To my esteemed friends and colleagues:
I want to share my deepest appreciation to everyone for your warm wishes as I near the conclusion of my role as president of Olds College.
To those who were able to join us at the celebration event on May 18, to those who have sent messages, and to all of you who have shared this impactful 16-year journey of emergent change and co-creation with me, I say thank you.
The May 18 celebration was very gratifying, not only because it was a wonderful tribute and an enjoyable event, but because of your many kind gestures.
Our journey together during my time at Olds College has been extremely rewarding, and it has meant so much to know I had strong support of our team's vision along the way.
Together, our Olds College staff and our external family have created solid proof that a rural college can yield international magnificence.
Your involvement and mindfulness has helped create innovation in programming, innovation in people, innovation in partnerships. Innovation lives here! Our work together leaves:
A legacy of accomplishment that will continue to draw students to our campus, both physically and virtually, long into the future.
A legacy of future-proofing that will continue to entice expert staff to advance our programming.
A legacy of visionary leadership that will continue to speak of optimism throughout the community, the province and the post-secondary network in Alberta and across the country.
I wanted to say what a pleasure it has been to work alongside you in stewardship and shared leadership. I am so respectful of the impact you make on others through your work and commitment to becoming involved in disruptive innovation.
I would like to invite you to remain connected, so that we can continue to define a bright future for our children and families, businesses and organizations, communities and provinces.
To that end, I am happy to share that as I leave the presidency, I will be embarking on the next phase of my professional journey. I am excited to have the opportunity to share more details of this plan with you in the coming weeks.
Thank you for making this journey so gratifying and successful.
Tom Thompson
Olds
