By Claire Sachse
claire.sachse@tryondailybulletin.com

Publisher’s note: We’d like to recognize those in our community who help make a difference in the quality of our lives. In that spirit, we plan to regularly feature the men and women making a difference. To recommend someone be featured here, please email us at: news@tryondailybulletin.com, with subject line: Getting to know you.

He came to North Carolina in 2001 for a visit, saw Chimney Rock Park and fell in love with the area. Now, Polk County’s Recreation Director Jerry Stensland, 47, a Sioux City, Iowa native, former news reporter, photographer and trail enthusiast, calls this area home.

Stensland said this area is vastly different from Iowa, with its “never-ending fields of corn on the right and beans on the left.”

“I love playing in the mountains. I can’t imagine living anywhere else,” said Stensland. He lives on 95 acres, two thirds of which are in a conservation easement. It is “perfect for watching the wildlife,” he said.

Stensland’s professional background reflects his love of the outdoors, health and physical activity. Additionally, he has been extensively involved in promoting community health initiatives, tourism, sustainable rural development, historic trails and battlefields and biking and paddling trails.

Although he has been on the job as interim director and recently as director, for ten months, Jerry Stensland was heavily involved in shaping Polk County’s Recreation Department activities and master plan before becoming a county employee. Stensland replaced Patty Aldred who retired in December 2013.

Stensland served as a consultant to the county for a year and developed the county’s recreation master plan, a detailed examination of current offerings and assets, as well as future plans for programs, facilities and personnel.

The Recreation Department’s mission includes after school programming for between 20 – 30 children. It also includes management, staffing and scheduling of all the sports leagues including soccer, basketball and volleyball. Stensland is also responsible for staffing Gibson Pool and running the summer day camp.

Stensland’s undergraduate degree in accounting is a real benefit, he said, for writing, budgeting and managing grants. He has a second undergraduate degree in physical education and a master’s degree in athletic administration from the University of Iowa.

The job of recreation director is not a nine to five type of job, Stensland said. He is frequently on the job weekends and evenings.

“I like seeing kids being active,” he said. “Kids need to be kids. I like seeing kids involved in sports.”

Stensland said that his future vision for the Recreation Department is to add trail running and hiking to its list of outdoor offerings.