Commentary by Jordan McBride
My training and employment background would not have hinted in any way at my current occupation. My initial training was for nuclear engineering, and I finished my naval career as a support detachment for the southeast United States. During that time, I traveled extensively through South Carolina, North Carolina, southern Virginia and Georgia. I got to have the short-term experience of being on naval submarines, and also a wealth of experience traveling around the southeastern United States and seeing a lot of great places. These experiences made me very interested in what drives people to go places and do things I discovered that there was actually an opportunity to go to college and study that. So, once I got out of the military, I went to IUPUI and studied tourism, conventions and event management through the School of Physical Education and Tourism Management.
Why Westfield?
My wife’s career is here in Westfield, so moving up here from downtown Indianapolis has been great. It gives us an opportunity to be close to work and to get involved in the community.
Westfield is also just where it’s at. With everything that’s going on in the city, it’s poised to boom. There are things that are going on here – like Grand Park and Grand Junction – that are monumental in terms of community growth and hospitality.
Why Parks?
I love working for our Parks department. It’s different every day. We get to do events that people love. And I get to work with some really great people. We have a great volunteer base of several hundred who volunteer throughout the year.
In some ways, we are the one place in government where people are encouraged to just have fun. I want people to have a good time, and genuinely want people to have the best quality of life that they can, no matter what. So whether it’s the Arbor Day Celebration, the Bicycle Derby, Westfield Rocks the Fourth or the Grand Junction Derby, I really want to just help people enjoy their community. If you look at what we do – parks, trails, events – they all have one thing in common and that is enhancing the quality of life in Westfield.
It’s a lot of work but when it’s over, it gives you something to look back on and be proud of.
Jordan McBride is the administrative assistant for the Westfield Parks and Recreation Dept. He can be reached at [email protected] or 804-3184.
