Behind the Parks: Meet David at Battelle Darby Creek

David Bergunzi

Assistant Park Manager, Battelle Darby Creek Metro Park

David Bergunzi is talking with Communications Coordinator, Virginia Gordon

About me

I was born and raised in Columbus, Ohio and attended Briggs High School on the west side. I have two younger brothers. My grandparents owned their own campgrounds, which they operated on a private membership basis. I always loved being outside and spending time at the camp. It’s still in the family. It’s now run by a cousin of mine and I still go there a couple of times a year. When I was much younger, I remember my grandma starting us off with what she called her ‘big camp breakfast,’ which was bacon, eggs, sausage and gravy. It really started off the day right. My grandma loved fishing and taught me how to fish. We’d catch mostly bass and bluegill at the camp lake. When I was eight, my grandpa took me hunting, which I loved. We would go hunting on land owned by local farmers, or on state lands in the Hocking Hills.

In 2007 I completed three semesters at The Ohio State University. I went there with the thought that I’d become a veterinarian, but I soon realized that there was a lot more science and math involved than I’d anticipated. Me and math, we didn’t jive. After three semesters I dropped out of college. I worked a few random jobs, mostly in warehousing and shipping. In 2009, I married my high school sweetheart, Meghan. We got married at Cedar Ridge Lodge at Battelle Darby Creek Metro Park, which ironically is where I work now as an assistant park manager. Our daughter Abigail was born in 2012.

BEGINNING A MILITARY LIFE

My work life wasn’t satisfactory. I was looking for a career, and after discussions with Meghan, I joined the military. Meghan really supported me in my desire to find a fulfilling career that would be good for me and good for us as a family. In 2013 I signed up for three and a half years with the 101st Airborne, which is an air assault division of the US Army, famous especially for its actions in the Normandy landings during World War II. I was hoping I might get to travel the world, but the army tells you where you’ll go.

I was sent to Fort Campbell, Kentucky. We lived on post. It’s on the border of Kentucky and Tennessee. About 70 percent of the huge base is in Tennessee, but because the post office is on the Kentucky side, it’s designated as a Kentucky base. It covers tens of thousands of acres and has about 34,000 active-duty soldiers on base. Fort Campbell has its own gyms, school system, grocery stores, and even its own churches. It also has its own missile ranges. Artillery rounds were going off all the time. We even had helicopters flying over the range and dropping bombs. You just got used to it.

I loved the army life and the stability it offered to us as a family, so I reenlisted for another three years. Unless we were away on active field training life on base was predictable and very structured. I really liked that. You didn’t have to think too much, and everything just made sense to me. Monday through Friday, we’d salute the flag at 7am and then run for 4 miles, or ruck for 6 miles, or do some other big exercise; like some creative ways of weight training that were designed for us, and then other tasks as needed. I chose to work in logistics. After a couple of years, I was promoted from Private 1st Class to Specialist. I was put in charge of my B-Company supply unit making sure we always had enough materials for training exercises including ammunition, parts for military vehicles, and more mundane materials such as notebooks and pens.

DEPLOYMENT TO SOUTH KOREA

After four and a half years at Fort Campbell, and some other active-duty deployments, I was given orders for South Korea. I was told I could take my family with me to South Korea, but only if I reenlisted again for another three years. At this point, we had other family considerations in play, so we decided together that I wouldn’t reenlist again. It meant I would spend the final year of my enlistment in South Korea without my family while Meghan and Abigail could reestablish themselves in Ohio to be close to our extended families. It took a few months to prepare for deployment abroad, and then I moved to South Korea.

Fortunately, we had great internet connections, and I was able to Face Time with Meghan and Abigail just about every day. I have to say, I really enjoyed my time in Korea. It’s a country of about 53 million people, but it’s only the geographical size of Indiana. I became good friends with my roommate, who was originally from Thailand.  We traveled together as tourists to see the country. We visited the demilitarized zone with North Korea.  We also visited Seoul a few times, which is a huge city of about 13 million people. I really enjoyed visiting the Korean War Museum in Seoul and I fell in love with Korean food. They have countless ways of making fried chicken. They use every part of the bird, which is usually breaded and served with sauces, fried rice and veggies.

In 2019 I left active duty with the army. I had loved my time serving our country, but time away from my family was always tough. Training sessions away from base could last up to 30 days. On mission training, lasting about two weeks, we couldn’t have cell phones or contact our families at all. We did a lot of those trainings, where we would learn how to use a wide range of weapons, how to make air assaults and interceptions, rappel from helicopters, or clear buildings of enemy personnel. It did put a lot of stress on family life.

Although leaving full-time active duty, I did sign up for the US Army Reserves and I received another promotion, to Sergeant. We would serve for one weekend a month, and then for one two-week period during the year. I got back to Ohio on Jan 8, 2019, and two days later I started my second round of college at OSU. My college fees were paid by the GI Bill, and I received a monthly stipend for studying. I studied History, and after seven straight semesters, I graduated as a history major in May 2021. At the outset, I thought I would like to become a teacher, but after teaching a couple of student-teaching classes, I encountered issues dealing with parents. I loved teaching the students, but dealing with their parents made me realize I wanted something different.

