Sutton named park superintendent
By Bonnie Edwards
Published in News on January 1, 2007 1:47 PM
From staff reports
Seven Springs native Lyndon Sutton has been appointed superintendent at the Cliffs of the Neuse State Park.
Sutton succeeds Dan Smith, who retired in November after serving 26 years with the division, including nine years as superintendent at the Cliffs. He worked alongside Smith as a seasonal employee from 1979 through 1982.
In 1982, the Southern Wayne High School graduate earned his bachelor's degree in physical education at N.C. Wesleyan College in Rocky Mount. At that time he accepted a park ranger position at Jones Lake State Park in Bladen County.
In 1988, he became a senior ranger at Kerr Lake State Recreation Area and was promoted to superintendent at Medoc Mountain State Park in 1997.
Lewis Ledford, director of the N.C. Division of Parks and Recreation, described the job of superintendent as chief of operations and administration at a state park. The superintendent has a wide range of responsibilities for things like staffing, training, law enforcement, visitor services, natural resource protection and environmental education. Sutton is a certified environmental educator.
"Beyond his wealth of experience as a ranger and superintendent in the state parks system, Lyndon brings with him a thorough knowledge of Cliffs of the Neuse State Park as well as a commitment to the community," Ledford said. "We're fortunate to have a person of Lyndon's caliber in this position as we begin planning for a new visitor center and other amenities at the park."
Established in 1945, Cliffs of the Neuse is among North Carolina's oldest state parks and currently encompasses 890 acres.
In the past five years, the park has welcomed an average of about 120,000 visitors each year.