VBT hires Zaenglein as Deputy Director of Parks & Recreation

By Rosemary K. Otzman
Independent Editor
An employment agreement with Jennifer Zaenglein to serve as Van Buren Township Deputy Director of Parks and Recreation was approved by the VBT Board of Trustees at a special meeting on Jan. 17.
And, Zaenglein’s hire was just in time, since Jennifer Wright, Director of Parks and Recreation, is very pregnant and has a scheduled delivery date of Feb. 1.
The board approved an annual salary of $45,000 for Zaenglein, which was included in the approved 2013 budget. She will be a full-time, at-will employee.
Zaenglein has worked for ten years for Wayne County as a naturalist / environmentalist at Crosswinds Marsh in Sumpter Township. She has worked in the recreation field for over 20 years designing and presenting interpretive programs as well as designing and running major recreational events.
Zaenglein has also worked for the Huron Clinton Metropolitan Authority, the National Park Service, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
She has a bachelor of science degree in biology from Northern Michigan University and currently resides in Westland with her husband and five-year-old daughter Ryann.
Director Wright told the board that she has had the privilege of working with Zaenglein over the years since the VBT Recreation Department has taken many field trips to Crosswinds Marsh where Zaenglein has led many interpretive programs for the Van Buren groups.
Wright said Zaenglein also worked with the Recreation Department when the township received a grant for a tree interpretative program for summer camp in 2010.
Former Deputy Director Andrew Burns resigned last fall to take a job at a recreational therapy company in Clawson.