Van Beydler, a more than 20-year employee of the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, started out his career doing radio, and sound - and images - continue to be the favorite parts of his job and other pastimes.
Beydler, of Jefferson City, is a public information coordinator for DNR, and he was hired in 1996. He's been an employee of the month twice - in May 1999 and more recently in December 2018.
Originally from Dixon, he started out in radio in the Fort Leonard Wood area and worked there for 20 years before joining the state workforce.
On the air, he reported news, recorded commercials, had the late night shift, and even interviewed Waylon Jennings and Merle Haggard at the Missouri State Fair.
Beydler also won a first-place award from the Missouri Broadcasters Association for a public service announcement he recorded on a basketball benefit game.
His experiences at the State Fair continue to be an important part of his career; aside from updates to websites and working on livestream broadcasts for DNR, his job includes planning the department's activities at the State Fair.
Beydler is chairman of the local State Fair committee, overseeing workers, set-up, tear-down and displays at the Womans Building. That's included displays of unusual Missouri rocks and minerals - such as the kinds that can glow in the dark - a bike that creates electricity when pedaled, and an augmented reality sandbox that teaches about watersheds, erosion, groundwater and mapping.
He said his favorite part of his job, though, is working on the department's livestream broadcasts: "I see those as really beneficial to the public," for the sake of transparency and convenience.
Working from home lately, he's been updating the department's website to make it easier to search for documents.
"3-D photography is my passion," he said. He has an online monthly blog at 3-Dreview.com, devoted to the art, artistry and collection of such things as stereoscopes - devices that allow for viewing of images with an illusion of depth.
Beydler also likes to catfish at the Lake of the Ozarks, and he said he's trying to enter a competition of historical fair memorabilia for the State Fair this year.