by season, as well.
“That goes up to almost 50 employees during the summer with our recreation staff or lifeguard staff. So, my day-to-day is to manage all those facilities and all the staff there and make sure that they have the best tools and the best direction to do what we're here for, and that's provide great parks and leisure opportunities for the public,” he said.
Plummer has also worked at the department through the recent renovation of the Center Lake Park.
“This is a project that has a huge impact on our community providing an opportunity for community gatherings and private venues,” he explained.
The job varies a lot in its duties, as Plummer explained. “It changes from day-to-day. Most of the time, it runs pretty smoothly, but there's times where we have vandalism or something like that. And we've got to address that or, you know, you struggle with … the public’s negative comment here or there, but that seems like the one out of 100. So, we do take it seriously and try to accommodate everybody, but you know you can only do your best and hope that's good enough for everybody.”
Plummer described his work, saying, “Oh, I enjoy every day. I think that's what's kept me here for so long. You know, my staff and my crew are just exceptional. I just get a sense of well-being when I go out in the public and … I see somebody having fun and enjoying our facilities and then if they say something positive, it just that's what keeps me going. That's what drives me, just doing things for other people and allowing them to enjoy our facilities. It's just been a passion of mine and… it's a job where it changes every day. Nothing’s ever the same and you're outside and enjoying it.”
He’s also not the only one in the department to feel that way.
“I think that's one thing that's changed over the years, is that we have employees who really care for each other and it never used to be that way. You know, 30 years ago it was just come to work, do your job and coexist. But now we have a family. We have a family and the leadership training that we've experienced the last few years has really helped us. I think that's brought us all closer together and then gave us a vision of where we want to be at and where we're headed. And we always know that there's room for improvement, no matter how good we're doing, there's always something that we can do better and that's kind of what we strive for as a team,” he said.
There are public misconceptions about the department as well.
“I think sometimes some of the funding that's received, I think people think that it's misallocated, but a lot of times it's not true. It's actually funding that's not coming out of the tax base. It's actually grants or funded by other means than the park budget. You know, I think sometimes that people think that you're only working at the park during the summer months. And this is really a full-time year-round project. You know, even in the winter months - right now we're getting ready for our Christmas display. We're shutting down all the parks, we're getting ready to refurbish all of our equipment. It is a 12-month job to do this.”
And it’s a job that Plummer acknowledges he doesn’t do alone.
“I'm just the leader of this ship. I've got a lot of good people under me. My maintenance director, Shaun Gardner, and my recreational director, Stephanie Schaefer,” he said. “They're just, they're all bought in. They do a great job, so I'm appreciative of all of them. I know it just can't be me. It's a team. So that's what I'm proud of.”