Current Position: Light Mobile Equipment Operator
How long have you been with Louisiana State Parks and in what capacity?
I have been employed with Fontainebleau State Park for 31 years. When I began my employment, my first position was as Park Attendant. I have moved up in the ranks to my present position.
How did you become involved in working as a Light Mobile Equipment Operator?
My father, Tommy LeBreton, was employed with the State at Fontainebleau State Park for 28 years. He retired from the park system. I was trained by other employees at the park. I have traveled for many years to other parks from northern Louisiana to southern-most tip of Louisiana and have run all pieces of equipment.
Describe a typical day at your job.
(If there is no such thing as a typical day, then please tell us about your primary responsibilities and duties.)
There is no typical day at Fontainebleau State Park. I have run all pieces of equipment that have been given to me, to get the job done. Some days, my primary responsibility is to get the grass cut. On others, it is to run a bulldozer. I travel to other parks in the state in order to spruce up the park, clean the grounds, or simply just to help out another park.
How many hours a week do you work in this position?
40 hours a week.
What aspects of your job do you enjoy the most?
Taking on a task and seeing it completed. I enjoy running the heavy machinery in the park. I also like to travel to other parks to help wherever I am needed and do whatever is needed in order to get the job done.
What do you find to be the greatest challenges of your job?
To get the task completed, whatever that may take. Some tasks are not as easy as they look. The bottom line is to get the task done and to be safe in getting it done.
What kind of training/schooling is required in your position?
High school education.
Is there any kind of training or general experience that you wish you had before taking your job?
No.
What are a few of the projects that you've been working on recently that have been the most interesting?
First and foremost, trying to get Fontainebleau State Park back into shape so that it could reopen. Now that it has partially opened, we are continuing to work in the park in order to get it fully open. It has been a challenge in order to get it done and we are still working at it. Secondly, I have gone to other parks such as Hodges Gardens in order to get it ready to be opened. I have also been to Rosedown in order to plant flowers/trees in order to spruce it up for the opening. After Hurricane Katrina came through, I went to City Park in New Orleans to help get the grass cut. Recently, I went to Grand Isle for a week in order to help keep the grounds clean and in working order. The most interesting part of my job is to be given a task and then to look back and see what I have accomplished. That is a great feeling to see something that you have done and to know that you had a part in that task.
If someone were interested in working as a Light Mobile Equipment Operator at a state park, what advice could you give them?
Learn and train on every piece of equipment that you can. You never know when you will be called up to run a different piece of equipment. Be the best that you can be! Always give 110% even when you think you can’t. Always be on time, don’t be late.
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