Aug. 23, 2023
Guardian of the Wild: Royce Johnson's Inspiring Tale
There’s something incredibly powerful about turning your passion into a purpose—and that’s exactly what Royce Johnson’s story reflects. From growing up immersed in the outdoors to building a career in park management, Royce shares how his love for nature evolved into a lifelong mission of serving both people and the environment. His journey is one of resilience, dedication, and finding meaning in the spaces that connect us to something bigger.
We also dive into the realities of balancing a demanding career with family life, including the unique challenges and beautiful moments that come with raising children with special needs. Royce’s perspective on leadership, community, and the healing power of nature offers a refreshing reminder of what truly matters—and how even the smallest steps forward can lead to meaningful impact.
Episode Highlights
[02:08] – How a childhood in the wilderness sparked a lifelong career in outdoor leadership
[04:34] – Why parks play such a vital role in community well-being and connection
[06:25] – The surge in outdoor exploration during the pandemic and its lasting impact
[08:44] – Balancing life as a park manager and a father of two children with special needs
[10:45] – Royce shares his family’s journey through medical challenges and resilience
[13:49] – Finding motivation through family, teamwork, and daily moments that matter
[16:38] – Practical advice for parents navigating work-life balance and uncertainty
[19:32] – The importance of outdoor spaces for mental health and social connection
[24:05] – How personal experiences shaped his passion for accessibility and inclusion in parks
[26:52] – A memorable moment that highlights the impact of simply showing up and caring
[31:20] – Witnessing transformation in park visitors and the power of consistency
[42:05] – What visitors should (and shouldn’t) do when exploring state parks
[47:26] – Future plans for Jack Hill State Park and expanding opportunities for visitors
[51:11] – Words of wisdom: taking life one step at a time
Links & Resources
Follow Amelia
Instagram: @AmeliaOldOfficial
Website: https://AmeliaOld.com
If this story resonated with you, share it with someone who loves the outdoors or could use a little inspiration right now. Don’t forget to follow, rate, and leave a review—it helps these stories reach more people and continue making an impact.
Chapters
00:01 - Exploring a Career in Outdoor Leadership
04:11 - Outdoor Spaces and Park Management Importance
11:20 - Balancing Career and Home Life Challenges
17:20 - Inclusion and Accessibility in Parks
27:14 - Promoting Sustainable Tourism and Environmental Awareness
34:32 - Nature Talks and Wildlife Importance
45:50 - Expanding Georgia State Parks and Jack Hill Park
49:28 - Investing in Upgrades for State Parks
Transcript
WEBVTT
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Welcome to a thrilling new phase of exploration and enlightenment.
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As we launch season 3 of Voices of Inspiration.
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Our journey unfolds with the captivating story of Royce Johnson, a dedicated park manager whose narrative embodies resilience and unwavering commitment, both the long life's pathways and among the wonders of nature.
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In this travel-infused podcast that pays tribute to the strength of the human spirit, royce's story radiates with brilliance From his role in overseeing Georgia's breathtaking state parks to gracefully embracing the challenges of fatherhood.
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Royce's life weaves a captivating tapestry of dedication and devotion.
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Join us as we venture into the depths of his experiences, revealing a narrative interwoven with determination and insight.
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Through Royce's journey, you'll rediscover the profound beauty of navigating life's adventures.
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So, as we journey through season 3, guided by Royce's remarkable narrative, let history be the compass steering us through a season adorned with inspiring tales of triumph, exploration and an unbreakable spirit, both along the trails of life and in the heart of nature.
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Everyone has a story to tell.
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We connect and relate to one another when we share our stories.
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My name is Amelia Old and I am your host of Voices of Inspiration.
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Join me as I share stories of friends, family and strangers who my everyday life and travels.
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We will laugh, possibly cry.
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We'll walk away feeling connected more than ever to those around you and ready to be the change our world needs.
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Everyone has a story to tell.
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What's yours?
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I really appreciate you.
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I'm so glad you're here.
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I'm so glad you're here.
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I'm so glad you're here.
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I'm so glad you're here.
