Though he humbly refers to himself as “the guy who cuts the trees,” Robert Jennings Jr. has been an instrumental part of Fort Verde State Historic Park, acting as assistant manager — the go-to guy for anything the park or its visitors needed.
Thursday, June 30 marked his departure. As he stood with his fellow employees and volunteers at a surprise party thrown in his honor on the day in question, emotions were understandably high.
There is a silver lining to the development, however: Jennings won’t be going far, and he will continue to contribute substantially to Fort Verde. Hired on with Arizona State Parks Department Northern Region Construction Services, his as-yet unnamed position will allow him to use the skills he honed as a contractor.
Meanwhile, having Jennings manage construction projects will reduce the need for the parks in question to hire outside builders.
“They’re bringing me in to oversee big jobs,” Jennings said. “We’ll be able to do more in-house to save money.”
Still, Jennings said the job will require some finesse and a lot of coordination with the state parks department. According to him, modifying historical structures can be a tricky business.
“There are a lot of do’s and don’ts,” he explained. “You can’t just go changing things.”
Beginning as a part-time park ranger specialist in 2013, Jennings rose to the rank of assistant manager to become the first full-time employee hired by park manager Sheila Stubler after the park nearly closed at the beginning of the recession.
Next to Stubler, Jennings became the face of Fort Verde, going so far as to found the first true vintage base ball team. The Fort Verde Excelsiors now boast 14 players of all ages [the youngest is 13] and their success has been startling.
“Yes, we’re doing really well,” Jennings Jr. said with a smile, adding that the wins have kept coming despite a clear handicap: Unlike teams hailing from the Phoenix area — such as the Glendale Gophers, which the Excelsiors play Saturday, July 16, at noon during the Camp Verde Cornfest — Jennings and his teammates are unable to cherry pick from a pool of experienced players.
Jennings assured locals that he will continue his tenure as team co-leader. Moreover, despite his expanded new territory, he intends to stick around the Verde Valley.
“It’s been an amazing journey here,” Jennings said, adding that it can be easy to take local parks for granted but people do so at their own peril: The greatest examples of civic engagement occur in places where people value their history and natural resources.
“And this fort is very dear to the Verde Valley,” he said.
