December 2015 - Parks & Recreation - 22

People For Parks
'Jerry Gergich' Shares a Moment
With Lawrence Parks and Rec
By Roger Steinbrock

T

he City of Lawrence, Kansas, Parks and Recreation Department celebrated being a finalist for the NRPA Gold Medal Award Class III
category for the third time (1997, 1998 and 2015) with a staff get-together in early October. Although we didn't achieve the top prize,
being a finalist was still worth celebrating. So, when the opportunity to have
Jim O'Heir, who played Jerry Gergich on the television show " Parks and Recreation, " visit our department, I knew this was the perfect chance to surprise
staff and bring a higher level of fun to our event.
Since most staff was not present
when the finalist plaque was presented to our department at the 2015
NRPA Annual Conference, the decision was made to have O'Heir present the plaque to the department. So,
as Jerry Gergich from Pawnee, Indiana, Parks and Recreation was introduced, O'Heir walked out from the
shadows as the show's theme song
was played. The majority of the staff

recognized him and was shocked he
was at the event. After the short ceremony, O'Heir graciously posed for
selfies, pictures and videos with staff
and officials. He even more graciously allowed me to interview him about
his visit, the profession of parks and
recreation, his memories of interactions with parks and recreation
growing up, and his time on the show
" Parks and Recreation. "

Jim O'Heir, known fondly for
his role as Jerry Gergich in the
hit television show " Parks and
Recreation, " stands next to the
entrance sign for South Park,
Lawrence's first established park.

Lawrence Parks and Recreation Department: When you were asked to
drop in and help us celebrate, what
was your initial reaction?
Jim O'Heir: When I was contacted, I
thought the idea was perfect. All of us
on the show have heard from different
park and rec departments from all over
the country. We're all big fans of the
work they do. One of my best friends
has a sister (Sue Chaney) who lives in
Lawrence, Kansas. When she heard I
was going to be doing a show at The
New Theater in Overland Park, she
made reservations to come see it and
brought her husband Mitch and friend
Kathy who, as it turns out, is involved
with programs of the Parks and Recreation Department in Lawrence. On
their drive home after the show, Mitch
pitched the idea of having me show
up to a parks department event. Kathy
started putting it all together and realized the department was going to receive an award and it would be fun to
have me present it.  
LPRD: You mentioned it was your
first time visiting a park and recreation agency. Reflecting on the
time you spent with us, what was
your take away?
O'Heir: I took away how much pride
everyone takes in their job. I could
tell from all the people I spoke with
that they were happy to be bringing
such beauty to their community. I'm
guessing it's easy for residents to just
take for granted that everything is
so perfect, but the employees know

20	 Parks & Recreation

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December 2015 - Parks & Recreation

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