That the lesson ended up at a packed Sportsman’s Centre parking lot could have been the first clue that all wasn’t on the up-and-up, seeing as if an event was happening at the Wakamow Valley facility, she’d most certainly know about it – when you’ve been the CEO of Moose Jaw’s rustic river valley park for the last 13 years, not very much is going to slip by.
“So my husband said ‘okay let’s go up here’ and she pulled in and backed it up and parked it and did okay, then he said ‘get out of the car’ and I thought ‘okay, I guess I’m going to be in the front seat with her’ and it was ‘no, we’re going into the Sportsman’s Centre’,” Moran said with a laugh.
And… SURPRISE!
A few dozen well-wishers, current and former employees and board members had gathered at the Centre for special party to honour Moran’s upcoming retirement – that’s right, after so many years of turning Wakamow into the urban wilderness paradise it is today, she’s officially stepping aside – and yes, it was a total and complete surprise.
“It’s been extremely hard,” said Wakamow Valley administrator Trish German. “I’m not a good liar and I have so much respect for Margaret that lying to her for four months about the venue and what I’m spending, has been heartbreaking. But I’m so glad she was surprised, that was my biggest thing, ensuring she was surprised when she arrived.”
That such an event was held was testament to Moran’s impact not only on the park itself but the people around her – every speaker at the event offered their admiration for her efforts to maintain and improve the valley into what it is today.
“Margaret has been an incredible leader for Wakamow,” said Wakamow board of directors chairman Dave Richards. “She’s put in a lot of hours, a lot of dedication running events, planning, co-ordinating and so on. She’s led the organization through a lot of difficult times and challenges and accomplished a lot.”
Richards pointed out that much of what the park is today is a product of Moran’s continuous and ongoing efforts right from the first day she started 13 years ago.
“She led the creation of new wilderness areas, built playgrounds, rebuilt washroom facilities for the park and so on,” Richards said. “She’s made it so it’s a more pleasant place for people to use… you really can’t put into words or make a list of the things she’s accomplished because her legacy will live on through the people who continue to volunteer and the events she started up.”
For her part, Moran was quick to pass on the credit to those around her.
“I’m not going to say it’s been easy, it’s been a challenge, but I’ve been so blessed to have the support of the board, the staff and volunteers to help us do what we all did,” she said. “It’s a team effort that helped us get everything done.
“The park is the guys. The maintenance crew, they have such a great leader in Blain (Stokes) and we’re pretty lucky, just the same as the office has a great leader in Trish. And the park is in great hands with (general manager) Todd (Johnson), so it’s looking great going forward.”
Johnson, who takes over from Moran in a week’s time, has been shadowing Moran since January and has been more than impressed with what he’s seen.
“She’s the continuity of this organization and the smallest things, she knows every part of the park and has been part of most of the bridges and the playground, so learning from her and being able to ask her questions has just been fantastic,” he said. “I definitely want to do everything I can to continue the great work she’s done here.”
German worked with Moran on a day-to-day basis and looked up to the outgoing CEO as a mentor and has been more than impressed with what she’s seen and learned.
“I’ve been her almost two years now and seeing all she’s done and been a part of, it’s incredible,” she said. “Her wealth of knowledge, she’s such a brilliant person and she wears her heart on her sleeve when it comes to the valley and that’s so important. Now I hope we can carry on her tradition and everything she has planned stays in motion.”
