91大黄鸭

鈥淚鈥檓 not good with surprises,鈥� said Wayne March, his smile suggesting he was OK with this one.

At 10 a.m. on Thursday, June 10, March stepped outside the doors to the Sicamous and District Recreation Centre and found, to his surprise, a large gathering of friends applauding and calling his name. They were there to celebrate and thank March as his last week as the rec centre鈥檚 manager came to a close.

鈥淚鈥檓 not much for speeches but what I鈥檝e got to say is, for the last 13 years it鈥檚 been awesome working with all of you,鈥� March told the crowd. 鈥淚鈥檒l leave here with good memories, thankful, so I want to thank everybody for coming out, I didn鈥檛 realize this was happening.鈥�

Salmon Arm Minor Hockey administrator, former Parkview Elementary principal and friend, Roy Sakaki, provided a lighthearted presentation to March, showing his gratitude while poking a little fun. For March鈥檚 retirement, Sakaki offered him a single crutch to lean on, an old hockey stick to get back into hockey with and some other novelty items.

鈥淚 know Wayne鈥檚 heart is with Sicamous and the Eagles, and I know Wayne is coming to Salmon Arm, and our vice-president Mark (Delleman) thought we鈥檇 give you something to cheer when you鈥檙e in Salmon Arm,鈥� said Sakaki, as Delleman presented March with a Salmon Arm Silverbacks jersey.

鈥淵ou owe me 20 bucks for that,鈥� joked Sakaki.

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After the speeches, others in the crowd offered March handshakes, hugs, cards and words of appreciation.

鈥淚t鈥檚 been a good run, I鈥檝e enjoyed my 13 years here. I think we鈥檝e done a lot for the arena and for hockey here,鈥� said March.

March was the general manager of the Sicamous Eagles for 26 years, and had been involved with the rec centre鈥檚 operation in one capacity or another over that time. In April 2021, the Columbia Shuswap Regional District, which owns the arena property, announced that Nustadia Recreation Inc. would be taking over management of the recreation facility.

March recently moved to Salmon Arm with his partner Mary Rollier. He said he might volunteer with the Silverbacks, but otherwise was looking forward to getting outdoors and going fishing with Rollier.