Betty Boyko, currently the superintendent at both Fort Scott National Historic Site and Fort Larned National Historic Site will assume a new position in mid-March, according to a press release.
National Park Service (NPS) Regional Director Bert Frost announced the selection of Boyko as superintendent of Homestead National Historical Park located in Beatrice, Nebraska late last week.
She has been the superintendent of Fort Scott National Historic Site since 2006, Boyko said in an interview with fortscott.biz.
Fort Scott National Historic Site is located at the north end of the town’s historic district.
Her duties at FSNHS were to provide leadership for all aspects of park operations to include preservation, interpretation, maintenance, administration, policies, public use management, public affairs, and park development, she said.
” I also became the superintendent of Fort Larned NHS in a dual superintendency in August 2013,” she said. “The position at Fort Larned became vacant so they needed someone to help out on a temporary basis for 30 days. Challenges in filling that position resulted in the extension of my temporary appointment and eventually led to it becoming a permanent position along with my current duties at Fort Scott NHS.
The best aspect about Boyko’s job in Fort Scott?
“It is definitely the park, park staff, and people of Fort Scott,” she said. “When I arrived here, everyone was so welcoming and supportive. That is still the environment today which makes the job so rewarding. It has been a pleasure to work with the community, many partners and volunteers and I know that the new superintendent – whoever that is – will appreciate the same support and working relationship.”
A new superintendent has not been selected for FSNHS yet, she said, but the regional NPS office is working on a plan to fill it.
The biggest challenge for Boyko in her job has been the COVID-19 Pandemic.
“Unfortunately, the pandemic has challenged how we mitigate operations to remain open and still provide a quality experience for the community and visitors,” she said.
Boyko starts on March 13th at Homestead National Historical Park, Nebraska.
Duties there will be similar to the current position: the management and leadership duties, but focused on the purpose for which that park was established.
A 37-year veteran of the NPS, Boyko has a wide range of administrative and leadership experiences in parks throughout the Midwest Region including eight years at Homestead National Historical Park where she served as the administrative officer and several years as deputy superintendent. She began her NPS career at Knife River Indian Villages National Historic Site and has held leadership positions at St. Croix National Scenic Riverway and Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail, according to the press release.
Boyko is a graduate of Dakota Business College in Fargo, North Dakota, and of the GAP International Executive Leaders Program. She represented the NPS region in the Emerging Leaders Program Executive Challenge Course. She will relocate to the Beatrice area this spring and looks forward to being near her son and his family, according to the press release.
