File Photo - Bob Peckenpaugh has found Wheeling has earned its reputation as friendly and welcoming during his first year as CEO and president of the Wheeling Park Commission.

WHEELING — Bob Peckenpaugh, CEO and president of the Wheeling Park Commission, believes he “hit the lottery” with his job overseeing operations at Oglebay Park.

He has been in the position for about 10 months now, and said he has learned during that time how Wheeling has earned its reputation for its friendliness and welcoming nature.

He said he spent his first months in Wheeling learning, and taking in all that Wheeling’s parks provide to the community.

“There’s so much that goes on in parks, and it took almost all of year one to soak it in,” he said. “You don’t understand it until you go through it.

“It’s also been a year of welcoming into the community. For the first couple of months, I came to understand why people call this the “Friendly City.'”

Peckenpaugh expects to stay for a while locally.

“When I interviewed for this job, they asked for a commitment of seven to 10 years at a minimum,” Peckenpaugh said. “There is no reason we (he and wife Jennifer) wouldn’t do that.

“I think I really hit the lottery taking this job. The park is wonderful, the commission and the team I work with is really engaged. This has really been fun, and I feel fully engaged and committed right now.”

Peckenpaugh has lived in many places during his life, and he puts Wheeling up there with Mammoth Mountain, California as places where the community was most welcoming. He also has made his home in Seattle, Yellowstone National Park while in college; Maui; Newport Beach, California; San Diego; Greenville, South Carolina; San Antonio; Palm Harbor, Florida; San Francisco; and Austin, Texas.

The Peckenpaughs raised their children at the Mammoth Mountain resort, and Peckenpaugh said they now are adults who are coming to visit him at Oglebay over the holidays.

Peckenpaugh was born and raised in Seattle, and had always considered that city “the friendliest place in the world.” Then he moved back there as an adult and found the culture different.

“Random strangers would always say hello and engage you in conversation,” he said. “When I went back I found the people were always friendly, but not that friendly. After I moved back, I found the dynamics changed.”

There is a lack of genuine friendliness there that abounds in Wheeling, according to Peckenpaugh.

Seattle also has a more extreme approach to COVID prevention, he said. He visited there over Thanksgiving.

“The COVID protocols are different. It’s like COVID doesn’t exist here compared to what we had to go through in Seattle,” Peckenpaugh said. “We had to show identification and our vaccination card to go to a restaurant in Seattle.

“My feelings are different in Wheeling. People are back in their offices. They are dining out, and it’s a different feel.”

But he is confused about one thing he sees in Wheeling. People don’t seem to want to live along the riverfront.

“In a lot of places we’ve lived, where there is a beautiful waterfront it is the prime location. People live there or on hills that overlook it,” Peckenpaugh said. “In Wheeling, we have the Heritage Port area that’s a beautiful spot for festivals.

“It’s unique to me how Wheeling started in the downtown area near the river and expanded out to Woodsdale, Elm Grove and beyond away from the water. It’s different. Life revolves around water more on the West Coast, and I guess I just like water.”

Peckenpaugh said he has done much exploring of the area since moving to Wheeling in early 2021.

“We have rented bikes and rode the trail along the river,” he said. “It’s so peaceful and wonderful to have that there.

“When we move to a different place, we try to explore the area within a 100 mile radius. Here there is so much going on, we haven’t gotten to everywhere we wanted to go. We have been all consumed by the park — both personally and professionally.”

Peckenpaugh said they have enjoyed their first taste of events at Oglebay Park this year, and particularly loved the live music at Schenk Lake. But it does appear the Peckenpaughs attended many events in the region during 2021.

Shortly after arriving in Wheeling, they were invited to attend the Mountain East Conference Basketball Tournament at WesBanco Arena. Later, there were trips to Pittsburgh to see Pirates games, and to watch the Penguins take on his hometown Seattle Kraken.

The Peckenpaughs attended a West Virginia University-Virginia Tech football game, as well as other sporting events at West Liberty State College. They have also visited the Greenbrier Resort in southern West Virginia.

“With the kids here over the holidays, we’ll dive deeper into some things we want to do,” Peckenpaugh said. “We plan to visit Amish country, and I think I can talk them into coming back. They will love the recreational mountain biking trails in West Virginia.

“We’ll be skiing at Seven Springs, and getting out and enjoying the outdoors.”

Major renovations to the Glessner Auditorium and other meeting rooms at Wilson Lodge were renovated over the past year, and in the coming months Peckenpaugh will oversee work to update the hotel rooms in the Klein Wing at Wilson Lodge.

Also in 2022 there will be renovations on “four to six” of the cottages at Oglebay Park, and there are also plans to construct a cafe for the pool, tennis and golf areas of the park that would be utilized throughout the year, according to Peckenpaugh.

“We will also be improving our snow-making capabilities,” he said. “We will make it better this year if it ever gets below 50 degrees and stays there.”

The golf paths at Crispin also are slated for upgrades, and Oglebay workers will start a plan to remove older trees and plant new ones in the park during 2022.

Traffic at the park has been the strongest ever at Oglebay Park since the pandemic, and the Festival of Lights had its best year during the 2020 season, according to Peckenpaugh. While not at 2020 levels, the 2021 season is doing very well and is exceeding the 2019 totals, he said.

“I just want to say thank you to the community,” Peckenpaugh said. “So many people have opened their doors both professionally and personally to Jennifer and I.

“I have always worked at a hotel or resort. They have always been a source of pride in the neighborhood, but not part of the neighborhood. It is very warm and welcoming here,” he said.