Don’t be surprised if you find Park Manager Veronica Flick out plowing the snow if you head to Shenandoah River State Park this winter, the new park manager is just one of a great team of people that take care of the park. Veronica came aboard as park manager on January 10 of this year; only the third park manager at Shenandoah River, which opened in June of 1999, and Seven Bends which opened in late 2019.

Shenandoah River State Park and Seven Bends State Park Manager Veronica Flick

Veronica is excited about her new role at the park and calls Shenandoah River and Seven Bends her dream parks – they are gorgeous, the mountains are part of her soul, there are great teams in place and, to top it off, it puts her closer to her family in West Virginia. District Manager Nathan Younger is happy to have her on board as well, “I am excited to welcome Veronica to this important leadership position at Shenandoah River and Seven Bends. She brings great creativity, energy and vision to the role, and her fresh perspective will help with managing these two popular state parks that attract thousands of visitors each year.”

View at Seven Bends State Park

Her journey to working with state parks began with a quest in 2017. Veronica and her boyfriend, now husband, set out on a quest to visit all 37 (at the time) state parks. While enjoying her time at a park she began to wonder how people got their jobs in the park system and decided to look it up on a job board. That is when she discovered a job opening at Natural Bridge State Park for a business manager. She was working as a Navy DoD civilian and, at the time, was training sailors on board ships on how to run retail space, merchandising and branding. She had the experience for the job at Natural Bridge and decided to apply. Once she received the job offer, she was ready to accept and leave the Hampton Roads area.

Veronica was at Natural Bridge State Park for about a year and a half, then accepted the position of park manager at Twin Lakes State Park. For the two years she was at Twin Lakes, she and her team were able to begin opening doors to the stories of the twin lakes, worked on facelifts to cabins and the conference center, helped bring the Civil Rights in Education Heritage Trail to the park, and received a grant to overhaul the parks boating rentals, equipment and boat launches. From there she accepted the position to manage two Virginia State Parks.

Culler's Point at Shenandoah River State Park

She says the plans for each park are a bit opposite in nature. Per the new park manager, “One park needs to build on the foundation the rangers have developed, while the other park needs to tend to the foundation. Shenandoah River has been building and developing for years. We now need to move into the sustaining phase, where we continue to take care of what we have, while intentionally growing where needed.” Flick adds, “Seven Bends, on the other hand is in a rapid growth period. The team there are great stewards of the park, and I plan to be in a role to help them achieve goals.”

Veronica is looking forward to being part of the communities, as both an individual and as a member of the parks. She says "As COVID-19 lifts, she wants to grow the parks outreach, as well as inviting groups into the parks. Both parks have great friends groups. They support the park while providing different activities and events for the community." 

The new park manager and her husband, Joel, are already enjoying the new location with their two children, Emerson and Fletcher.