Fresh Faces: Shelby Longgrear

While operating state park is a complicated choreography of maintenance technicians, rangers, seasonal employees and volunteers, much of the work happens out of sight of the public eye. One job that is always front-and-center is that of the office administrator. OAs are the voices you hear when you call with a question about camping or swimming. They give advice on which trail to take with the family and which one will challenge the seasoned hiker. OAs are the smiling faces (behind the masks) you see when you come to the office to get your NC State Parks passport stamped and will help you figure out how many bass you can keep and how big they need to be. They are also in charge of keeping the books, making sure everyone gets paid and purchasing everything from concessions stand snacks to bulldozers.

As Lake James State Park continues to expand, not to mention the impending opening of the new visitor center, the staff office administrator ranks have expanded as well. Shelby Longgrear started working at the park in July and has been steadily proving herself an invaluable member of the staff.

A native of the South, Shelby also spent 6 years of her life in Canada before returning to Tennessee and then western North Carolina in 2017 to work as a seasonal concession stand attendant at Mount Mitchell State Park. She quickly rose to the rank of seasonal office administrator there and then caught on at Lake James with the promise of a great career laid out before her.

“It’s only been four years in the making, but here I am,” she said. “I thought it would never happen.”

Shelby said she was so inspired by the visitors she meets who are so excited to have the passports stamped with the Lake James State Park stamp that she got one herself that’s now almost complete. That excitement for visiting state parks has spilled over into her professional career.

“You really form a passion for state parks once you start working here,” she said. “It’s hard to see myself doing anything else.”