Chris Stephenson had planned to stay on as CEO of Haliburton County Public Library for the next three to five years, until retirement. Unfortunately, his back had other plans.
Stephenson said with his retired parents living in nearby Muskoka, the prospect of leaving the job and moving was difficult.
However, doctors have told him a back issue isn’t going to go away overnight, and, without a family doctor in the Highlands, he had to consider alternatives.
“I slipped a disc 13 years ago, and symptoms have come back recently. I spend too much time sitting, maybe, I don’t know. I have a single foot drop, which means partial paralysis in my right foot, so I’m not walking well, and I’ve inherited arthritis that is making the healing process a little more challenging,” he shared with The Highlander during a chat Oct. 6.
Stephenson added, “I hit a wall during the day where I just can’t sit and I can’t stand.” He said it had been two months since he’d taken himself to the ER. He will see a doctor when he arrives in Saint John, New Brunswick later this month but says the plan will likely entail reducing stress, acupuncture, a therapy pool and physiotherapy.
“These are things that have eluded me,” he said.
Stephenson met his partner, Amanda, when the two were attending library school in Vancouver. Amanda works remotely, and is already in Saint John. The librarian said another challenge has been finding affordable housing in the Highlands. He has been renting.
“We wanted to buy a house. Whenever we looked at our budget, it kept sending us to the east coast and we thought ‘well, we love the ocean. So, let’s try the other ocean’.” He added Saint John boasts people from all over Canada and has a lot of history. He said it also has milder winters.
Stephenson has been the library CEO for two years. The vacancy is posted and he said, “there’s already interest trickling in.”
He believes he is leaving the service in good shape. It’s one of the reasons he wrestled with his decision, wanting to keep the momentum going. However, he felt it was best to step down as opposed to going on leave for an extended period of time, which would have led to uncertainty. “It’s no fun when you’re a small team of 20 and there’s no leader.”
He, his staff, and board completed a strategic plan; launched the Dorset depot lockers; reopened the Stanhope branch, made key staffing changes; rebranded with a new website; and got a courier and programming van.
Stephenson said he will end his time in the Highlands on a high note; attending the gala fundraiser Oct. 22 at the Minden branch, featuring Maureen Jennings of Murdoch Mysteries fame.
“That’ll be a really nice departure. I just really enjoyed my time here. People really do care about the library. This is a very creative, artistic community and I knew that if I, and we, put energy in, we would get that back tenfold every time, regardless of what demographic we were serving.”
