When Wendy Scott first started working for the City of Burnaby, there was only one preschool program and community centre fitness class - both of which she started.
That was more than 35 years ago. Now Burnaby offers about 3,500 preschool programs a year and has almost 135,000 people participating in fitness classes.
Scott is retiring from her position as the assistant director of recreation for the city as of July 31 after first coming on board in 1974.
"When I first started, I worked with people with physical disabilities," Scott said. "That was my training, which had been in therapeutic recreation."
Scott went to Langara College in the recreation management program and started to work for Burnaby part-time as a preschool instructor, fitness and gymnastics instructor until 1981.
"I left the city in 1981 and went into private business," Scott said, noting she and her husband at the time opened a store in Kerrisdale that sold B.C. arts and crafts. "It was very interesting, and I really enjoyed it. But what I realized after a few years is that the bottom line is still the dollar. Even if you want to give the best customer service, you still had to think about if you give money away ... it's coming out of your salary. I realized that wasn't as satisfying to me as recreation. The bottom line (here) isn't just the dollar, it's the service to the community."
When Scott returned, she worked for the arenas, then the art centre, became an area manager, and for the last 12 years she's been assistant director.
"That's a piece about my career that I feel very fortunate about is I've had many different positions," she said. "So just when things were getting a little mundane, it would be all new.
"It keeps changing by the day."
Scott was involved with opening the new Edmonds Community Centre from the very beginning, dating back to six years ago, but it's only one of the parts of her job she's loved best.
"One of the things that really sticks out to me is some of our seniors' centres," she said. "Some of the members are so inspiring. To me, I just hope when I'm in my retirement I'm the same as them.
"Any time I get frustrated with work, I just go out and just see the people, enjoying them, and recognizing why I'm doing what I'm doing."
Scott said what she'll miss most about her job is interacting with community members.
"I'm definitely going to be missing the people, either in the office I see every day or the relationships that I've got with the different sports groups or different associations,"
she said. "But I fully expect to be very involved with people in the future. I just don't know in what capacity yet."
Scott has also done work with community schools. She was part of the community school management committee because she says she saw the value they had to offer local residents.
"I think that the value they bring to the community is amazing," she said. "As well as recreation management program, I was involved for a number of years and that's providing financial assistance so people can join or use our recreation facilities."
With a pair of runners usually under her desk, ready at a moment's notice to either go on site or enjoy a stroll around Deer Lake on her lunch break, Scott said seeing the recreation programs being used has been gratifying, as well.
"I was at a park I dropped by last summer, I try to drop by a few of them, and this was at Brentwood Park," she said. "There were probably 10 or 12 moms there with buggies, and they were all sitting under the tree yacking, and some of the kids were in the buggies, some were in their arms, some were on the grass, and it was a place for them to connect. And to me, that's what grows a community, and that's really a value of our service."
Scott was referring to a program where parents can go to various playgrounds across the city on certain days and a play leader will be present to help watch the kids while parents socialize.
"The kids are attracted to the playground, but the parents are the ones who sit around and chit chat and find out about their neighbours," she added.
Before she heads out, Scott is finalizing and proofing an arena review and confirming the architect for the seniors' area at Bonsor, which is about to become vacated as the program is moved to the soon opening Seniors 55-plus centre.
"The current seniors' area is 3,200 square feet, and they're moving to the new building ... so, for that space up top, we're just in the process of hiring an architect and (then) determining what is the best use of that space and what needs to be done," she said.
As far as her career goes, Scott said it's flown by quickly, but the city hasn't seen the last of her yet.
"The Edmonds Community Centre is fabulous," she said.
"To drop by there now and see the place being so active and being so well used. ... Obviously I didn't do it alone, there was a whole bunch of people who were so involved in it. It's a really nice legacy.
"I'm going to go incognito and try out the pool and the water slides, things I really haven't had a chance to do yet."
