Volunteer Story: Barry Richardson

NPS Photo

Jack of all trades, master of all!

Barry began his volunteer career at Hot Springs National Park 23 years ago in November 1999. According to park records, Barry is currently our longest tenured volunteer, having recently surpassed the 7,000 volunteer hours mark!

Barry started as a volunteer in the Eastern National Bookstore when it was in the Fordyce Bathhouse Visitor Center. Because of his proximity, he also spent some time behind the front desk of the Fordyce, helping park visitors by providing information and answering questions. If that was not already enough, he started volunteering for the trail crews to help put in water bars, always ready to assist hikers he encountered along the way. Today, Barry holds a variety of volunteer positions at the park. In any given week, he will assist our Natural Resource Management staff with water monitoring, jump in at the Fordyce to answer questions, or pop down to the Gulpha Gorge Campground to fill in where he’s needed. Barry also provides an incredibly valuable service of logging and tracking all our park’s volunteer hours across every division.

What keeps Barry going as a volunteer, even after so many years? “As a volunteer, I have met interesting people from all over the world,” Barry said. “I have learned about new places, and I get to talk a lot! I like to talk.”

One of Barry’s favorite memories as a volunteer ‘cured’ a fear of his! During an educational event about snakes in the park, a ranger had a live snake and was showing it to people in attendance. In that moment, Barry overcame his fear, and touched a real snake for the first time in his life.

If you ever visit Hot Springs National Park and come across Barry, he'll likely leave you with his famous parting words: “Come back and visit! Glad you got to see me!”