The Okanagan Regional Library’s CEO is sailing away

Stephanie Hall has been the CEO since February of 2013, but come March, she will be resigning in order to sail around the world on the tallship Picton Castle.  

 

This is not the first time Hall has taken an offshore sailing voyage, having sailed from Seville, Spain to Victoria BC aboard the topsail schooner Pacific Swift at the age of 20.  “It was a difficult decision”, said Hall, “as the team at the ORL has been stellar, and the work our staff do in communities is so important.  But I’ve wanted to do a total circumnavigation for a long time, and the best time to pursue your dreams is never ‘in a few years’.”

 

Hall’s time at the ORL has been marked by a series of changes, from a renewed focus on the learning and technological role of the library, restructuring, to a series of library building projects and renovations designed to create flexible spaces with more capacity for community involvement.  Says library Board Chair, Catherine “Stephanie has been a driving force for streamlining the ORL processes and fostering an atmosphere of creativity and enthusiasm among the staff. She is a professional, dedicated and inspirational leader, and will be sorely missed by the staff and the Board.  We wish her "Bon voyage" and happiness in this new phase of her life. ”.

 

Also leaving the ORL’s senior team is Director of Public Services, Southern Branches, Georgia McKay, who is retiring after a long and distinguished career at the ORL.  ‘Georgia has been a mainstay of too many major projects to list’ said Hall, ‘but standout projects included the new library in Summerland and the renovations in Peachland, Rutland, and Kelowna’s downtown branch.  She will truly be missed.’  Georgia will work closely on the transition with her successor, Christine McPhee, formerly of the downtown Kelowna branch.

 

The ORL will now conduct a national search for a new CEO.