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Ranger Association News
2009 Ranger of the year!
Congratulations to our 2009 Ranger of the year!
Brandon Taylor
Pickett State Park
Nomination Letter:
I would like to nominate Brandon Taylor
for the 2009 Park Ranger of the Year award.
Brandon has been a ranger at Pickett
State Park for the past six years and prior to this
assignment he was a ranger at David Crockett State Park.
Brandon graduated from UT Martin and has worked as a
Seasonal Interpretive Ranger at Natchez Trace and Fall Creek
Falls before becoming full time.
Many of you may already know Brandon as
a ranger who is willing and able to help with many special
events at parks across the state. In addition, he is always
ready to respond to any type of emergency or special
operation. He is a member of the wild-land fire fighting
team, an EMT, and strives to gain as much additional
training as possible.
Brandon’s strength is his ability to be
an all-inclusive ranger; capable of multi-tasking his daily
ranger duties with many special projects and interpretive
programs. As an example, this year he has:
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Participated in the Pogue Creek SNA archaeological
surveys
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Field checked the boundary survey work in Pogue Creek
SNA
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Built interpretive display cases for the CCC museum
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Helped fight and contain a large forest fire on
Pickett S.P and Forest
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Helped construct of a new suspension bridge over
Pickett Lake
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Managed the raptor and reptile programs
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Conducted interpretive programs in CCC worker and
Long Hunter attire
One of Brandon’s most impressive
projects is the new comprehensive black bear management
plan. In preparing the plan, he researched the best
nationally known management techniques, consulted with NPS
personnel from the Big South Fork and the Great Smoky
Mountains, and set up training sessions with Pickett park
personnel. Because of Brandon’s work, the park is now much
better prepared to properly handle any bear incidence.
I can also give a good example of
Brandon’s devotion to the park. It occurred this past winter
when a late night ice storm occurred, causing a power outage
and making the roads inaccessible. I left my residence at
daylight to start assessing the damage and start cutting my
way past the downed trees. Living in an isolated area, I
was beginning to wonder how long this would take. Then, to
my surprise, I found Brandon clearing a large tree between
the park and group camp that was blocking the highway. I
soon learned that he had already been working on his own for
almost three hours.
I am very fortunate to work with
three good rangers and a wonderful staff at Pickett State
Park and having Brandon on board with his devotion and
diverse abilities is a great addition. I consider Brandon
Taylor to be an excellent park ranger who represents
Tennessee State Parks and the park ranger corps in many
extraordinary ways and I believe he is well deserving of
this award.
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