“I get to see something a little bit different everywhere I go,” she said. “I hope that I’ve made a difference everywhere I’ve [worked] with staff and community.”
O’Connell’s been executive director of MetroParks of Butler County since 2021, a job she calls a “unicorn.”
When she saw it, she jumped on it. MetroParks is celebrating its 70th anniversary this year, and O’Connell said mission-based work is its focus, meaning conservation, education and recreation. “Everything we do is intended to make a difference.”
She spends her days visiting parks, working with her team and advocating for the county, a place that she has an affinity for.
“I love the community,” she said. “It feels very much like where I came from.”
Credit: Nick Graham
Credit: Nick Graham
O’Connell grew up in Mercer County, Ohio, the land of church steeples, corn fields and high school football. The county also has a strong sense of community, and there are no strangers.
O’Connell tries to bring that mentality into her work.
“How can we partner with other people? How can I partner with other people to lift both of us? I have found endless people to partner with in this position, so we all don’t have to lift as much.”
“What we do with parks, we have to have a good relationship with people,” she added. “We’re creating memories, we’re creating experiences for people, we are conserving land. We can’t do this alone. No one can do this alone.”
Outside of her work, O’Connell loves finding obscure, hole-in-the-wall restaurants, including Reily Pizza in Oxford and Big Buls Roadhouse in Hamilton. Her favorite food group is donuts, specifically from Home Bakery in Mercer County.
For young women interested in parks and recreation, O’Connell said, “It really is like the show, so be warned. But...the opportunities for women now are so much more than when I was growing up and where I grew up. My mom had the option to be...a hairdresser or secretary.”
O’Connell was a first generation college student and attended the University of Dayton, majoring in sports management. She enjoyed attending events, like circuses, where people were visiting as families and making memories.
After working in events, a full-time recreation coordinator job came up at Montgomery County Parks and Recreation, a department that doesn’t exist anymore. “I kind of fell into it. That was 1997 and I’ve been in [parks and recreation] ever since.”
For a brief six months, though, after leaving a job in 2019, she worked at Burwinkel Farms produce stand in Ross. “I felt like I belonged there at the time,” she said. “It was a hard decision to go, but it was not purposeful work for me anymore.”
The job she left was 100% retail-focused, and she missed building memories and creating experiences for those visiting parks. “I wasn’t providing the value that I could. No one gets into this business...because they want to make money. They get into it because...they think they can contribute something.”
She encourages young women to find a job they can “have fun at.” “Find a mentor, reach out, just ask questions, have a coffee or a pop with somebody.”
LEADING LADIES OF BUTLER COUNTY
This is part of a series of stories featuring women in Butler County who shape their communities. They are women who are leading small and large businesses, institutions and organizations. To share your thoughts email journalnews@coxinc.com.
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