The director of the Omaha Parks, Recreation and Public Property Department will step down after a 24 year career.

Brook Bench has submitted his resignation and plans to leave the department later this summer to lead a new philanthropic organization committed to park development, according to a city news release last Saturday.

Bench has served as director since 2013 and was acting director in 2011. His career with the department began as a mower for the Warren Swigart Golf Course in 1996 and included stinsts as an automotive equipment operator, snow plow driver, public events foreman, park maintenance manager and coordinator of the former Civic Auditorium.

“Brook loves every city park like it’s his own backyard,” Mayor Jean Stothert said in the release. “From small neighborhood parks and playgrounds to our largest parks, Brook has led a transformation of our park system that provides recreation, leisure and sports opportunities for everyone.”

The parks director manages more than 250 city parks, 18 swimming polls, 11 splashgrounds, eight public golf courses, 150 miles of trails, the Hummel Park Nature Center and the Harry A. Koch Trap and Skeet Range.

 “This job is about creating fun,” Bench said in the release. “I get to see families and children enjoying our parks, pools, camps and programs every day. I am so grateful to Mayor Stothert for the opportunity to create new and better public spaces.”

Stothert plans to name an interim director and begin a search for a permanent director.

In his tenure, Bench has expanded the city’s summer day camp program and worked on a partnership with the Salvation Army to offer job training for persons experiencing homelessness. In 2016, he created the annual Memorial Park Veterans Shine On holiday lights display.

In 2011, Bench was a member of the unified command working to mitigate flood damage to city parks and public property. He is a member of the Riverfront Revitalization Committee, Omaha Zoological Society Board of Directors, Omaha by Design, the City of Omaha Parks and Recreation Board and the Omaha Parks Foundation.