Chamber exec will retire this summer

Katie Magozzi, Park Rapids Lakes Area Chamber executive director, has officially announced her retirement in June, following the Governor’s Fishing Opener event.
In a recent letter to Chamber members, she explained she was officially informing them now in order to give ample time for the search process for her replacement.
“This is a small, closely knit community and many people have heard that I am leaving,” she wrote. “Rumors sometimes have a life of their own. The choice to leave this place my husband and I have called home for the past 12 years was made with much soul searching.
“I moved to this area because of its natural beauty, clean air, sparkling lakes, dynamic cultural offerings, great food, unique shopping, fun events and robust recreational opportunities,” she said.
“Yes, I truly enjoy those things, but, it is the people here that I have grown to love. Here in the Park Rapids Lakes Area, I have met the finest people I have ever known in my life; dedicated, passionate people who each give passionately to make this the best place to live, work and play.
“Community involvement here means commitment, passion and personal investment of time to see important projects through to completion,” she wrote.
“When I arrived here 12 years ago I was told that this was a difficult community to work in,” she reflected. “What I saw was a community in transition with ripe opportunities that could be seized only if businesses, organizations and citizens work together and commit to raising them up and making them real.
“This has happened and now ‘the rising water is lifting all ships,’” she mused. “We have many projects yet to complete and I have no doubt they will be done because we know that it is possible; that we expect success. That together we can make our vision real.
“I am leaving because my husband, Franco, and I have many children and grandchildren spread across the country that we wish to spend quality time with.
“Although I would not call us young, we are healthy, enjoy travel and are eager to share of ourselves with the loved ones that we only see a few times a year.
“The question we asked ourselves when contemplating this move was, if not now, then when?”
Magozzi said they plan to come back and visit often. “I have no doubtI will be admiring the continued accomplishments of the people of this amazing and beloved community!”