Damon Beard

Often, working in parking can be a thankless job. We provide safety, we provide clean environments, we provide security, we provide piece of mind. We are the people behind the curtain making the magic happen. So, when someone comes along and thanks one of our own, we know we truly did something special and made someone’s day. Recently, we had a visitor to our West Side Market reach out to the City of Cleveland and personally thank Damon Beard, Supervisor of West Side Market, for his kindness, helpfulness, and willingness to do everything he could to help our guest. She was using our lot to meet family and friends for a birthday party at a nearby restaurant. She was unfamiliar with the area, could not find where she needed to go, and it was dark. In her words, “I was alone…and I was starting to panic”. Damon was nearby and came to assist her with everything she needed to feel safe and able to have an enjoyable evening. Damon goes above and beyond every day for every visitor because that is who he is. He doesn’t do it for the thanks, he doesn’t do it for the recognition, he does it because it’s the right thing to do.

Damon started as the Supervisor for the West Side Market in December 2020. The West Side Market is in a very trendy part of Cleveland just outside of the downtown core. The West Side Market and its’ surrounding parking lots are owned by the City of Cleveland. The West Side Market gets a lot of unwanted media attention due to the actual market building being in disrepair, so the City of Cleveland is very sensitive to anything negative that could trigger a media event. The city is constantly auditing our attendants, the cleanliness of the lots, and ensuring the equipment is working as expected. Although the site is automated, we have to staff the lot 24/7/365 due to the Skidata equipment failing almost daily.

Since Damon joined the Propark team, he continues to go above and beyond his regular responsibilities. His customer service is 2nd to none, and he is always making the West Side Market experience for the customers and lasting one. Damon’s dedication to Propark, is one that would make the Propark family proud. When there are issues with equipment or staffing, he is there to fix the issue. He is a great problem solver. Recently, we had a customer destroy both the exit kiosk and the exit gate. Damon quickly reacted and was able to get pictures of the car and license plate so that we were able to provide that to the police. This quick thinking is allowing the City to recover the $70,000 in repairs from the customer instead of making an insurance claim. We had another incident where the power went out at the West Sie Market knocking our parking equipment offline. With everything offline, we had to quickly man the entrances and exits at two separate lots which included passing out tickets and running the mobile credit card unit to collect revenue. We only had a single employee onsite so Damon came in on his day off and worked until the power was restored just so the city would not lose money while the equipment was offline.

Having Damon onsite has allowed me to focus on my primary duties. He is an outstanding supervisor, and I am looking forward to his continued growth with our Propark family.