The past 3+ years I have been at the helm of Morgan’s Wonderland social media. Last night in preparation for my last day today I wrote out some of my thoughts and reflections on being a part of this park from the ground up. I apologize for the length but ask that you take a few minutes to hear how the park has impacted my life.
Thank you! Jen
What I have learned….
Is that I am blessed beyond measure.
For me the start of this Morgan’s Wonderland journey began over 3 years ago. As some of you may know my history with the Hartman family goes back a few years. My dad was Gordon’s first salesman at Gordon Hartman Homes back in 1987. I was 7 (resist the urge to do the math) and tagged along with my dad to an event; it was a new subdivision ribbon cutting ceremony with Henry Cisneros and I got to help cut the ribbon. Through the years I helped and volunteered filing papers, making marketing flyers for spec homes and handing out water at realtor events. During college I worked part-time for the mortgage company doing marketing, filled in for subdivision sales people out on vacation and even in the accounting department. During the early years Gordon met and married the beautiful and fun Maggie (I still remember the polka dot outfits my mom made for my sister I to wear at their wedding) and a few years later they had Morgan. My mom was pregnant with my youngest brother at the same time and Jonathan was born 3 weeks after Morgan. When Morgan was around 10 months old I started helping to babysit. I still remember her big blue eyes, blond hair, chubby cheeks and love of music from the earliest age.
I moved out of town for a few years and when I came back I was able to spend more time with Morgan. Gordon had sold his homebuilding business, and he and Maggie started the Gordon Hartman Family Foundation and were beginning to plan out Morgan’s Wonderland. It was one of those hang out times with Morgan when I met up with Gordon to drop her off and he began giving me more details about the park, asking me about social media and if I thought it could help spread the word about the park. I still remember what I said (in a smart tone) when he asked me if I knew about this Twitter thing, ”Yeah, its microblogging in 140 characters or less” which is what I had read recently and was frankly all I knew.
A few weeks later, Jaime at the Foundation and I were learning Facebook for business/non-profit use and I was diving into Twitter and the rest is history. I made all kinds of friends and fast, there are so many amazing people in the San Antonio social media community who helped me along the way. To date we are closing in on 37K Facebook fans and 4,500 Twitter followers. We have received recognition, kudos and a PRSA Silver Anvil Award – not bad for a part time non-profit gig!
I have been fortunate to be able to watch the park take shape from the ground up. I remember my first walks with Gordon on the grounds before there were buildings and we had to wear hard hats and boots. He would say things like “that pile of dirt over there” or “that pile of rocks over there will be such and such”. I remember our first social media event at the park in an almost finished pavilion where we gave a muddy tour. I was getting to be a part of something amazing and new, that had never been done before.
How do you explain to a parent of a child with special needs that your park is ultra accessible? What does that mean? Lots of places are accessible because it’s the law. But just because something meets the minimum requirements doesn’t make it truly a place “where everyone can play”. A carousel where a person in a wheel chair can not only get on, but experience the sensation of moving up and down as the carousel turns round and round.
I remember questions in the beginning such as “how many can fit in the park” when we were just figuring out how long it would take to load wheelchairs on the train and how fast it should go and how many times around….when it has never been done before there is no instruction manual to tell you load times and speeds. Everything was trial and error although we had an amazing and experienced team of theme park professionals as part of the park staff.
When someone asks you what is it like working at Morgan’s Wonderland, how do you accurately describe seeing someone over 60 years old getting to swing for the very first time in their life? Or a wounded warrior being able to wheel up the play scape ramp and place their small child at the top of the slide the same as the did before they were injured? Or a grandparent with a walker, interacting with their grandchild who is driving them around in a miniature jeep? Or a letter from a parent whose child passed away the week after they returned home from a visit and they just want you to know how grateful they are for you and the park and for all the memories made with their child on that one last trip…..to remember now that the child is gone?
There are so many things that we take for granted. So many small things for us that are really a big deal for someone else. When someone says “it’s a special needs park” they are wrong – it is a park for everyone. A place that levels the playing field so EVERYONE regardless of any physical or mental disability or injury can play alongside each other. Anyone can dig in the sand circle, if you cannot get down in the sand you can roll up to long handled diggers and play right along with others.
I clearly remember a mom telling me about her child with sensory issues and how, to her amazement, he actually takes off his shoes to feel his toes in the sand. The park has a way of allowing kids to stretch and reach outside their comfort zone and try new things. I have seen many smiles on the faces of children with no special needs as they catch their first fish – and a certain NBA player I know caught his first fish in our wharf as well. We have amazing staff on the wharf who patiently explain the process, help reel in the fish, allow kids to touch and feel the fish, help them pose for photos with their catch and then gently as possible let the fish go back out in the lake (we are catch and release ya’ll).
My own family spends lots of time in the park as I am the proud mom of a 13 year old boy and 6 month old boy. I can usually find Shawn riding the train and talking with the conductor or “helping” a staff member with some task. When my parents received legal guardianship of 2 precious 5 year old twin girls a few months back from out of state the first place we took them was Morgan’s Wonderland. We were able to get to know them and bond with them while playing in the park. They visited all the attractions we had been looking at and talking about on the website before our visit. The staff have made crafts with them, poured love and attention on them and ask me about them each week when I come into the office. Morgan’s is their very favorite place to go and they constantly ask to go to work with me.
The team I have been privileged to work with is made up of some of the nicest, sincerest and hardest working people you will find. Each has a unique story of how they came to be at the park……having a child with special needs, a cancer survivor who wanted to work somewhere meaningful, all lovers of a cause that was worth putting time and effort into.
You see this park is hard to define. This park is more than just a park. It is where kids of all abilities come to have fun and end up learning. Families come to play, individuals come to heal, and people volunteer to give back, each leaving having received more blessings than those they came to serve.
You see we are a park of dreamers, wish granters and trail blazers. A place where people go the extra mile and no one stares at a big kid driving a mini jeep (sometimes that’s me) or a 70+ year old man dressed up to the nine’s attending prom for the first time in his life and dancing the night away. There are so many neat features about the park, stories to be told and people to be recognized that I think it could fill many books.
If you are able to come to visit this park and you haven’t – you are missing out. Morgan’s Wonderland is for everyone and everyone with the ability to come should take the opportunity to visit. Have fun and expand your circle of friends, I have. Along the way I have met so many people that I will never forget as long as I live.
The experience of being a small part of the launch of this wonderland and having a hand in spreading the word worldwide through social media has been nothing short of life changing. As the “social media girl” behind the scenes I have enjoyed “meeting” and “talking” with you all and I thank you for friending and following the park, reposting my posts and retweeting my tweets.
With big sister pride I watched my girl Morgan walk across the stage and graduate from high school last week and begin the transition from one phase of her life to the next. As I leave Morgan’s Wonderland and transition to the next phase of my life I will take all these experiences with me. I feel proud of the foundation that I helped build, the customer service I provided, the questions I answered and I gave it my all. I look forward to seeing the park continue to grow as there are more lives to be changed, more smiles to be smiled, more laughs to be laughed and I will be cheering them on! Oh what a ride it has been. ~ Jen
