Palo Duro Superintendent Recognized for Outstanding Women in Texas Government Award

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AUSTIN— Palo Duro Canyon State Park superintendent Shannon Blalock will be awarded the Outstanding Management award by the State Agency Council to the Governor’s Commission of Women at their awards ceremony at the Radisson Hotel & Suites in Austin on Sept. 15.

Candidates were nominated by their respective agency heads in four categories- outstanding community involvement, outstanding leadership, outstanding management and outstanding professional development. A committee reviewed the nominations and selected four women whose contributions exemplified each category.

During her career with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, Blalock has been influential in her management and leadership of several state parks, including becoming the first female to lead Palo Duro Canyon State Park, and was key to the creation of the Citizens Park Ranger Academy (CPRA) when she was leading the operation at Dinosaur Valley State Park.

She began her career at TPWD as assistant office manager for Dinosaur Valley State Park and was quickly promoted to park superintendent.

During her three year tenure as superintendent at Dinosaur Valley State Park, she developed a number of initiatives still in use and which have been adopted at other parks. Years before the newly launched Texas State Park Mobile app Blalock saw the need to reach a broader audience with a Dinosaur Valley State Parks app. She reached out to community leaders, the parks’ friends group, the local chamber of commerce and economic development board and coordinated with them for several months to develop and fund what would become the first ever mobile app in a Texas State Park. This effort came at no cost to the park or agency and successfully exposed thousands of people to the wonders of Dinosaur Valley.

Another project created under the direction of Blalock was the Citizens Park Ranger Academy (CPRA). This workshop is the first of its kind and aims to enhance area residents and business members understanding of their state park system. The program has been an influential way to grow support for Texas State Parks as well as directly impact the TPWD mission of exposing constituents to outdoor recreation and nature based conservation. Graduates of the class have gone on to volunteer and even become employed with TPWD. The CPRA lives on after Shannon’s initial work and the second CPRA class recently graduated and is now being expanded to a Junior CPRA exclusive to youth. Abilene State Park recently launched a similar training academy.

In 2014, Blalock became the first female to lead one of the most iconic and well-known parks, Palo Duro Canyon. As one of the most visited parks in Texas, Palo Duro sees about 300,000 park goers annually and is the home of the iconic outdoor play “Texas,” which people have come from around world to see.

“Shannon Blalock represents the epitome of exceptional management at one of the most challenging parks in Texas,” said Brent Leisure, state parks division director with TPWD. “During her time at Palo Duro Canyon, she made great strides in strengthening partnerships with the local community and managing large capital construction projects with different state agencies on top of her daily job duties. Her outstanding management skills have left a lasting legacy at every stop of her career.”