On April 14th, I announced to the staff that my last day with the Co-op would be Friday, May 21st. It is time for Nathaniel and Esiana to go to high school, so we are moving to Powell River this summer. We did not take this decision lightly. Cortes has been our home for the past nine years, and I’ve devoted nine years to making the Co-op the best place it could be.

But the time has come and we are ready for new challenges. I’ve told many people since then – contractors, local growers, suppliers, neighbors – but it doesn’t quite seem real yet. Leaving the island only became a real possibility in February after much family discussion; after that, we picked Powell River as our destination. I applied for just one job and surprisingly I got it; I accepted the position of Operations Manager at The Village at Klah ah men (also known as the Lund Resort) where I will work for the Tla’amin Nation running the hospitality division including the store, restaurant, marina, and hotel in Lund. Now we’re looking for a house to rent, and even in this tight market we expect that to come together before too long because of all the offers of support we’ve had from people on Cortes connected to Powell River. In other words, all of the pieces fell into place quickly and we take that as a sign it was meant to be – even though it has gone so quickly.

I doubt that I’ll have time to sit down with all of you and talk about the good times here as I would like. Besides, there are too many stories to tell! But the timeline is moving too fast, and I’ll have to say farewell this way. But the connections between Cortes and Lund/Powell River are strong; there’s no doubt that this is more like a “see you later” than a “goodbye.” We will remain connected to this island and all of you.

So I’ll leave you with a poem. I truly wish you the best and I will see you around, there’s no doubt.

“May the road rise up to meet you, may the wind be ever at your back. May the sun shine warm upon your face and the rain fall softly on your fields. And until we meet again, may God hold you in the hollow of his hand.” – Irish Blessing

With gratitude,
Eric