2020 Employee of the Year
Heather Shuke-Nelson
Employee of the Year Award
Heather's combination of accomplishments, work ethic, attitude, leadership, drive to support all facets of the division and her example makes her truly deserving of this recognition. Heather never says "no" to any request for assistance, and everyone knows that she will be there to support them, whenever needed regardless of the topic, all while training and improving her team of mostly seasonal staff. Spending time working with Heather is one great way to receive a huge dose of motivation to serve the division, department and co-workers.
One of Heather's responsibilities is managing the division's communications and interacting with the department's communications team. For the past many months, with her communications manager position vacant, Heather took on the additional responsibility to meet the division's needs while still performing all her other tasks. In the past several months with multiple hurricanes and tropical storms, Heather has been the division’s voice to state park visitors via our webpage. Heather and her team have kept the public and the Emergency Operations Center informed on closed parks and services.
One example of Heather's contributions includes leading the division's response to parks closed statewide due to COVID-19 and maintaining the public's connections with our parks virtually. As parks closed and the world reacted to the need for social distancing, Heather led her team to adapt and respond to the increasing need for alternative methods to connect the public to the missions of the Florida Park Service and Florida Department of Environmental Protection. The idea of the Digital Park Visitor was not a new one, and resources had been under development for years.
Heather took the lead by creating Parks from Anywhere. This multi-program collection of virtual and digital park experiences utilized existing resources, such as six park webcams, 31 episodes of the Outsiders Club and 96 Critter Sheets. She created a one-stop location for the public access portal. These resources were expanded by 40 additional Critter Sheets, 136 coloring sheets, eight Natural Community coloring activities, three Virtual Junior Ranger Activities and a collection of video experiences called Park Zen. The focus was to create at-home experiences that highlight the work and value of Florida State Parks, while connecting individuals to fun, engaging and informative content.
Another example was the creation of the Girl Scouts of America and Florida State Parks partnership. Multiple current Florida Park Service staff members who had been Girl Scouts told their stories. In one month, over 8,000 people had visited the website to learn more. Both staff and visitors were inspired by the shared stories.
Heather and her team developed a new way to track and assess the division's Interpretation Program. The Personal Contacts Tracker and Dashboard is a program that tracks, reports and provides layers of analysis for interpretive contacts in 175 state parks. Interpretation includes campfire programs, boat tours, guided hikes and other park experiences. Good interpretation works by increasing visitor understanding of initiatives and inspiring positive actions. The new tracker and dashboard create an understanding of how interpretation is done in the Florida Park Service so management decisions can be made at the local and global level. The data provides improved staffing, training and visitor service capabilities. The tracker was launched in August 2019 and supported by webinars and in-person trainings. Pilot evaluation and workshops resulted in the development of a SharePoint page, frequently asked questions document and video.
Since its inception, the Personal Contacts tracker has captured more than 1.15 million interpretive contacts with residents and visitors of Florida through 31,000 interpretive experiences. The data can be analyzed based on time, location, format, attendance and interpreter. Park managers have been able to better schedule events to limit staffing expenses and better meet audience needs. Training efforts are now aligned to support shown needs, increase spending efficiency, reduce workforce time and enhance visitor experience. Overall, the program increases the efficiency with which interpretation is delivered from planning to execution.
Staff that once thought of themselves as just an interpreter at their park now see how their contribution along with that of their co-workers comes together to positively impact our visitors and Florida. Staff take pride in being part of something larger than themselves to help tell the Florida State Park story.
The Employee of the Year Award is awarded annually to an individual who best exemplifies the qualities and attributes of an excellent employee.