Karen Smith moves on

Ten years ago, I began working for SRDC as our Volunteer Coordinator. I began a recruitment program to start using volunteers to staff our brand new Schuylkill Banks Center under the Walnut Street Bridge. It was a great success, and hundreds of volunteers since have assisted with outreach, programs and events ever since.

From that first class of 2006, only one person has remained a constant: Karen Smith.

Over the years, she has carried thousands of kayaks, served countless pounds of popcorn to movie night visitors, checked in thousands for boat tours. She has picked up many pounds of trash and debris, bagged hundreds of worms for bait at Fish Fest. There is no real measurement for her physical contribution to SRDC.

She’s been here so long she became a member of our Board of Directors. Amongst powerful businesspeople, institutional leaders, and successful politicians, she has represented the interests and ideals of SRDC's staff, volunteers and the general trail using public with vigor and mindfulness at the highest level.

Karen is moving on to the next chapter of her life with a move out-of-state. We wish her all the best. But she will be missed by our staff, our trail users, our Board... and by me and my family. She has been a friend, sister, and almost a mother to me. She has remembered my birthday and my daughter’s each year. Her generosity is only matched by her work ethic. We have shared the trials and victories that only those who have been in the trenches together for 10 years can share.

Karen has been a calming and galvanizing force for me and for SRDC's entire staff, both paid and volunteer.  We all, as board, staff, stakeholders, and fellow volunteers, owe her our appreciation and gratitude for a job well done.