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I'm so glad you're here.
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I'm so glad you're here.
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I'm so glad you're here.
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I'm so glad you're here.
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I really appreciate you taking time out of your day for this.
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No problem, I look forward to it and I appreciate you thinking of me and giving me this opportunity.
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Can you share with us what initially drew you into a career in outdoor leadership and education?
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Sure, my dad's from northern Minnesota, so I grew up going out to the wilderness, hunting, fishing, being outdoors camping.
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We used to go like 50 miles from the Canadian border and we would take a canoe and portage it on our backs and two miles and come out to this pristine lake with no houses and no people and spend the whole day paddling and fishing.
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I always had appreciation and love for the outdoors as I grew up doing that.
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It was funny because as I was trying to figure out what I wanted to do with my life, I didn't know there was a whole lot of careers for outdoors, because it's a fairly newer field within the last 20 to 30 years where people are making full life careers out of them.
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As I started doing research, I started finding schools that offered not just associate's degrees but bachelor's degrees in that type of field.
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I've always worked with kids or people, and so that's where the leadership and teaching kind of aspect came from.
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Throughout my career it's whether it was working with youth at summer camps or youth at small group and church, or I was also a lead wilderness instructor for troubled boys for almost five years, taking them out and willing to setting.
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I just kind of fell in love with that and realized you can get a degree and pursue it as a lifetime goal.
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That's kind of what I've done with my career and kind of made it my passion, my goal, to stay with that.
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It's really cool when you can make a career out of the thing that you love the most as far as hobbies and things.
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I think that that's really important finding the things that you really enjoy and really love and being able to make a life and a living out of that.
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How was your experience as a park manager?
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You worked at several state parks in Georgia and in South Carolina.
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How was your experience as a park manager in various state parks shaped your understanding of the importance of outdoor spaces for communities and individuals?
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It's a huge importance.
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I started out my career as a city park ranger in the middle of Columbia, south Carolina.
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We offered several different parks where people were walking, biking, recreating.
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I did nature talks.
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We had a fish ladder for American shad species to help preserve them and their spawning.
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Being able to teach that and educate that kind of stuff to people, but also providing a place to recreate, is important.
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My journey led me to Sweetwater Creek, 15 miles from the downtown Atlanta area.
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See, over 800,000 people come and we had over 1,500 acres and over 15 miles of hiking trail.
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The hiking and getting people out doors was really important.
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We also had a historic mill there, and so teaching people history as well is great.
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Then conservation as well wildlife opportunities to teach people.
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Especially people in urban settings don't fully understand the different wildlife they may encounter.
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That was a neat opportunity here.
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Where I'm at now at Jack Hill, it's mostly recreational.
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We are like the heart of Breedsville we have a splash pad and we have a basketball court and we have 18-hole golf course and playgrounds, providing an opportunity for the locals to come and be able to use every day and just come through.
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We got kids and adults and all kinds of people to come and use it.
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What was crazy is we just went through a pandemic and Georgia State Parks never closed.
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We saw all these people come out and try camping for the first time because everybody was locked down and they want to get out of the house but still do it safely.
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Georgia State Parks provided that refuge for those folks and we had clean bathrooms and we were doing everything.
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We had certain protocols that we had to follow.
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The amount of new camping and the new guests that have found Georgia State Parks through all that has been amazing.
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Having that opportunity and being a part of that and meeting people from all over, not just Georgia.
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We were having people come from Florida, north Carolina, tennessee, because all the other states were closed down.
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Having all these people come in and you get to meet these people.
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It was pretty awesome to see that Now they're returning to the parks.
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They discovered us, they discovered other Georgia State Parks and now they're exploring other parks.
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It's pretty awesome to provide that opportunity for people to enjoy.
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For the listeners.
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Can you actually explain where Jack Hill State Park is?
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What may be the larger city nearby that they might be familiar with?
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Sure, we're about 45 minutes from Statesboro, which is where Georgia Southern is.
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We are about an hour and 15 from Savannah.
