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Emotional farewell for Town Manager Robert Earl

It was an emotional goodbye for Banff Town Manager Robert Earl at his last council meeting, as he leaves the community soon for new job on Vancouver Island
robert earl
Robert Earl SUBMITTED PHOTO

BANFF – After 15 years as Banff’s town manager, it was an emotional farewell for Robert Earl during his last council meeting on July 15.

Mayor Karen Sorensen paid tribute to Earl, who has taken a position as chief administrative officer in Colwood, a coastal city of about 16,000 residents on Vancouver Island, B.C..

“To say the least, this is a significant loss to our community,” she said at the conclusion of a council meeting Monday (July 15), as she and others broke down in tears.

“I can say that I’ve never worked with a more intelligent, forward thinking, visionary person … he is always two steps ahead of everyone else.”

Following the retirement of Jim Bennett in 2003, Earl arrived in Banff that year as only the second town manager since the incorporation of Banff as an Alberta municipality in 1990.

He was in his late 30s, his two young children were in elementary school, and Banff had two very sad looking transit buses.

Now Earl’s deep in his 50s, his daughter Emily, 23, and son Isaac, 21, are now off at university and there are now 24 buses clad with wildlife images in the Roam fleet.

Earl, at times choking back tears, said it has been a gift to work and live in Banff, noting “Banff will be a very hard place not to call home.”

Having poured his professional soul into the Banff community, he said he is still very much invested in the town’s future.

“Banff is a place without equal and the people who choose to live here share a love of place that I have not felt elsewhere,” Earl said.

During his time, Earl has served six councils, including three mayors – Sorensen, Dennis Shuler and John Stutz. He has also worked with four national park superintendents.

“I very much admire and appreciate the skill and passion of those I had the opportunity to work with over these years, from elected officials, Town staff, Parks (Canada) employees, local merchants, teachers and professionals of all kind,” he said.

Special thanks were extended to staff at Town Hall.

“I cannot have words to express my appreciation for the remarkable group of professionals who sit around me here,” Earl said.

“It’s been through the support of this group and others that I have had the opportunity to be part of many, many incredible projects. The staff at the Town are without equal and I am far from confident in my capacity without their support.”

Noting she feels incredibly blessed to have had Earl by her side during her time as mayor and town councillor, Mayor Sorensen said the list is too long to mention all of the ways Earl has made a positive difference to the town.

“Every time I see a Roam bus, every time I hear a resident finding a place to call home, every time I watch us take another creative step towards environmental sustainability, every time I participate in our service review and our budget process and look at all those dollars in all those reserves, I will say thank you to Robert one more time,” she said.

“In my mind, Colwood, B.C., has won the lottery.”

The Town of Banff will hire a headhunting firm to find a replacement for Earl, whose last day in the office is Aug. 2.

Randall McKay, the Town’s director of planning and development, will take on the role of acting town manager on Aug. 5 until the position is filled. McKay isn’t applying for the permanent position.

After 15 years, Earl feels the time is right for he and his wife Jeannette to explore a new path and take on a new adventure on the West Coast.

A keen road cyclist and mountain biker, who was heavily involved in the Bow Valley Mountain Bike Alliance, he is hoping to one day convince Jeanette to sell everything to go on an around-the-world bike tour.

“The near term will see us making a home on Vancouver Island exploring a new environment, new trails and new culture,” he said.

“I get to work with a new team of elected and appointees, who will no doubt soon tire of the phrase 'Back in Banff.' "

 

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