FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Hanson Retires From Grandma's Marathon After Nearly Four Decades Of Service
Retires as One of Longest-Tenured Employee in Organization History
(DULUTH, MINN.) --- Longtime Grandma's Marathon Finance & Operations
Director Linda Hanson has retired after nearly four decades with the
organization, it was officially announced today.
Hanson, who was raised in West Duluth and graduated from Duluth Denfeld
High School, started with Grandma's Marathon in 1987 and will retire as one
of the longest-tenured employee in the organization's history.
"Everything I've done at Grandma's Marathon was super fun," Hanson said.
"They say, 'if you love your job, you'll never work a day in your life,'
and they're right. I was extremely fortunate to have one of the absolute
best jobs on the planet, and it's truly been an honor to be part of this
organization."
In addition to handling the organization's finances and a
multi-million-dollar annual budget, Hanson also played an instrumental role
in the event's race operations as well as the annual spaghetti dinner and
race weekend entertainment.
"Linda has been invaluable over the years to Grandma's Marathon, and we're
certainly going to miss her," Executive Director Shane Bauer said. "The
institutional knowledge and experience she has with our race is
second-to-none, and her work behind the scenes is one of the big reasons
our race has become what it is today."
One of Hanson's favorite parts of working for Grandma's Marathon has been
the chance to travel the country as an ambassador for not only the race,
but the community as well. In fact, she routinely participated in the
events she's traveled to as part of the event's promotion.
"As much as I loved my job, and I truly did," she said, "I love not working
more. My husband and I are so excited to do what we want, when we want.
Life is good and about to get better."
Hanson has been married nearly 35 years and is the proud mother of two sons
and has two grandsons, with whom she's excited to spend a lot more time.
ABOUT GRANDMA'S MARATHON
Grandma's Marathon began in 1977 when a group of local runners planned a
scenic road race from Two Harbors to Duluth, Minnesota. After seeing just
150 participants that year, the race weekend has now grown into one of the
largest in the United States and welcomes more than 20,000 participants for
its three-race event each June.
The race got its name from the Duluth-based group of famous Grandma's
Restaurants, the first major sponsor of the marathon. In addition to the
26.2-mile race, the organization has now added the Garry Bjorklund Half
Marathon and William A. Irvin 5K to its weekend offerings.
As the popularity of Grandma's Marathon has grown, our mission has stayed
the same – to organize, promote, and deliver annual events and programs
that cultivate running, educational, social, and charitable opportunities
to our communities.
Grandma's Marathon-Duluth, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt nonprofit
organization with a nine-person, full-time staff and a 17-member Board of
Directors.
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