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We get people from Florida Savannah area, but a lot of people that are traveling through on their way to Florida find us, and we do have 29 campsites.
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We do have 10 cottages, so people do use us.
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We're also big for weddings.
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We do a lot of family reunions, a lot of birthday parties, a lot of business meetings.
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It's pretty awesome that we provide all kinds of these different opportunities golf outings for different groups with the golf course.
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It's pretty unique as well.
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There's just a lot of opportunities.
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Even though we're in a smaller town, tatano County, we still get used by a variety of people.
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That's awesome.
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Now I want you to talk a little bit about your family life.
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I know that you've been presented with sets of challenges during the pandemic, with working in the park systems.
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That's not your only thing.
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You have a family, you're a dad.
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Can you talk a little bit about those challenges on both ends?
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Sure Park, life can be challenging at any given time because we're on call, we live on site.
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Then you still have to balance that family life.
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I have two boys, hunter and Fisher, who I provide this awesome opportunity for my children to grow up in a state park.
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They get to enjoy the same amenities, they get to grow up in nature and learn some of the things that I've learned through the years and I get to teach them.
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They get to go on programs and that kind of stuff.
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That's a neat opportunity.
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Not only that, but I'm also a dad of two special needs kids, which is a whole nother challenge For those out there that have special needs kids.
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They know that it takes a lot more time.
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It takes a lot of schedules.
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There's a lot of therapy, doctor visits, things that I have to do outside of work, and I have to find that balance between getting what I need to get done at the park and what I need to get done at that family life.
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Looking for the state has been great because I've been able to do that.
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They're good about having time off and changing schedules around to kind of meet the needs that I have as well as still be able to do what I need to do on the park side.
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So it's not always easy because every day is different.
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But it gives me inspiration because I'm providing not only an awesome place for my children to live, but it's my motivation every day to do a good job because I'm providing for those kids and giving them a better life to be raised in the park.
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So it's my motivation to do well and help the parks succeed, just so that they can succeed as well in life.
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Can you talk a little bit about the challenges that you faced with your children and what they have gone through and what your family has gone through?
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Sure.
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So my first son, fisher, was born while we were actually in Columbia, south Carolina, and I had applied for Georgia State Parks because I went to school in Georgia and wanted to get back into Georgia and we thought we had more time.
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But that didn't work out the way we thought it was going to work out, which happens in life all the time and so my wife gave birth to Fisher six weeks premature while we were in Columbia.
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She gave birth on a Monday and then on Wednesday we left the hospital.
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She was a huge trooper and was able to get out.
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I drove from Columbia to South Carolina, columbia, south Carolina to Georgia, atlanta area for the sweetwater job and that was like a three and a half hour drive and I had to be there at 8 AM for an interview.
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So did the interview, went straight back to the hospital because my son spent two months in the NICU.
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He was born premature so his esophagus wasn't attached and then he had a blockage in his nose so he had several surgeries and different things go on while we were there.
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I got the job and I spent the first month in sweetwater without my wife and kids.
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She was commuting back and forth with her parents that live in Augusta and I spent the month up there in Atlanta just learning a new job, a new career, and it was all to.
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I knew it was just a better opportunity for me for growth and career path.
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So, despite those challenges, I knew it was important and the goal career goal that I wanted to do and my wife was very supportive of that and we worked through those challenges Fast forward.
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Now he's seven and still has dilations, Just got recently diagnosed with autism, so we're facing some of those challenges.
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And then my second son.
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He was born in 2018, and so he was diagnosed with a very rare brain defect called semi-lobar pro-holoencephaly and it's a mouthful and it's just a rare brain disease where the back of the brain is infused.
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And he's got a lot of things going on there.
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Where he's five, he can't walk, he can't talk, he's doing a lot of therapy and that kind of stuff, but the laugh that he has and the smile that he has, I wouldn't trade that for the world.
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So just the challenges that I face with him having to do therapies and facing a kid who has a G-tube and we have to feed him through that and I know there's a lot of people that have gone through those challenges and I've met other awesome people that's gone through that same stuff and it's encouraging when you get to meet other people because you get in your own world and you know how it is because you're in that routine.
