Don Clark drove across the country to take his new job with the Town of Fountain Hills as recreation coordinator in the Community Services Department.

Clark is from the Bangor, Maine area and readily admits he was looking to get away from the snow and cold weather when he saw the job posting for the position here online.

When he got the job he packed up his belongings and spent four and a half days driving from Bangor to Fountain Hills with his dog.

Clark graduated the University of Maine with a degree in education and had a job as a high school physics teacher and was working summers at a camp when he got the bug to get into recreation.

He got a job with the City of Bangor working as a recreation programmer, before and after school program director and operated the summer day camp.

Not surprisingly, Clark is into sports. On the track team in college he threw shot and was a defensive lineman for a semi-pro football team – he is a Patriots fan. He has six brothers so is plenty competitive.

He said he is looking forward to exploring new opportunities in recreation in Fountain Hills.

“It is really different from back east,” he said. “We will provide some awesome programing for Fountain Hills.”

Clark believes that, in recreation, if you are not having fun you are not doing it right.

Residents with questions about programs or ideas can contact Clark at 480-816-4130.