Life along the lakeshore suits Shannon Eason, Assistant Superintendent for the Michigan City Parks Department. A lifelong Michigan City resident - “Born and raised,” she says proudly - the Northwest Indiana native could hardly imagine wanting to live anywhere else.
Eason attended Michigan City’s Elston High School, Class of ’83, before taking classes at Purdue North Central. She got into the computer field early on, right after her time at PNC.
“I went straight into the computer industry, which was fairly new at the time,” says Eason, who continued to work in that field for several years, until shortly after she had her only son, Jack.
“I was commuting to Chicago and Crown Point. I had a child and I was missing out on field trips, basketball games, and chess tournaments,” says Eason.
Eason decided that it was perhaps time for a change, something closer to home that would allow her to spend more time with her family. She found her dream job right at home, in the town she loves - with the Michigan City Parks Department.
“I started with the parks department in 1995 as a payroll clerk and worked my way up to assistant superintendent,” said Eason.
Her current duties include budget management, contract management, and special projects. She is grant writer for the department, writing grants for restoration projects and a recent kayak project. She also serves on the board of the Indiana Department of Natural Resources Lake Michigan Coastal Program.
“I find that very advantageous,” says Eason. “It gives me insight to what money is out there, what’s been awarded and what fits with our master plan for the parks department. All of our parks department employees wear a lot of hats.”
She enjoys the restoration projects the most.
“We’re doing a lot of work with green infrastructure. We are working with Michigan City High School. We formed a restoration team, and they’re actually learning a lot about biology, water quality, and watersheds and they’re going out in the field and doing the work on park properties. That’s been really exciting, to work with those students and see them with hands on the ground. They are getting work done for the city that we otherwise couldn’t afford.”
“Our concept right now with this classroom is that we can get grant funding to, say, restore 12 acres of forest back to its natural state, but we don’t have the resources to continue to manage it afterwards. That’s where these kids come in,” said Eason. “They are extremely valuable resources. This project allows them to gain an education in the environmental field while, at the same time, helping our city. It will look great on their college resumes. They take great pride and ownership in these environmental issues. So, that’s really been my favorite thing to see within the past couple of years.”
Eason says that there’s no such thing as a typical day at the parks department.
“We don’t really have typical days. During the winter months, those are spent planning, reporting, doing all of our year-end grant reports, and our annual report to our park board. In the spring, I’ll be managing our parking operation at Washington Park. The spring is a very busy time getting that set up, auditing the tickets, and hiring staff. I oversee that through the month of September,” says Eason. “Other than that, you can be sitting at your desk one minute, and out addressing an emergency in a park ten minutes later. You definitely don’t get bored.”
In her spare time, Eason likes to go hiking with her family.
“We’re pretty much beach bums,” says Eason. “My husband, Jeffery, and I have two big dogs and we like to go hiking with our grandsons. Any free time we have during the weekends will typically see us down at the lakefront.”
Shannon and Jeffery are looking forward to celebrating their 13th wedding anniversary this coming August. They have one son, Jack, who also lives in Michigan City with his own two sons, Landon, 8, and Vincent, 5. They also have two dogs - Molly, 8, who is a Catahoula Leopard Hound/Chocolate Lab mix and Moose, 5, who is a Great Dane/Pitbull.
“They’re our babies,” says Eason.
Eason is very direct about what she loves most about living in the area.
“Lake Michigan… without a doubt. We have incredible natural resources that are available to us right here, in a very short driving distance. I like having easy access to Chicago to go see concerts or professional sports games. I think this is an ideal area - you’re not in the metro setting, but you still have access to all that. We enjoy our county parks, our lakefront. We’re pretty outdoorsy people. The climate is a little crazy, but you get used to it, and I actually enjoy the snow,” said Eason.
Like many people, the Easons enjoy travelling, but with one restriction: whatever the destination, there must be water nearby.
“We’ve been to Riviera Maya. We’ve gone to Key West every year for the last five years. Pretty much all of our trips involve water. If there’s not a river, lake, or ocean nearby, then we’re not going there,” she says with a laugh.
This year, they’re planning a trip to the Dominican Republic.
When she’s not planning parks programs or travelling to far-flung, exotic locations, Eason enjoys Italian food and likes to have dinner at Hammer’s in Michigan City.
“If we’re just going out to have a few drinks and watch a game, we usually go to Ryan’s Irish Pub in downtown Michigan City. But if you want the best burger in town, you have to try Royale with Cheese on Franklin Street. We shop the locals, we don’t do the big-box chains, we like to stick with smaller, independent mom-and-pop places.”
The next time you drive to the lakefront, or enjoy a pleasant afternoon relaxing in a local park with your family, take a moment to appreciate all those who work hard for your enjoyment. People just like Michigan City’s own Shannon Eason.