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Contact: Megan Wilkins, 580-622-7234
Sulphur, Okla.– Chickasaw National Recreation Area Superintendent Bill Wright will retire at the end of the year. A public retirement reception is scheduled for Monday, December 19th from 4:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. in the ballroom at the Artesian Hotel. All are welcome at this come and go event.
Wright began his National Park Service career at Chickasaw National Recreation Area in 1982. He worked four summers as a fee collector and one as a law enforcement ranger at Chickasaw NRA. He went on to work as a seasonal law enforcement ranger at the Statue of Liberty National Memorial and Great Smoky Mountains National Park. He became a full-time law enforcement ranger at Independence National Historical Park and held additional law enforcement positions at Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area and Buffalo National River. He became a District Ranger at Big Bend National Park and later was promoted to chief ranger there. He also served in chief ranger positions at Everglades National Park, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, and Grand Canyon National Park before returning to Chickasaw National Recreation Area as Superintendent.
“Coming back to Chickasaw was also coming home,” says Wright. “My grandfather was a ranger here and lived in the park back when it was Platt National Park, and I would come and spend summers here with my grandparents. He instilled in me the sense of purpose and devotion to the special places the National Park Service protects, here at home and throughout the country.
“I’ve had some amazing opportunities to protect these special places, not just as a supervisor and a law enforcement ranger, but as a wildland firefighter, a search and rescue team leader, an emergency medical technician and as a Serious Accident Investigator, just to name a few. I’ve been able to patrol parks by car, foot, horseback, canoe, helicopter, and motorboat. I’ve responded to disasters such as hurricanes and floods, and I’ve been deployed to several Presidential and Vice-Presidential visits nationwide. The work we get to do is extraordinary and I’ve been very fortunate to be able to do it.
“The greatest honor has been to return home to serve as Superintendent of Chickasaw National Recreation Area and as the Oklahoma State Coordinator, overseeing the Oklahoma City National Memorial and Washita Battlefield National Historic Site. I’ve been able to work with wonderful organizations such as the Oklahoma City National Memorial and Museum, the Oklahoma and Arbuckle Historical Societies, The Arbuckle Master Conservancy District, the Oklahoma School for the Deaf, Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation, Oklahoma State Parks, and the Oklahoma Water Resources Board, just to name a few. As a tribal member, it has been a particular honor to work closely with the Chickasaw Nation and the Chickasaw Cultural Center. I hope to have strengthened relationships that will last long into the future.
“There have been numerous people along the way that I have crossed paths with, worked with, and stood side by side during tough or trying times, far too many to thank here. You don’t get to the end of the trail without a lot of support. The opportunity to return home is a rare one in the National Park Service, so I was excited to take it. We are marked in this profession to constantly begin things that others will finish. I wish them well.”
Bill and his wife Misty have made this area their home and plan to stay in the area. He is looking forward to spending time on their ranch between Sulphur and Davis, and intends to stay involved in the community.
For more information about Chickasaw National Recreation Area, visit www.nps.gov/chic or call the Travertine Nature Center at (580) 622-7234.
Last updated: December 9, 2022