New Salem Man To Be New ND Parks and Rec Director

A search for a new director of North Dakota Parks and Recreation finds success in the shadow of New Salem Sue.

The new Director has held more titles than Virgil "Quicksilver" Hill!

Let me give you a bit of background on New Salem native, new Parks and Rec Director, and over-all overachiever Cody Schulz.  This from the appointment announcement from the Office of the Governor...

A native of New Salem, N.D., Schulz earned an associate’s degree from Bismarck State College, a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Dickinson State University and an MBA from the University of North Dakota. He currently services as chair of the North Dakota State Emergency Response Commission and the North Dakota State and Local Intelligence Center Executive Committee, and as vice chair of the National Emergency Management Association Legislative Committee. He is a member of the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Region VIII Advisory Council and a past board member of the Bismarck Mandan Development Association and the Bismarck Mandan Chamber EDC.

That's a lot of Committees, Councils, Associations, and Chambers...but honestly that's just the start.  Cody Schulz's record of public service on all levels is so extensive you'd think he was just making it up!  Dating back to 2007, when Cody first joined the ND Department of Emergency Services- he's been disaster recovery chief, fiance officer, business manager even a specialist in hazard mitigation grants. He rose so far as to be the Director of Homeland Security since 2018 facing everything the pandemic has put in front of the agency.

You would thinking holding all those titles and positions would be plenty for this fellow...but no.

Schulz was on the Morton County Commission for 8 years during the DAPL debacle and was also a member of the Morton County Park Board. Now in taking over the Parks and Rec Director position Cody's department looks like this...

about 60 full-time team members, 18 long-term seasonal staff and approximately 150 short-term seasonal staff and a biennial budget of $43 million to manage and operate 15 statewide parks and recreation areas

Good, it's about time he settled down.

Join me in congratulating a tireless public servant-

Cory Shulz, will one title be good enough?