OUR MISSION
To promote professionalism and raise hiring standards, improve communications, upgrade working conditions, support and participate in active training programs, and champion common concerns among the members of the Tennessee Park Rangers Association and those individuals representing Tennessee State Parks.
LEADERSHIP
Chair: Shaun Rainone, Park Ranger, Henry Horton State Park
Vice-Chair: (TBD)
Secretary: Ann Paley, Park Ranger, David Crockett State Park
Treasurer: Justin King, Park Manager, Big Hill Pond State Park
Senior Advisor: Ray Cutcher, Park Manager, Cummins Falls State Park
Communications: Jackson Gibson, Park Ranger, Bi-Centennial Capitol Mall
Statewide Representatives:
JR Tinch, Assistant Chief Ranger, Tennessee State Parks
Andy Wright, Park Manager, Pickwick Landing State Park
West Tennessee Regional Representatives:
Jessica Gossett, Park Ranger, T.O. Fuller State Park
Scott Easley, Park Ranger, Chickasaw State Park
Middle Tennessee Regional Representatives:
Damon Graham, Park Manager, Rock Island State Park
Keith Wimberley, Park Manager, Old Stone Fort Archaeological Park
East Tennessee Regional Representatives:
Jason Davis, Sycamore Shoals State Historic Park
Nathanial Housely, Seven Islands State Birding Park
Current Affairs
TPRA LEGISLATIVE BILL UPDATE 2022
HB 1991 – Sponsored by Representative Kirk Haston; Co-Sponsored by Representative Paul Sherrell
SB 1914 – Sponsored by Senator Page Walley; Co-Sponsored by Senator Ken Yager
Pensions and Retirement Benefits - As introduced, extends mandatory retirement provision imposed on certain public safety officers to commissioned special agents of the department of revenue and commissioned members of the department of environment and conservation; requires such persons to also receive, in addition to the retirement service allowance, a supplemental bridge allowance. - Amends TCA Title 8, Chapter 36.
This bill extends mandatory retirement provisions imposed on certain public safety officers.
Present law imposes a mandatory age requirement for members of the Tennessee consolidated retirement system who are employed as commissioned instructors employed at the Tennessee law enforcement training academy and members who are employed with the wildlife resources agency as commissioned wildlife area managers, commissioned wildlife lake managers, commissioned boating chiefs, and commissioned boating assistant chiefs. This bill extends the mandatory age requirement to include the following:
(A) Commissioned special agents of the department of revenue; and
(B) Commissioned members of the department of environment and conservation.
Under present law, any Group 1 member who retires on a service retirement allowance with creditable service in a Group 1 position covered by the mandatory retirement provisions referenced above receive a supplemental bridge benefit; the employees added to the mandatory retirement provisions by this bill will receive the supplemental bridge benefit.
What We've Achieved
2021
More info coming soon.
2020
2020 has been a year unlike any other, with many of our regular activities canceled or postponed due to COVID-19. Despite these challenges, TPRA made gains with several advocacy priorities, including securing support from the Deputy Commissioner for the re-institution of educational raises for rangers who pursue and complete advanced degrees.
2018
TPRA successfully achieves long overdue law enforcement raises:
Over the past 10 years TPRA has worked extremely hard in trying to achieve pay & benefit equity for TSP law enforcement officers. Pay scales were not commensurate with the vast duties that officers within TSP are tasked with while keeping the public safe and our state parks operating when compared to other state law enforcement officers. These job responsibilities often include extreme risk to the officer’s welfare. TSP officers may face incidents that could result in injury or death, chronic exposure to trauma such as drownings, serious emergency medical conditions, deaths, suicides, assaults in the line of duty, exposure to needle sticks or dangerous illegal drugs, dangerous technical rescues, wildfires, and a variety of other high risk situations. Commissioned officers within Tennessee State Parks are also subject to risks associated with personal civil or criminal lawsuits based on the nature of the job. From 2014-2017, Tennessee State Park commissioned officers had over 17,000 law enforcement interactions with the public in 56 state parks. In 2018, Tennessee State Park visitation hit new records of over 38 million visitors to the 225,000 acres of state -owned lands which is one of the largest state park public land portfolios in the eastern United States. TPRA would like to thank TDEC & Commissioner Shari Meghreblian for the cooperation on this effort. TPRA will be continuing to work on equitable benefits for TSP officers in 2019-2020.
Fire Team
leadership
West TN - Ron Elder
Middle TN - Steve Ward
East - Eric Hughey
HONOR GUARD
Commissioned officers from Tennessee State Parks have formed an Honor Guard to provide formal flag ceremonies for uniformed officers and to represent the department. These flag presentation services are ready to honor commissioned employees and their families after their deaths but are also available to perform at sporting events and other special events. Members of the Tennessee State Parks Honor Guard meet monthly to drill, march, present the colors and practice appropriate protocol used when honoring a fallen uniformed officer, their immediate family member, or other department employee.
The Honor Guard first presented the colors at the opening of the 2006 Tennessee Recreation and Parks Association annual conference at Paris Landing State Park. They have since presented at several Tennessee Titans games, Nashville Predators games, Tennessee Vols and Lady Vols basketball games, as well as at State Parks Nights at minor league baseball games in Nashville, Memphis, Chattanooga, Knoxville, and Jackson. Many attendees at these events made a point to thank the Guard members and compliment their performance with some noting it was the best such presentation they had ever seen.
This special ranger corps has dedicated themselves to providing a full range of flag presentations. Having this capacity helps rangers serve one another and the department as needed. The group is made up of park rangers, park managers, and a director from different sites across the state, but when they meet to practice or perform, they are proud to be recognized together as the Tennessee State Parks Honor Guard.
Search & rescue
The Tennessee State Park’s Search and Rescue Team is made up of commissioned rangers from all over the state. The neon yellow uniform stands out during all exercises, training or action. Rangers have worked along side of TEMA, the T.B.I., and the FBI. This team specializes in Search and Rescue and has been put to the test in many of the roughest areas the state has to offer. The S.R.T. team is expected to remain in good physical shape and must be willing to travel long distances (most likely on foot). This team is lead by Chief Ranger Shane Petty.
Sort: Special Operations RESPONSE team
The Tennessee State Parks SORT team is made up entirely of commissioned State Park Rangers and Managers. Each ranger is required to be an EMT-IV or higher in medical certification. The SORT team is responsible for working events that require additional security and law enforcement presence. The SORT team has been used in the past for large events such as Darryl Worley’s Tennessee River Run and several of the larger trail rides at Natchez Trace State Park. The SORT team has trained with the FBI, TBI, and many local / county swat teams. Members of the team also train to work in all levels of the incident command system.
““A Park Ranger is a protector. You protect the land from the people, the people from the land, the people from each other, and the people from themselves. It’s what you are trained to do without even thinking, a reflexive and unconditional act. If you’re lucky, you get assigned to people who seem worth saving and land and waters whose situation is not hopeless. If not, you save them anyway. And maybe in time, saving them will make them worth it.””