To be great at what you do, you must have a passion for the work and a willingness to give it your all. With Daniel Clepper, MetroParks has been lucky to have found a Manager of Volunteer Resources with those qualities. In fact, “essayons” or “let us try” is the mantra Daniel lives his life by.
And try is what Daniel has always done – from college to AmeriCorps, from Ohio Army National Guard to MetroParks, he has spent his life trying new things. In college at Ohio University, he was a member of the marching band playing both tuba and sousaphone. After graduating, Daniel joined AmeriCorps for two years where he was stationed in various roles in southeastern Ohio. After AmeriCorps, he worked at a motorcycle museum where he built a volunteer program from the ground up. Each new experience was vastly different from the one before.
Daniel’s twelve years with the Ohio Army National Guard has prepared him for his current role as the Manger of Volunteer Resources. He has found that many of the skills and much of his experience has been transferrable. With the Guard, he learned how to use the resources available to him and how to “make it happen” whatever the task. He also learned a lot about people, how to motivate them, and the importance of letting people be themselves while finding ways to make sure they are all moving in the same direction. That they work as a cohesive team. Whether you are a staff member, volunteer, or member of the public; if you have worked with Daniel, you have seen these skills in action.
You might (or might not) be surprised to learn that Daniel is quite the outdoor enthusiast! When he isn’t hard at work helping clear invasives, cleaning up a dump site, or helping with trails; he can be found doing one of many “INGs” with his partner Tiana and dog Dogmeat – hiking, backpacking, running, mountaineering, vintage motorcycle riding, wrenching, or almost any other outdoor “ING” you can think of. Perhaps that’s part of what makes him so great at his job – at work, the “INGS” become learning, teaching, and leading about many of his passions and then sharing those things with our volunteers.
What’s the biggest challenge about his job? People and weather. Plans are ever-evolving as life happens. People aren’t always available when they think they will be, and weather doesn’t always cooperate. A canceled event can push a task back to the staff, so Daniel works to evolve with the challenge, often trying to find new dates to reschedule or other volunteers that can pitch in.
What does Daniel like most about his job? There are two things: the lasting impact and the capacity. That is to say, Daniel likes to see the physical transformation of a site. It’s very gratifying for both the volunteers and Daniel when a site on a whole new life after honey suckle is removed, or the historic Augspurger House at Chrisholm MetroPark has been cleared of hundreds of pounds of debris. Daniel also enjoys that he and his team can expand MetroPark’s staff capacity by finding helping hands to assist with tasks like animal care or mulching. But the most meaningful thing for Daniel is when a volunteer shares how much they enjoy working with MetroParks and that they have found community – whether it’s with other volunteers or the staff.
Daniel’s proven he can definitely grow a program! He began hosting Choppertunities, a weekly service day where individuals can join him to remove invasive species. He has worked with Programming and Education to increase the number of volunteers who can assist with animal care and programs. Daniel has also worked closely with Senior Park Managers to find more meaningful activities for our volunteers. He has only been in the role for a year and a half and has made amazing strides in growing and changing our program for the better, and I can’t wait to see what he comes up with next!
If you are interested in volunteering with MetroParks, you can register here or email Daniel at dclepper@yourmetroparks.net. We would love to have you!
About the Author:
Jaime Kimbrough is MetroParks’ Director of Human Resources.
