Warren Wrenn, long-time NPS employee, will retire

By IRENE NOLAN

After nearly 37 years with the National Park Service, Park Ranger Warren Wrenn will retire on Dec. 27, 2013.  Wrenn has held a variety of positions within the Outer Banks Group of national parks, which includes Cape Hatteras National Seashore, Fort Raleigh National Historic Site, and Wright Brothers National Memorial. 

A native of Louisburg, N.C., Wrenn began his career in federal service while a student at East Carolina University in the late 1970s, working summers as a cave guide at Mammoth Cave National Park in Kentucky.  His first permanent assignment was at Abraham Lincoln’s Birthplace National Historic Site in Hodgenville, Ky.

Wrenn moved to the Outer Banks in 1980 to work as a park ranger in interpretation at Wright Brothers National Memorial.  Later that year he transferred to Buxton and spent the next 11 years giving programs at the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse.  In 1991, Wrenn returned to Wright Brothers to supervise visitor services at the Memorial and at Fort Raleigh.

Since then, he has held positions as the concessions management specialist and the safety officer for the Outer Banks Group.  Wrenn has also participated in organizing many high profile events, including the 2003 First Flight Centennial Celebration, the relocation of the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, and the 50th Anniversary Celebration of Cape Hatteras National Seashore.

Wrenn served as the lead contact for many park partners including the Roanoke Island Historical Association, the First Flight Society, and the Elizabethan Gardens.  Of all the duties Wrenn has performed, he remembers most fondly his time spent working directly with the public.  He is well known for recounting tales he has perfected during his many years of entertaining park visitors.

Wrenn is frequently sought out for his extensive knowledge of the parks in the Outer Banks Group by co-workers, researchers, and others seeking information regarding many aspects of the operations. 

“Warren has had a remarkable career and much of it spent here on the Outer Banks.  His institutional knowledge about all topics related to the parks will be missed,” stated Superintendent Barclay Trimble.  “The Outer Banks Group has truly benefited from his experience and hard work the past 37 years.  On behalf of his many Park Service colleagues throughout the area and in the National Park System, we wish Warren well in his retirement.”

Wrenn, his wife Suzanne, and their daughter Amy live in Kill Devil Hills.  Another daughter, Christina, is a student at UNC Greensboro.  He plans to remain active with the First Flight Rotary Club, Kitty Hawk United Methodist Church, and other local organizations.