"Building Community to Make Life Better"

For the past two years, I have simultaneously been the Facility and Event Coordinator for both Floyd Lamb Park at Tule Springs and City Hall. At times, this feel like two very different jobs... While our department policies and processes are the same, I serve two distinct groups. With Park facilities, I tend to serve individuals, small groups, squadrons, churches and small-medium sized companies. I also get to work with non-profit organizations such as the Boy Scouts and Red Rock Audubon as well as government agencies like the Nevada Department of Wildlife (NDOW). These events are typically family oriented and all about having fun while celebrating our community and culture.

For City Hall, it is very similar in that I get to work with non-profit organizations and government agencies. However, the paperwork comes with a little more red tape and the events are not necessarily focused on fun. They are focused on learning, networking, and team-building opportunities. The clients are typically professionals in their own fields with big ideas, big problems to solve, and big decisions to make. I keep the calendars for the special event spaces where people meet to have Board/Trustee meetings, Conferences/Summits and Ceremonials with Receptions.

And I love it!

How many people can say they LOVE their job.... and mean it?

We are building a new facility across from City Hall called Civic Center/Plaza. It comes with a large outdoor space, recently deemed "Goodman Plaza" after our previous mayor Carolyn Goodman. It comes with a stage for Special Events and a walking street for Food Trucks/Farmer's Market. Because of this facility, our team has grown. As we transition to the new space, I will take on a new responsibility in scheduling events for that space, and another colleague will take over permitting for special events at the park and City Hall... which means I'm going to have to let go of special event reservations for both of these beautiful spaces. How does someone let go of a job they love?

Some of these changes have recently been announced at work. So people have been congratulating me on the opportunity and asking me how I feel about the transition. To be honest, it is bittersweet. I could carry on doing what I've been doing and there is something to be said for gaining proficiency by sticking with the same position year after year. However, this is a unique opportunity to expand my skill set and create a community impact in a new way. I feel honored. Truly.

trade-off: noun 1. a type of compromise that involves giving up something in return for getting something else. 2. Exchanges. Substitutions.

I've also felt an overwhelming amount of gratitude for my current role. I've worked so hard to get here, it seems selfish to anticipate even more. Five years ago, I could have never dreamed of all the things I have gotten to see and do. I had been a stay-at-home mom with no sense of purpose. When I was hired by the city, I felt like I had found treasure. Having the keys to the parks made me feel like a caretaker for our community... So letting go of that, I feel extreme loss. Even though I'm still a part of a team I love and work for the same department, I cannot help but feel like I'm grieving somehow. I think I've gotten to a place of acceptance, but this Saturday I kind of just acknowledged this and allowed myself to feel all the mixed emotions.

It was a perfect day to come to this realization and let these emotions take hold as I had two scheduled events... one at Floyd Lamb Park and another at City Hall. The first event was a Garden Bed Beautification project that our Ward 6 Councilwoman helped organize. About 20 university alumni gathered together to stain garden beds and clean up this beautiful community garden. I got to work with another wonderful individual from our Parks and Grounds Maintenance (PGM) unit. Travis Rich had all the supplies our volunteers needed and stayed onsite the entire time to welcome the group and make sure they had everything they needed throughout the morning.

Travis Rich (PGM) and Me (Special Events) occasionally get the opportunity to work together when volunteer groups want to devote their time to some Community Service projects at the park.

The second event I had to rush off to was at City Hall. At this event, which was like a real life Shark-Tank, entrepreneurs got to pitch their business idea/product to a group of Angel Investors. It was really interesting to listen to each of their big ideas. You could feel the excitement in the room before the Secretary of the State of Nevada announced the winner of the $300,000 check.

While these were not the type of events that I had in mind when I set out to get my Masters in Public Health in Parks & Recreation... and sometimes it feels like I'm moving further and further away from the world of Parks and Recreation, I remind myself that everything our team does has meaning and purpose. These events are memorable and life-changing in ways we will never truly know. Connections and decisions are made in this room that make an impact on our community. That is something to be proud and excited about!

The same type of things and more will take place in Civic Plaza. We will still be serving our community... in a new way. More on that to come. But for now, I'll move forward in faith "Building Community to Make Life Better."

So how does someone let go of a job they love?

• Feel all the feelings

• Serve with gratitude

• Find your purpose

• Carry on with growth in mind.

Plus, like I reminded the seventh grade students at Career Day.... it is important to keep challenging ourselves for personal and career growth. We are all a work in progress.

Hard Hat Tour of Civic Center/Goodman Plaza - January 2025

These are some of the women I get to learn from and work with in our Special Events unit with the City of Las Vegas: Gaby, Marja, Jasmine, Christie, La'Shana and me. Together we facilitate and/or permit for hundreds of special events throughout the city every year.