Pruitt is new assistant park superintendent

The new assistant park superintendent at Cacapon State Resort Park is Dave E. Pruitt.

Pruitt replaced Brad Reed as the assistant superintendent after Reed was appointed to the position of district administrator for the park service in Charleston.

Pruitt, 46, is a 20 year veteran of the U.S. Navy and served all over the globe including four tours of duty in the Persian Gulf supporting military operations in Iraq. He was an operations specialist air traffic controller on a destroyer in a carrier group.

“I retired from the Navy to just retire,” Pruitt said, “but after six months I was going crazy and decided to join the park service.” He is in his sixth year with parks.

Pruitt worked at Beech Fork State Park in Cabel County and most recently at Holly River State Park near Buckhannan in Webster County.

Pruitt is married to wife Amey and has a daughter Sarah and son Brent. Two granddaughters, Colene and Haley, live with Sarah in Knoxville, Tennessee.

“I was called on December 22 to be here on January 1.

We cancelled Christmas and had to move in the snow,” Pruitt said.

Asked how he and his wife liked the area, Pruitt said, “We like it a lot.”