Wednesday, Nov 16, 2005
National Park Service managers at Minuteman Missile have announced the arrival of the site’s fifth permanent employee. Chris Wilkinson, a current Park Ranger with the National Park Service, has been selected to fill the Interpreter position at the former military installation. Wilkinson will assume his new responsibilities effective October 2, 2005 as the first ever permanent Interpreter at the Historic Site. As an interpretive ranger, his responsibilities will include a variety of tasks including visitor education, providing guided tours of the Launch Control Facility and missile silo, developing partnership groups for the park, and helping coordinate the distance learning program.
Wilkinson notes on his arrival to Minuteman Missile, I am thrilled to be a part of the National Park Service’s first historic site which preserves and protects America’s Cold War legacy. Minuteman Missile provides an unprecedented opportunity to discuss something most of us remember really well. The Minuteman Missile system had a lasting effect on the landscape of the West River region of South Dakota and the lives of its citizens. I look forward to helping both present and future generations understand the complexities of that time by enhancing public contact and visitor services.
Wilkinson has been the Lead Visitor Use Assistant/Interpreter at Jewel Cave National Monument in the southern Black Hills for the past year and a half. During his tenure, he made a significant impact on improving the quality of the fee program, helped spearhead an effort to implement a fully automated fee collection system and performed an overhaul of the Jewel Cave’s historic records and library resources.
Wilkinson has a love for the Northern Plains which has grown while working as a volunteer at Minuteman Missile over the past fourteen months. He will be moving and setting up residence in Wall, South Dakota. I am extremely happy to settle in the area. I believe that the Northern Plains has a rich heritage full of beauty and history. It is one of the hidden gems in the Unites States. According to Site Superintendent Mark Herberger, We are fortunate to have Chris as the newest member of our Minuteman Missile team. He has built a solid background of conservation and public service during his years as a ranger in the National Parks. Wilkinson joins Superintendent Herberger, Park Ranger Pam Griswold, Lead Facility Maintenance Ranger John Black, and Administrative Support Assistant Jeanne Berry, as the fifth member of Minuteman Missile’s staff.
Prior to his assignment at Jewel Cave, Wilkinson worked at Andersonville National Historic Site in Georgia as a Park Guide. He was also assigned to Canaveral National Seashore where the first successful launch of a Minuteman missile was conducted. He began his Federal career as a fee collector in 2001 at Cape Hatteras National Seashore along the Outer Banks of North Carolina. Wilkinson has a Bachelor of Science degree in Political Science with an emphasis on International Studies from Western Carolina University. He grew up in Valdese, North Carolina, a small town in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains in western North Carolina.
Minuteman Missile National Historic Site was established by Congress in 1999 to tell the story of the Minuteman ICBM system, including the development of the system, the personnel who served at the 1,000 nuclear missile sites throughout the upper Great Plains, and the impact the system had on the communities nearby. The U.S. Air Force transferred administration of the site to the National Park Service in 2002, and staff began planning and developmental operations in October 2003. More information about the site can be found on the internet at www.nps.gov/mimi or by calling the planning office at (605) 433-5552.
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