New park managers named at four Kentucky state parks

FRANKFORT, Ky. – (Feb. 16, 2018) – Parks Commissioner Donnie Holland announced the recent appointment of new managers at four Kentucky State Parks.

The new managers are:

Joe Mounce is the new park manager at Cumberland Falls State Resort Park near Corbin. Mounce, a native of Somerset, has a master’s degree in recreation and park administration from Eastern Kentucky University, where he also earned his undergraduate degree.

Mounce worked at the YMCA in Somerset and joined the park system as business manager in 2010 at Buckhorn Lake State Resort Park.  He also served as business manager for Lake Cumberland State Resort Park, park manager at Kenlake State Resort Park and most recently as park manager for Dale Hollow Lake State Resort Park.

David K. Smith is the new park manager at Jefferson Davis State Historic Site in Fairview.

Smith has worked with the Kentucky State Parks since 2010, working at Lake Barkley State Resort Park and most recently as business manager for Pennyrile Forest State Resort Parks. Smith, who grew up in Hopkinsville, is a Navy veteran and earned his degree in business economics from Murray State University.

Jeremy Riggs is the new park manager at Taylorsville Lake State Park in Taylorsville. Riggs, a Bardstown native, previously worked for the Office of Creative Services in the state Tourism, Arts and Heritage Cabinet. Before joining state government in 2017, Riggs worked in video and television production that included a stint in Ecuador.

Riggs earned a degree in broadcast communications from Asbury University where he served as station manager of the on-campus television station for three years.

The new manager at Perryville Battlefield State Historic Site in Perryville is Joan House. She has been serving as the acting park manager for the last year. She previously served as a historic preservation coordinator at the park, where she started working in 2004. House also worked for the Division of Historic Properties and as a Capitol tour guide in Frankfort.

House, a native of Nicholasville, earned a degree in history from Kentucky State University and a master’s degree from the University of Kentucky in historic preservation.

For more information about Kentucky State Parks, visit www.parks.ky.gov