The proverb “One man’s loss is another man’s gain” certainly rings true in the case of two park districts separated by the Maumee River.

At a November 30 meeting, the Wood County Park District commissioners voted to hire Chris Smalley as their new director and secretary of the board.

Mr. Smalley comes to the county from Metroparks Toledo where he served since 2018 as supervisor of the eastern region which encompasses three fairly recent park additions– Howard Marsh in Jerusalem Township and Glass City and Manhattan Marsh parks in Toledo.

The latter, Mr. Smalley noted with pride, fulfilled the park district’s mission of having a metropark within five miles of every resident.

Metroparks Toledo director Dave Zenk acknowledged their loss is Wood County’s gain.

“We are happy for Chris and this exciting new opportunity. We are losing a leader at Metroparks, but we are fortunate that he will remain in our region, at an adjacent park district. The residents of Wood County will benefit from his leadership, and we look forward to working with him in his new role.”

Mr. Zenk pointed out that Mr. Smalley represents the third park administrator to leave Metroparks in the past month.

The others–Emily Ziegler, capital projects, is moving to Denver’s parks and recreation and Joe Fausnaugh, special projects, is now director of parks and recreation for the City of Toledo.

Metroparks board president Scott Savage said it was inevitable that work done at the park district would gain notoriety and by consequence make others take notice of their personnel.

And so park administrators were not surprised to learn that Mr. Smalley scored well ahead of other candidates in the hiring process conducted by the Ohio Parks and Recreation Association.

As for Wood County’s park board, they are pleased with their decision. “It was the consensus of the board to hire him,” said Sandy Wiechman, chairman of the board.

The board approved an annual starting salary of $94,182 “with five personal days and benefits that come with being an employee of the Wood County Park District.”

Mr. Smalley began work December 6 and replaces current director Neil Munger, who retires January 3.

The new director looks forward to returning to the park district where he worked years ago before crossing county lines. “I started my career at Wood County parks,” he said, and believes the county is a great place to live, work and raise families.

He admits the job will pose challenges early on, but is up to the task. Those challenges include the retirement in December 2022 of two valuable employees–assistant director Jeff Baney and police chief Todd Nofzinger.

“Busy times are ahead, that’s for sure,” Mr. Smalley said.

He believes his experience at Metroparks will bode well for him as the park district grows, noting he is looking forward to meeting Doug and Mary Ellen Pratt of Perrysburg who donated their 40-acre parcel on Hull Prairie Road to the park district upon their demise.

The possibility of developing a park in the future intrigues Mr. Smalley, “I look forward to the opportunity the Pratts have given us.”

In closing, he expressed appreciation to the park board for putting their faith in him. “I want to thank the board for this exciting opportunity. I’m excited to be here.”

He also thanked Mr. Munger, who mentored him when he first started in the parks, which while not the career he originally planned after college, became his dream after working under Mr. Munger’s tutelage.

“I’d like to thank Neil for his many years of service, and I plan to continue to make the parks a great place for citizens of Wood County.” ~Jane Maiolo