FINDING MY WAY TO METRO PARKS

Even while studying for my history degree, I had already started working as a part-time ranger at Metro Parks. Meghan, Abigail and I had taken a walk at Scioto Grove Metro Park, and we saw an advertisement in the park bulletin board looking for part-time rangers. I thought to myself, “I could do that.” So, I applied, and a couple of months later I was invited to an interview. I started as a part-time ranger at Scioto Grove in June 2019. It was lovely to spend time outside and not have to think about my college work. After graduating college, I did leave Metro Parks briefly, to take a full-time job. Then in January 2022 I saw another advertisement for full-time rangers at the parks. I applied again and was taken on as a full-time ranger at Battelle Darby Creek Metro Park. I joked with HR that the year between my part-time and full-time positions was my “Gap Year.”

I finished my police academy training in August 2023, which all full-time rangers are expected to do, and which qualified me as a commissioned Ohio Peace Officer. At that time, I also started studying for a master’s degree, doing online classes with The Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, based in Kansas City. It’s a Master of Divinity degree, with the emphasis on counseling. I consider this my Passion Project, and I want to be able to help first responders and service veterans to deal with the pressures and traumas of their lives, through counselling, crisis intervention and empathy. I am already about two-thirds the way through what is usually a four-year to six-year period of study. I receive a lot of phone calls from people I served with in the military, and I am already using my training to help them find ways of coping with their difficult issues.

I love working as a ranger, and especially the educational aspects of the job. A couple of times a year, we organize creek enforcement sessions, and a few of us walk the banks of the creek and educate people about creek law. People don’t realize that drinking and boating can have the same consequences as drinking and driving. People come to canoe at the park, and we must stop them from drinking or polluting the pristine waters of Big Darby Creek. This can be anything from littering, like throwing plastic bottles or discarded sandwich bags into the creek, or dumping tires, which unfortunately is happening more frequently these days. Someone even dumped a stolen vehicle into the creek not so long ago. I serve as a Metro Parks representative on the Franklin County Environmental Crimes Task Force, with others like SWACO, the Sheriff’s Office, and Public Health organizations. We seek to understand the scale of the problem and develop policies that help organizations to hold people accountable for polluting our natural resources.

Sometimes we get to make a difference for people. That is always a very rewarding and satisfying part of the job. One example that comes to mind involved a search and rescue operation for an elderly visitor to the park. We received a phone call from a family member saying this gentleman came to the park and was long overdue getting home. With more than 7,000 acres Battelle Darby Creek is a very large area to search, but we found where the gentleman’s car had been parked. By the time his family members had arrived at the park we had found the gentleman and had already brought him safely back to his vehicle. He had taken a trail he had never been on before was lost. As it was a very hot day, he was very dehydrated, so we gave him lots of water. When his wife arrived and saw her husband safe, she was so relieved and so thankful for our help. The following day, she brought in home-baked cookies and a handwritten note as a thank you.

In March 2024 I was promoted to assistant manager at Battelle Darby Creek Metro Park. There is a lot more administration required in this role, but I get to work much more with our maintenance and naturalists’ staff here at the park. And occasionally I still get to enjoy doing some ranger duties, especially when we need extra cover during the summer months.

Traveling – places I’ve been, places I’d love to go

When I was 10 years old, we took a family trip to visit a great aunt who lived in Arizona. We visited the Grand Canyon National Park and I’m still in awe of it to this day. The scale is incredible; it almost leaves you speechless. I would love to go back there some day with Meghan and Abigail. Meghan has family who live near Traverse City in Michigan and close to Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. We go up there and rent a lake house every year. It has great sandy beaches, and we love hiking, swimming and just relaxing.

I’ve never been to Italy, but my great-grandparents came here from Pescara on the Adriatic Coast. I believe we still have family living there. From the stories I’ve been told, it has beautiful beaches and would be a wonderful place to visit.

My favorite food and desert

My grandma used to make a lasagna with half beef and half venison, and it was delicious, better than anything I’ve had in any restaurant anywhere. I make my own lasagna at home and it’s pretty good, but it still isn’t anywhere close to being as good as what my grandma used to make. Also, because Meghan didn’t grow up in a hunting family, she doesn’t like me dressing hunting kills at home, so I mostly use store-bought beef instead of venison.

As for dessert, I’ll never turn one down, but I do have a favorite. Meghan loves baking and she makes mini cheesecakes that are easily tops for me. She makes them for her business, as well as for our family. We live in an old house in London and Meghan has started a private reservation only tea business at home, using our dining room. She sets aside a couple of times a month for about eight people who come and enjoy afternoon tea, finger sandwiches and cakes. It’s called Private Steep Society, and it has proved to be very popular within our local community. The Mayor of London came to a ribbon-cutting ceremony when Meghan officially opened it. Meghan uses loose-leaf tea and I’m sure it’s good. I’m a coffee drinker so I wouldn’t know.

My favorite entertainment

I love to read. We have a library of about 2,500 books at home. I love reading historical biographies, especially relating to the American Revolution. I also read a lot of theological and counselling books, arising from my master’s degree study. Just now I’m reading ‘In the Hurricane’s Eye’ by Nathaniel Philbrick, which is about the Battle of Yorktown and the surrender of the British General Cornwallis to the American and French forces. It’s the last of Philbrick’s excellent trilogy of books on the American Revolution. I also enjoy streaming documentaries by Ken Burns. His series of films about the American Revolution are outstanding, as are his films about America’s National Parks.

What Battelle Darby Creek Park Manager Geoff Hamilton says about David

“David brings passion, energy and a healthy dose of personality to the team. He is fun to work with, and always ready with a great one-liner. He has a knack for boosting morale when we need it most. He is also incredibly dedicated to serving others, doing things right and pushing for excellence. Simply put, he has made a great impact on the team, and probably said a few things along the way that we’ll be repeating for years. I can neither confirm nor deny the existence of a running list of his greatest quotes.”