Garth Lucas, the current director of finance for the Town of Olds, will be leaving the organization next month for an 18-month religious mission.
Lucas has been the director of finance for the town since April 2013 and said he feels proud of his accomplishments in the position but stresses that any accomplishments aren’t his alone.
“None of this stuff, none of these accomplishments or achievements are things that I personally have done.
“I’ve simply been part of a team, the team has worked very well, everybody has done a good job the last five years,” said Lucas.
Mayor Michael Muzychka said he was initially sad to hear that Lucas would be leaving but upon learning of what he was about to embark upon, the mayor said he felt a great sense of pride.
“It’s an incredibly noble cause Garth and his wife are about to take on,” Muzychka said. “This speaks to the fantastic quality of employees we have here at the town.”
One of the biggest highlights of his time working for the town is the progress made on the upcoming Rotary athletic park.
“I won’t see the end of that but we got it started,” Lucas said proudly.
Additionally Lucas highlighted that in the five years he worked in service of the Town of Olds, there were minimal tax increases.
“Tax increases in the five years I’ve been doing this have not been large at all, it’s been about 3.5 per cent total in the five years and most municipalities do 3.5 to five per cent every year,” said Lucas.
Lucas also highlighted the growth of the town’s financial reserves.
“We’ve been able to grow our reserves for future problems, from $3 million to $8 million.
“That’s been the greatest accomplishment is working with the team to be fiscally responsible to the citizens of Olds,” Lucas said.
The thing that Lucas will miss the most about working for the town is the people he got to interact with.
“It’s been excellent working with the two other directors, working with the town manager, with council, working with my staff and working with all the other town employees. That’s what I will miss the most,” said Lucas.
Muzychka said he will miss the sense of humour Lucas brings to what he does.
“Accounting, finance and budgeting are very dry and technical subjects but Garth knows how to lighten things up and is fantastic at explaining these aspects of the job in layman terms.
“On behalf of the employees at the Town of Olds, council and myself, I would like to wish Garth and his wife all the best in their new and exciting adventure,” said Muzychka.
While Lucas did find it difficult to choose to leave, he said it was for a reason that will make it worthwhile.
He will be on a mission as a part of his church, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, for 18 months in South Korea where he and his wife will be teaching.
