Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, July 19, 1995 TAG: 9507190035
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JEFF STURGEON STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Chester W. Simmons, who replaces former Vinton Town Manager George Nester, begins work Sept.1.
Simmons works for NASA's chief space shuttle contractor, Lockheed-Martin Space Operations Co., and is a key member of the team at Kennedy Space Center in Florida that makes sure the shuttle goes up on schedule.
Simmons' hiring is good news to park officials at an otherwise difficult time. Attendance stands at 8,700 with less than 31/2 months left in the season, well below Executive Director Rupert Cutler's goal of 50,000 visitors this season. On Tuesday, the park's governing board approved borrowing $70,000 to settle debts as much as a year old.
Simmons, 46, told park officials he had wanted to escape the congestion of the Cocoa Beach, Fla., area where he lives and works. A resident of Merritt Island, he had vacationed at Smith Mountain Lake and been watching job ads in The Roanoke Times. On seeing Explore Park's help-wanted ad, he said, "Hey, that's for me," Cutler said.
Simmons could not be reached for comment Tuesday. He was en route home from Roanoke, after having learned that his son was involved in a traffic accident Monday in Florida, Cutler said. The son, a 25-year-old firefighter, was OK, Cutler said.
Simmons had been in Roanoke for his successful job interview. He and his wife had come at their own expense, because Explore Park had no money for travel expenses, Cutler said.
Simmons was chosen from among 40 applicants for his leadership, team-building and construction-management skills, said Cutler, who made the decision.
A native of Long Island, N.Y., and a 20-year Florida resident, Simmons has worked at the space center for 15 years. In his job, he coordinates private contractors working for one of three shuttle ground crews. He played lead roles in converting the launch pad for Apollo moon-mission spacecraft to accommodate shuttles and in improving the pad after the Challenger explosion.
Among his duties at Explore Park, Simmons will supervise crews that will move Mountain Union Church in Botetourt County and Brugh Tavern in Staunton to the 1,300-acre living history park off the Blue Ridge Parkway in Roanoke County - assuming funding for those projects is secured.
In addition to being a general contractor in Florida, he has worked to expand tourist facilities at the space center and is a history buff, Cutler said.
He will be paid $47,500, plus benefits worth about $12,000.
"He is going to be a very welcome addition to our staff," said Trixie Averill, who stepped down Tuesday as chairwoman of Explore Park's governing board to become its secretary. "He brings a lot of background, a lot of knowledge in the construction field. He seems to - what I am very pleased with - know his way around fiscal conservatism, and he has a grasp of what we are trying to do there. And the fact that he actively sought to live in this area" was another plus.
by CNB