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But not everybody else understands that unless you've gone through that and then you can make that connection.
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People understand some of the same things that you may face on any given day.
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Where do you find your inspiration through all of these challenges?
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Where do you find your inspiration and your motivation?
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Clearly, it's your children.
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Sure, definitely.
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My children and my wife and I.
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We're very much a team and I think that same team mentality when I go into the park.
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You're only as good as your team and the team that you motivate and that you help.
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And so we help pick up each other's pieces, the strengths and weaknesses that we have.
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When I get home, as soon as I get home, I know my wife's been with the kids all day so I'm like don't even have time to have time to meet it's like, oh, what can I help you with?
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How can I get his medicine going?
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Do I need to get him off the G tube?
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Do I need to get him dressed and ready for bed?
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I pick up the pieces of where we're at.
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Same thing, in the park I have that same mentality of how can I help you guys?
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We are very team oriented here at Jack Hill because we have to be.
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We run unlimited staff so we rely heavily on each other.
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So I take those same experiences that I do every day and I use those to motivate my team and help my team.
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And I understand when people have family issues or draw more things that come up, because we all have lives outside of work.
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So I'm pretty understanding and sensitive to those type of things.
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So all those things, I think, help me in my career as a manager but also help me in my life.
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So those kids, when I see them smile and I see them happy, that's my motivation.
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Hunter, my little one, he loves to be tickled, so I make sure that every day I spend time as the tickle monster doing that.
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And Fisher loves to pretend and so a lot of times I'm Bowser and he's Mario and he's beating me up.
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We're playing that role play and that just helps me.
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And I go home for lunch and that's my reset, no matter how my day is going.
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I take that hour lunch break if I can, and I go home and, no matter how my day has gone, I spend a little bit of time with the wife and kids and eat my lunch and then that's that reset button.
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So I go back and I've kind of got that refocus and re-motivation to tackle whatever challenges come for the rest of the day.
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So I think that's a really important tip because so many people don't take that lunch break.
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They don't take that hour to step away and reset.
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So I think that that is a really important thing and I'm glad to hear you say that you do that.
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Do you have any other tips for parents who may be in similar situations as you are of balancing career and home life?
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Sure, I mean that's it's not easy, and I'm fortunate that my wife is able to stay home full time, but that's not always the case for other people.
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You know, for me it's taking things a day at a time and knowing that every day is different.
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So just keep working at it.
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You know, especially with kids with special needs, there is no fix at all.
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You know my son, one day will be happy with something, the next day Nothing will be happy, right?
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But I know that it's just temporary, that you know, the next day we just push through, navigate through it and then, you know, move on to the next day and the next day is different.
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So, you know, take the good days and really enjoy those, and when you have those tougher days, take what you've learned from that and grow from that.
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But don't get discouraged from that because you know you got to look at the big picture, the end goal.
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You know things don't happen right away.
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Things just take time to build and grow and so, being that consistency and is important especially with kids with special needs, schedules are vastly important.
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You know, when you start changing stuff up all the time, you know it's sensory overload and things like that with kids with special needs.
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So trying to find as much consistency as you can in the home and you know, balancing work and all those things is important Not only at your work life but also at your home life.
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So you know, taking those tips I think is the greatest things that has kind of helped me through my career is finding that balance.
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And you know also, when you need to take time, don't be afraid to ask for it too.
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You know sometimes you just need to get away.
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You know, for us it was a family vacation to Universal this Christmas and it was awesome.
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You know both kids got their own experiences and really got to enjoy that.
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And so you know, make sure you're taking those opportunities to get away because you know you need to, you need your time to, you need to refresh, you need to do that.
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So sometimes people feel so overwhelmed that they have to do everything, but it's also important to you know to have time for you to recuperate and for your own growth.
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So you sponsor because what you're saying is so important, because so many of us, myself included, don't do those things.
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Right.
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You just keep adding on to the plate and we don't step away and we don't reset and we don't take time for ourselves, because you know, if we're not good for ourselves, we certainly can't be good for our families.
