Take it outside

by

Paul McCormack

AGE: 50.

OCCUPATION: Director, South Carolina State Park Service.

EDUCATION: Lured to South Carolina to attend The Citadel, he graduated in 1991 with a bachelor’s in education.

FIRST PARKS JOB: Started his career in 1995 as a ranger at Sergeant Jasper State Park.

KEEPING FIT: Runs 3 miles most days of the week. Has completed four marathons, some mud runs and a variety of 5K and 10K races.

WORDS OF WISDOM: “I tell people your favorite park should be the one closest to you because you can access it any time you like.”

Every time South Carolina State Parks Director Paul McCormack glances at the Christmas card tacked to his office bulletin board, he smiles.

“It is from one of the Ultimate Outsider families,” says McCormack. “They took a picture in front of every state park entrance sign in the state and then made them into a collage.”

McCormack shares a special bond with that family—and with more than 1,400 other Ultimate Outsiders—because he, too, has visited each of the 47 state parks multiple times during his 25 years as a park ranger, manager, regional chief and as director, the position to which he was appointed less than two years ago.

“I do miss wearing a ranger uniform and stopping at campgrounds to talk with families and interact with kids,” he says. “But what has come to replace that for me as director is watching the same joy in the park staff and to see just how much they love what they do.”

A recurring Ultimate Outsider, McCormack makes it a point to visit each park once a year, carving out time to spend with managers and regional chiefs. At the same time, he directs ongoing projects like this spring’s anticipated opening of St. Phillips Island, the former island retreat of media mogul Ted Turner that is now part of Hunting Island State Park; adding trails and access areas to the Mountain Bridge Wilderness Area; and helping to celebrate Charleston’s 350th anniversary with events planned for Charles Towne Landing State Historic Site.

From the beginning, McCormack says his career has been a source of great pride and enjoyment. It has allowed him to hike park trails, kayak rivers and lakes, and to meet and encourage his fellow nature lovers to take advantage of the variety of outdoor activities available to them.

“I do spend a lot of time in the parks,” says McCormack, smiling broadly. “I am living the dream.”