After 45 years of working in the field of parks and recreation — 32 of them here in Nevada — Tim Hansen retired in July from his position as Director of Parks and Recreation in Nevada.
Hansen said a lot of good things are happening in the Nevada Parks and Recreation Department which made this a good time to step down. “I’ve been thinking about it for a couple of years, and really started to focus on it more seriously in the last six to eight months,” he said. “We have a lot of good people in place to handle the exciting things coming in the future.”
Hansen grew up in Forest City, Iowa, where he took his first job working with the local pool and parks at the age of 15. That high school opportunity led him to pursue parks and recreation studies at Iowa State University.
His first job out of college was in Eagle Grove as recreation director in 1989. Eagle Grove also had a parks director.
After a few years at Eagle Grove, Hansen applied for the Parks and Recreation Director opening in Nevada. “It offered a step up in responsibilities, and the chance for Sue and I to move back to central Iowa,” he said.
His wife, Sue, also attended ISU, and the two liked the Ames area. It was an area that also provided more job opportunities for Sue, who majored in the same area as her husband at ISU, but got into the banking and finance field while they were in Eagle Grove. Sue now works for Wells Fargo in Ames.
“I had my last day of work on a Friday in Eagle Grove, and started the following Monday here in Nevada,” Tim said. That was June of 1993. The things he was responsible for in his new position grew about as fast as that job transition. By August, he said, he was given oversight of both the City Cemetery and Gates Hall.
When asked what have been the biggest projects during his time at Nevada, Hansen said the biggest would be the development of SCORE, including the Fawcett Family Aquatic Center and, more recently, the Field House. In addition to SCORE, he recalls how the floods of 1993 led FEMA assistance in buying out property along Indian Creek, which led to trail development in the community, another big undertaking.
Over 32 years, Hansen has seen his share of growth and the challenges that come along with it. “Obviously, we had visions of what we thought would be good for the community, and visions sometimes take a lot of time and persistence to carry out. And for everything that happens (in carrying out a vision), you also have people who see things another way. And the right thing, or reality of what should happen, is usually somewhere in the middle,” he said. “Our staff approach has always been to ‘try to do the greatest good for the greatest number of people.’”
When it comes to other communities of Nevada’s size, Hansen believes we are blessed. “When you look at the new Field House, for example, and all of the people who come through those doors who don’t live in Nevada, and they say, ‘Oh wow!’ They ask how we did this. We’ve given countless tours to people and groups around the state who are interested in what we’ve done and how we accomplished it.”
Hansen said the incredible facilities and amenities that Nevada offers are the result of many wonderful supporters of the community and Nevada Parks and Recreation. Volunteers who have served on the parks and recreation board, or worked on or have headed up campaigns, or have given their time to coach and help with the many programs … “I appreciate all the people who’ve devoted countless hours to us,” he said. “Also, a big thank-you to a dedicated parks and recreation staff, city council, administration, and city co-workers.”
What’s next for Hansen? “I don’t have anything planned at this point, but I do have some things on a to-do list to mess around with, and I may get to a point where I want to work at something part-time.”
He will definitely have more time to spend with his family. He and Sue have two sons, Zach, who lives in Nevada and works for Availa Bank in Ames (and is engaged to Abby Stephenson, who works for the Nevada Schools), and Tyler, who works for John Deere in the Sioux Falls area.
His advice to the next director of Parks and Recreation in Nevada is short and to the point. “Carry on!”
–Written by Marlys Barker, City of Nevada