Rebecca Giles to Retire from Bonney Lake Parks and Rec

After more than 20 years as director of the Sumner and Bonney Lake Parks and Recreation Department, Rebecca Giles is retiring.

The Courier-Herald reported Tuesday Giles had actually been planning to leave since 2011 but blamed, in part, her meticulous planning for the delay.

Giles came to the position in 1991 after working as for the Parks and Recreation Department in Kent for nine years. Of her time in Sumner, Giles told Patch in 2011 her favorite part was, "The love I have for the kids and their families. My office walls here are totally covered in pictures of athletes I have had here and their families. I am on my third generation of kids I have had go through my programs. I remember so many of them. I can go almost anywhere in the world and run into someone who knows me from Kent or Sumner Parks and Rec. It is crazy. More than anything, I love the hugs."

Retirement had been in mind even then; when asked what she thought she might be doing after retirement, Giles said she would want to stay connected with the city and/or school district. "I really want to see a community center in Bonney Lake and a YMCA in Sumner. ... I think I will continue to stay involved with the Parks and Rec in some capacity. I cannot imagine not being here."

Share: What is a favorite moment or memory you have from working with Becky Giles? Leave her well wishes for her retirement here on Patch.