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Exactly, exactly so with.
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That said, in your experience, how do parts and recreational areas contribute to the overall well-being and mental health of individuals in the community or visitors?
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I think it's vastly important.
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You know, getting outdoors we saw that through the pandemic.
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You know the lockdowns and you know a lot of that damage that happened through that just people not having that social interaction with other people, and you know.
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So, getting outside not only is healthy, right, because you can recreate, you know, but it gives you an opportunity to socialize.
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You know, splash bed or camp out I can't tell you how many guests get away with groups of families you know three or four families will come up, load up the RVs and come out.
00:20:06.174 --> 00:20:11.605
The kids are out playing, the parents are out hanging out doing their thing at the campsite around the campfire.
00:20:11.605 --> 00:20:14.342
It becomes that social event for everybody.
00:20:14.342 --> 00:20:18.838
And then you know just the learning as you grow.
00:20:20.300 --> 00:20:54.092
I'm, you know, I'm 37 now and I've learned that I have a great love for history, which I didn't have when I was younger, right, and all these things that I took for granted, like that I you know when I was in school and different things, and now I'm like trying to soak it up like a sponge, and so you know things that you may be, knowledge you may be learning now may not be that relevant or important to you now, but later on you're going to be like I'm so glad I learned that because you may use it, or you know, it's just fun tidbit, information for a conversation later that people didn't know.
00:20:54.092 --> 00:20:56.719
There's just a lot of things like that.
00:20:56.719 --> 00:21:00.567
That is also beneficial, which I think is great as well.
00:21:00.567 --> 00:21:15.988
But you know, having that time to stick it out and have fun, whether it be, you know, getting on a paddle boat and paddling on the lake or fishing I mean, we have so much stuff for a variety of different people and we see a variety of different backgrounds.
00:21:15.988 --> 00:21:20.189
So that's what I love, and every Georgia State Park is different.
00:21:20.230 --> 00:21:21.575
We all offer something different.
00:21:21.575 --> 00:21:25.065
There's a lot of historic sites that are strictly historical.
00:21:25.065 --> 00:21:29.545
There's a lot of places that have tons of hiking trails, bike trails.
00:21:29.545 --> 00:21:38.575
There's places that do a lot of programming for kids and people to get involved, like archery and crafts and paddling and stuff.
00:21:38.915 --> 00:21:49.262
So people that are trying to learn new skills that you know they may not be comfortable or don't know how to get involved with, well, hey, they can go with a ranger and feel more comfortable doing it.
00:21:49.262 --> 00:21:53.270
You know, instead of you know paying some private and feel a little bit more uncomfortable.
00:21:53.270 --> 00:21:55.575
You know they're able to do it in that setting.
00:21:55.575 --> 00:22:15.294
So we offer a wide variety of different things for people to plug into, which is what I think is awesome and unique about it, and I love visiting the Georgia State Parks and just state parks and other states as well, because everyone's a little bit different, so it's you know, they offer different, different things for different people.
00:22:15.294 --> 00:22:19.575
So, and it's cool when we get people saying, oh, which one's your favorite?
00:22:19.575 --> 00:22:27.169
And they're talking about all the places they've been to, because they're connecting to these different places and making memories in these different places that they take with them.
00:22:27.955 --> 00:22:37.269
So it's funny that you say that about history because I'm a little bit older than you but I also have gotten into his.
00:22:37.269 --> 00:22:40.461
I always, like as a kid, loved history and stuff.
00:22:40.461 --> 00:22:57.891
But I think that it's almost like next level right now at my age and I think that kids laugh at me because I'm definitely the parent that reads every little plaque of everything, of anywhere that we go and and then provide that information to them, whether they want to hear it.
00:22:58.976 --> 00:23:00.438
You know that age.
00:23:00.438 --> 00:23:03.823
You know I remember being an agent and not really caring about it.
00:23:03.823 --> 00:23:08.028
But now you know I look back and I see the importance of that.
00:23:08.028 --> 00:23:15.267
I try to teach my kids that importance, even though they may it may just go over the head, but maybe one day, you know, it will connect with them.
