“I felt like a proud mother the day I realized a former student had her own business,” says Swinemar. “That's the reason why you keep doing it.”
Swinemar won’t be doing it for much longer, though. She announced her plan to step down as executive director last Tuesday, effective June 2014. The search for her successor will begin after the board revisits the job description.
“There will be some time that will overlap,” she says. “There are a lot of people here who make this place hum: the staff, the volunteers, the donors and other supporters. I'll try and introduce them to as many people as possible, and then just step aside and let the new person take over.”
Swinemar says she’s tired, and now just feels like the right time.
“It’s going to mean a huge hole for that organization,” says Kathy Large, program manager at CBC Nova Scotia. Large helps organize the annual Feed Nova Scotia Day and the Sharing the View Calendar Project, which collectively raised over $260,000 for the food bank last year alone.
“It’s not just a job with Dianne; it’s a calling,” Large continues, “but we wish her a great retirement; she’s certainly earned it.”
In addition to her position at Feed Nova Scotia, Swinemar helped found Beacon House Interfaith Society and sits on the committee for the Nova Scotia Leadership Prayer Breakfast, among many other projects. But just because she’s retiring, doesn’t mean she plans to disappear.
“I'd like to get involved in a couple boards that deal with issues I feel very close to,” says Swinemar. “That, and enjoy my grandson.”
