James Reinkemeyer has been with JC Parks for 7 years and currently serves as the Program Manager for the Special Populations program, affectionately known as “SPOPS.”
The program hosts the local Jefferson City Special Olympics team, the JC Parks Stars, who compete in area, regional, and statewide Special Olympics Missouri events. It also provides twice-a-month opportunities for athletes to spend quality time together through trips, dances, and activity nights called “Stars Night Out.”
In his role, James also coordinates adaptive sports for the department, including a new powerlifting program, adaptive soccer in partnership with Special Olympics and the Special Learning Center, and Miracle League adaptive baseball.
Volunteers are essential to adaptive programming, often serving as one-on-one buddies for athletes during games and activities — an experience many volunteers say has positively impacted their lives as well.
That volunteer experience is what sparked an interest in James to learn more about special populations and adaptive programming to begin with. While attending Missouri State University and completing his bachelor’s degree in Recreation, Sports, and Parks Administration, he volunteered with Miracle League baseball as a softball player.
“That’s where my passion started,” he shared. “Really just being around them, being with them.”
He later interned with Special Olympics Missouri, where he gained more insight into their programming and discovered how much he enjoyed coaching, competing, and helping others grow.
“Each night, each practice, each event just reminds me why I keep doing this,” he said. “As soon as I pull into the parking lot, the athletes are all coming out to greet me — it’s so heartwarming.”
You might find James at his desk, at practice, or out and about in the community raising awareness and funds to support his athletes. From hosting restaurant fundraisers and organizing a recent peanut sale with Texas Roadhouse, to working concession stands at JC Parks events and the Capital Region Amphitheater, he consistently finds ways to engage with local partners and residents to support the program. This year, he even scored two sponsorships for teams.
“This year Morris Packaging is generously sponsoring our softball team and providing brand new jerseys for them,” James shared. “Midwest Advertising is also supporting our flag football team with new jerseys — both of these sponsorships are so important to us and really exciting.”
For James, it always comes back to the “why.” This year, one of the local JC Parks Stars athletes, Joe Collins, is training with Team Missouri in track and has qualified for the Special Olympics USA Games in Minnesota.
“It’s so cool to see their growth,” James shared. “I just want our community to know that our programs are so adaptable to athletes’ abilities. I’d love for families to reach out to me to see how we can modify experiences here at JC Parks to help their players participate and grow.”
Russell Schaefer has worked in the mechanics and fabrication shop now for 8 years this May. For three days each week, Russel opens the garage doors to get rolling on the work for the day, which could be fixing, tuning, or repairing equipment used across the park system.
The work changes daily and seasonally – in the winter, Russell rotates through just about every piece of equipment our department uses, from leaf blowers to a back hoe, large mowers and even heavier-duty trucks. Some pieces just need an oil change and tune up, others need more extensive work to keep them running smoothly.
Russell originally came to JC Parks with an interest in a seasonal mowing position, but when interviewed by staff, who noted his extensive background in automotive work at U.S Rents-It and Blackwell’s Garage, offered him another opportunity instead.
“They called me, wanting to know if I’d like to repair things,” he said, “And I told them, I really don’t want to turn wrenches – but they told me it’d be a lot different from an automotive garage.”
Russell found himself enjoying the laid-back setting of the Parks Maintenance Center shop, but kept that spirit of hustle in his day-to-day approach to jobs.
“I want to get the equipment in, and back out as fast as I can,” he shared, “I don’t want to be the one tying them up when they need to get to work.”
His work is highly valued among JC Parks staff, and they keep him pretty busy.
“Even I really didn’t know how big our parks system was until I came here,” Russell said, “I’m not even sure I’ve ever been to all of our parks – but I’ve had a hand in a few things that are out there.”
Russell assisted with the grinding and installation of the large coneflower sculptures at Community Park, and often responds to staff requests for help if a mower gets stuck or breaks down mid-work.
“These guys we work with are just great,” he shared, “They’re always thanking me and telling me how much they appreciate what I do for them – that’s very different from the other garages I’ve worked in.”
When asked for any final insights into his day, his work, and his impact on our community, he smiled and shared, one final thought: “I just enjoy it.”