00:23:15.267 --> 00:23:16.328
Because history is important.
00:23:16.328 --> 00:23:17.416
You know where we come from.
00:23:17.416 --> 00:23:20.184
We got to learn from those mistakes that we made.
00:23:20.184 --> 00:23:24.535
You know we didn't always get it right, but you know, learn from that, grow from that.
00:23:24.535 --> 00:23:27.183
You know that's how we become better people.
00:23:27.895 --> 00:23:29.221
So yeah, definitely.
00:23:29.221 --> 00:23:37.338
My daughter's like, oh goodness, here for a guide again Anywhere that we go.
00:23:37.338 --> 00:23:50.387
I mean, even when we moved to our current home, like I researched the area and the history of it and you know, and my daughter's, like you can definitely play, you know, trivia with us about the history.
00:23:51.674 --> 00:23:52.618
Yeah, that's good.
00:23:54.218 --> 00:23:57.413
You mentioned your son Fisher's diagnosis of autism.
00:23:57.413 --> 00:24:04.067
How has that journey influenced your perspective on inclusion and accessibility in the parks?
00:24:05.403 --> 00:24:06.575
So that's a good question.
00:24:06.575 --> 00:24:11.040
That's, as both my kids you know, as the challenges that we face.
00:24:11.040 --> 00:24:22.575
That's something that's on the forefront of my mind and something I'm appreciative of Georgia State Parks that there is a big initiative to become more accessible within all of Georgia State Parks.
00:24:22.575 --> 00:24:40.471
Several years ago they did a survey of all these things that we are not in compliance with ADA, and so we've been working on a extensive plan of different phases to make sure that we're being more inclusive with ADA accessibility.
00:24:40.471 --> 00:24:45.555
We have three cottages that are ADA accessible, that are specifically built for that.
00:24:45.555 --> 00:24:52.165
We've got a brand new mini golf course that was built with completely ADA accessibility, which is awesome.
00:24:52.185 --> 00:24:57.575
Wheelchair can fit through the whole thing, which you know was not capable on the one that we had previously.
00:24:57.575 --> 00:25:09.461
So the state of Georgia and Georgia State Parks is doing a phenomenal job of trying to include more of that type of stuff and we can still increase on that.
00:25:09.461 --> 00:25:19.555
We've got several parks have gotten mobile wheelchairs that are like all terrain wheelchairs that can go on trails and that kind of stuff to give people opportunities.
00:25:19.555 --> 00:25:52.555
We've built ADA kayak launches and boat ramps and fishing piers and just giving people that didn't have an opportunity before an opportunity to still share in the same recreation opportunities that other folks have, and so we continue to push and strive to make that better in the state park, and so I'm always mindful of how can we do that, whether it be playgrounds or different areas that we can try and improve on that picnic shelters, different things like that.
00:25:52.755 --> 00:26:09.575
So we have different projects that are in the works, that are being developed that haven't been completed yet, like a new ADA boat, boat logs that will be completed in the next year or so here at Jack Hill and ADA fishing pier to provide those opportunities.
00:26:09.575 --> 00:26:18.468
So we have a lot of say of that as far as what we envision in the parks, and a lot of that's funding and different things.
00:26:18.468 --> 00:26:29.599
But we have goals and opportunities, and so that's definitely always on the forefront of my mind, because my kids use the park every day, I can see some of those challenges that they may face.
00:26:29.599 --> 00:26:38.451
Or I go to other places, other parks, and see what they have and kind of learn what they have and see how we can incorporate that same type of here as well.
00:26:39.856 --> 00:26:49.869
Can you share, like a specific moment or interaction with a park visitor that deeply impacted you and reminded you of the importance of your role?
00:26:52.199 --> 00:26:55.046
I get that pretty regularly so it's hard to pick out just like one.
00:26:55.046 --> 00:27:00.547
But I can think of something recently that actually happened this past week.
00:27:00.547 --> 00:27:06.002
It's funny because we wear a lot of hats and we have to do all kinds of stuff.
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