Dena Bellman spends more time on the beach than David Hasselhoff. Working with California State Parks at the Oceano Dunes affords her plenty of time to drive a truck in the sand, and minimal slow-motion running.
When she’s not overseeing the creation of the new Oceano Dunes Visitor Center, the Arroyo Grande resident spends a good amount of her time planning and permitting Hollywood production crews, large-scale events and giving certain South Korean rappers the go-ahead to ride a fake horse on the beach.
Now getting “paid in sunsets,” the former Department of Corrections worker recently sat still long enough to talk about strange celebrity requests, her fear of fire and the importance of being sassy.
What is your perfect Sunday?
My perfect Sunday would start out easy! Morning cappuccino and the early soccer game on TV followed by an afternoon meet-up with friends and or family for an event or BBQ. I refuse to spend any time Sunday preparing for the next week, defeats the purpose of relaxing and enjoying life!
Which word or phrase do you most overuse?
My initial response is ‘Sassy.’ It’s a great word! Everything from attitude to work product is better with a little sass. Keeps things interesting and memorable. One of my marketing contractors quickly came to know that if a PR piece didn’t have a little something red to pop out at you, I was going to send it back. When I asked a co-worker this question about me…they also said “Seriously?” Which is very true – I say that a lot. To the extent that a friend was traveling and sent me a little sassy plaque that said “Seriously?” it sits above my computer and has a little gemstone dotting the “i.” I think I use that word as a nice way to respond when I really want to say, are you kidding me? Or when I’m proposing a ridiculous plan out of due diligence for the applicant, even when I know we are going to have to deny it.
What tops your bucket list?
Travel! My work life is pretty intense so when I take my little “minute vacations” my mind wanders to the next trip. Sometimes that is to see friends or family a few hours away, often it’s researching the must-do items for this year’s big trip. I am very fortunate that I am able to take a 3-4 week trip nearly every year, often times it corresponds with an I Care International mission to somewhere in South or Central America. I have fallen in love with Northern Scotland… Roatan… Venice and often consider going back, but Ireland, Guatemala, Northern Italy and Croatia are at the top of the to-do list!
What is your greatest fear?
I go back and forth between fire and the ocean…I am definitely one of those who leaves a window open so my neighbor would hear my fire alarm if I am not home. And I unplug everything before I leave for more than a day, both for energy conservation and fire protection. Fire is a more day-to-day concern verses ocean water safety when getting into a boat or taking a trip. However, I observe the ocean activity daily, knowing what to expect and plan for with tides and wave runup is an important piece to successful operation and planning in a beach park.
What is the strangest request a celebrity has ever made?
Wow…there are a lot! One group wanted to Ride inside a giant Zorb Ball down the dunes; they also wanted to pull a skim boarder behind a vehicle along the water, which is not allowed, so they came back to me with a new plan, they made friends with a group of Canadian horsemen that were camping on the beach with their horses and they agreed to pull them. Which, to their credit it was not a motorized vehicle, so we let them be pulled by the horse.
One musician wanted to ride a fake horse along the beach….that didn’t draw too much attention! It may have been the five hours he spent on the patio at Fin’s restaurant at the beach getting his hair done that initially drew the public attention.
For one dream sequence film shoot we were requested to allow a child actor to ride on a bed that was on a sled being chased by stallions down the beach, which as it happened to work out it was really foggy that morning, so it looked pretty dreamy!
When it comes to crisis management, what do you spend most of your time doing?
Crisis management is all about fact gathering, strategizing and communicating. The first two are irrelevant without effective communication. My goal is to make sure that I have communicated through to the lowest level. Those are the folks that will really be taking action and fulfilling our duty. I know for myself, I like to understand why I am doing something; I feel it makes the process more meaningful to know what role I play in the big picture. I prefer to communicate, train and interact from that perspective; I feel people have more commitment to their work when they understand how their role is significant. The philosophy is the same when communicating or messaging to the public; if you understand your role and how you can have a positive effect and protect your opportunities, you have ownership in the outcome.