The Bright Side: Longview city manager earns statewide honor for parks efforts

Jen Wills is receiving statewide recognition for her years of dedication to the field of parks and recreation before she advanced to Longview's city manager.

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Wills won't be attending Thursday's City Council meeting because she'll be at the Washington Recreation & Park Association's annual conference in Tacoma, where she will receive the Impact and Influence award this year.

The organization of parks professionals describes the award on its website as "the highest recognition bestowed by WRPA to an individual." The Washington Recreation & Park Association is composed of roughly 3,500 members who primarily work in public parks and recreation across the state.

Wills said she is the second recipient from Longview to get the award. An earlier parks director, Rich Bemm, was previously awarded.

"It's a testament to the work that we do," Wills said.

Wills has been Longview's city manager since January of last year, but the bulk of her nearly two decades with the city of Longview was in the parks department.

Jen Wills gets statewide parks honor

Longview City Manager Jennifer Wills admires Lake Sacajawea Park in this photo taken April 22. Wills will be honored on April 23 with an Impact and Influence award from the Washington Recreation & Park Association for her dedication to advancing parks locally and across the state.

Wills also served as a past president of the Washington Recreation & Park Association in 2023 and was active in it for more than a decade.

Wills started her career in Longview in 2007 as a recreation coordinator and gradually worked her way up to different roles in the department, notably working as the city's parks and recreation director from 2015 to 2025.

Joanna Martin said Wills was "very involved" in her role as president of the state parks association, which was her primary reason for nominating her. At the time, Martin was working for Wills as Longview's Parks and Urban Forest Manager, but she has since moved on to become Battle Ground's Recreation and Facilities Manager.

"I was wanting to commemorate the service she gave as she was moving on to another arena," Martin said. "She's very deserving of it."

"She did and is continuing to do great things for Longview," Martin added.

Wills, when asked about her time with the state parks association, said one of her proudest accomplishments was building a series of monthly parks director meetings during the COVID-19 pandemic that grew into "something much bigger" in 2020 and 2021. Representatives from the governor's office, state agencies and health offices would join the call.

"It became a trusted place to share real-time information and help communities across the state respond quickly and consistently during a very uncertain time," Wills said.

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Wills also helped the organization complete a long-term strategic plan that included a listening tour, gathering input from across the state, and reconnecting parks professionals with the state parks association.

Her work helped bring about record-setting attendance at recent conferences, she said.

"That work reinforced something I've come to rely on in my career: When you communicate clearly and bring people together around a shared purpose, good things happen," Wills said. "I carry that same approach into my role as city manager today."

Why parks?

Wills said she has devoted much of her career to building Longview's parks and recreation programs because she sees them not just as "nice to have," but as "essential to a community."

She argues that if a place has only housing, people will spend their time and money elsewhere.

"A community with parks, trails, programs and events gives people a reason to stay local, connect with one another and invest in where they live," Wills said.

Parks can also make "a very real economic impact," she said. They bring forth economic activity through sports tournaments and festivals such as Go 4th. Further, when companies are considering places to locate or expand, they want to be in areas that can attract and retain workers.

"I've devoted my career to that because I believe in the impact it has on everyday life," Wills said.

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