DNR director Stokes praises work of staff at visit to P.H. Hoeft State Park
by Richard Lamb, Advance Editor
With a concentration on customer service, Department of Natural Resources (DNR) director Rodney Stokes made a swing through P.H. Hoeft State Park Friday. Stokes, who had been on Mackinac Island for the Mackinac Policy Conference, stopped at several state parks earlier on his trip.
?We are emphasizing customer service and I wanted to have an opportunity to talk to campers to see how we are doing. It is also to get a chance to meet and talk to staff and let them know that I appreciate them and they are doing a great job,? Stokes said. He said it is important to keep customer service high on the list of objectives for DNR employees.
?We get very little general fund money for the things that we do. We are going to rely on our customers to help us protect and manage the natural resources of the state. One of the best ways to do that is to have satisfied
The approach is typical of Gov. Rick Snyder?s business approach to government. ?More important than the business approach is the customer service approach and that is we work for the citizens of the state of Michigan and all of this belongs to them,? he said while gazing at the local state park. ?They are just entrusting us to take care of it for them and we want to make sure that they enjoy it.?
Staff and facilities impressed Stokes in the places he had visited on his trip, which included Bay City, Mackinac Island, Cheboygan and Rogers City. ?They are very dedicated people who believe in what they are doing and it shows in their work,? Stokes said. He met with park director Blake Gingrich and was escorted on his tour by DNR public information officer Mary Dettloff, a Rogers City native.