Todd Spalding had been looking for change when he noticed a job listing for director of Jefferson City's Parks, Recreation and Forestry Department.
At the time, he was director of Parks and Recreation in Belton, and the position sounded appealing as he and his family had always loved Jefferson City.
"We had just been talking, my wife and I, about a change, a new opportunity," Spalding said. "We love this area, that was the first thing that we talked about."
Spalding said his kids had always loved their field trips to the Capitol, talking about "the hills and being on the river, and the old buildings."
But it was looking at Jefferson City's extensive park system and the new opportunity of the planned Lincoln University/Parks and Recreation Wellness and Multipurpose Recreation Center that helped convince him to apply.
"It sounded like such a cool opportunity to be involved with so we we just said, "You know what, we're going to go for it,'" Spalding said. "Everything meshed."
His children approved, and on Jan. 12, the Jefferson City Parks and Recreation Commission announced Spalding as their choice to succeed Bill Lockwood, who had led the department for more than three decades and retires effective March 4. Until that date, Lockwood has been placed in an advisory role at the department.
When Spalding's hire was announced, the commission pointed to his experience of more than a decade leading the Belton parks system, as well as experience with YMCA's in both Missouri and Illinois.
Working at YMCA's, Spalding said his experience was mostly in facilities before he took the job leading the parks department in Belton. At the time, he said the area was having issues with their community center, which was losing money, and Spalding's facilities management experience put him in a great position to take on the challenge.
Once he started learning more about parks and recreation, Spalding said he discovered it was a natural fit, adding outdoor elements to his previous experience.
"Parks and recreation is what I really love," Spalding said. "I get all these parks and trails and all that stuff that goes along with it. ... And I thought, this is going to be really cool."
While at the department in Belton, Spalding said he was able to put together a master plan for parks, get the city designated as a Tree City USA (which recognizes communities for commitments to urban forestry - Jefferson City also has that designation) and create a master trail plan.
Spalding, who officially took up his new post Tuesday, said the transition and move to Jefferson City is going well. Until his family joins him, Spalding said he'll be heading back to Belton on the weekends to see them.
But one particular perk of moving to Jefferson City is it allows Spalding to be closer to his oldest daughter, who is currently in her freshman year at the University of Missouri in Columbia.
Spalding said coming into the position in Jefferson City, he wants people to know he's here to listen and work hard to make things better.
In his spare time, Spalding said he enjoys woodworking, a hobby he picked up from his grandfather and father, and one he now shares with his daughters.
"That's one of my most favorite things," Spalding said. "My wife likes to come up with pictures of furniture she'd like."