By Chuck Walker
MOBILE, Ala. – In 1972 when he was growing up in Newton County, Mississippi, Mark Dean visited Okatibbee Lake when it first opened.
Living only 30 minutes from the lake, Dean remembers it as the place to go for summer outdoor recreation as it was, and still is, the largest lake from East Central Mississippi to the Mississippi Gulf Coast..
Now, Dean is the Operations Resource Project Manager for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Okatibbee Lake Project and has been taking care of Okatibbee Lake for the past 38 years.
To Dean it has been a dream come true.
“I first saw Okatibbee Lake on a camping trip with my family in the early 70’s shortly after it first opened,” Dean said. “I didn’t know then that I would someday make a career at Okatibbee Lake, but when I first came to work here, I knew I was home. I have never really considered working anywhere else since. Some people never find a career or place to work that they are happy with. I found both.”
After he graduated from East Central Community College, Dean decided to major in Natural Resources Management at the University of Southern Mississippi. After graduating from Southern Miss in 1980, he went to work with the as an assistant park manager with the Mississippi State Park Commission because there was a hiring freeze with USACE.
In 1985, the Corps lifted the hiring freeze and Dean was hired as a Park Technician at Okatibbee Lake. In the early 1990’s, Dean transitioned into a park ranger position and in 2012 he was promoted his current position as manager..
Dean said his love for Okatibbee and the love of his family has contributed greatly to his success.
“My wife Tina and my daughter McKenna Grace have been tremendously supportive of my work and career,” Dean said. “I’ve worked weekends and a lot of holidays as a park ranger for 27 years. As a park ranger and as a manager I have been called out for incidents and worked late many times to get the job done. It’s much easier to your job when your family understands what your job requires and totally supports you. They are truly a blessing!”
Nelson Sanchez, USACE Mobile District Chief of Operations, said Dean has been nothing but exemplary in his service and leadership he has provided the Okatibbee Lake Project and the surrounding community the past 38 years.
“I have known Mark Dean since I came to work in Mobile in 1990,” Sanchez said. “He has been a park ranger since 1985 and has been the resource manager for many years, and Mark uses common sense when managing the lake. He truly represents the Army values. He is honest and has the utmost integrity when dealing with employees and the public. Mark is an integral part of the local community and will go out of his way to showcase what the lake and the park have to offer.”
Justin Murphree, the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway Project Manager, said Dean’s engagement with and relationship with the local community has been the secret to his success at Okatibbee Lake.
“Mark Dean has been a consistent anchor at Okatibbee for many years,” Murphree said. “He embodies the principles of community involvement. As a long-standing member of the Collinsville community, Mark has succeeded in weaving the project into the fabric of the community. The public sees the project as being managed by the local community instead of an outside agency. Mark’s leadership has strengthened the standing of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Lauderdale County.”
Dean said his advice for anyone seeking a career as park ranger, needs to combine a focus on the right kinds of academic studies such as forestry, wildlife, fisheries, and biology, but also realize you’re your main duty is to provide visitor assistance to our communities.
He also said that he is grateful for his opportunity and privilege to work at a place he fell in love with as a kid.
“I have been blessed to work for and with some of the very best people since I started with the Corps of Engineers in 1985,” Dean said. “Our current staff at Okatibbee Lake is a team that works as a family. I am thankful to work with each of them as well as our Corps family from the project and the District. Every day is a good day when you’re able to go to work, got good people to work with, and a great place to work. I am thankful and blessed to be a part of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.”