By VERNON ROBISON
Moapa Valley Progress
Staff members at Overton Lin’s Market gave a final send-off to outgoing store manager Darin Leach at a special party held in his honor on Friday, December 28. Leach is moving to Santa Clara, Utah where he will become the assistant store manager at the Lin’s St. George store.
At the lunchtime party Leach and his staff enjoyed a full roast turkey dinner prepared by the store’s deli department.
Leach has managed the Overton Lin’s location since November of 2006.
During the party, staff members had the chance to share a few informal words of tribute to Leach for the good influence he has extended over the years.
“We wanted to take the opportunity to say thank you for everything,” said Jesse Jenson who has been serving as assistant manager at the store and will now be stepping into the role of store manager. “You have been a tremendous mentor and leader and we appreciate what you have done at this store. A lot of us wouldn’t be here without what you have done here.”
Leach also gave a few words of farewell to the team members.
“I won’t say that I’ve loved every moment,” Leach said. “Because that would be a lie.”
Leach briefly reminisced about some of the more difficult times for the store over the past twelve years. Specifically he recounted frequent problems faced because of power outages and flooding in the store that caused signficant losses to refrigerated product merchandise.
“Of course, those things happen every once in a while, but I don’t think that any Lin’s store out there has had to face it as often as we have,” Leach said.
But Leach said it was the people of the Moapa Valley community he would miss the most.
“It is really the people of the valley – both our customers and the people who work here on our team – that make this place truly special,” Leach said. “It is the daily association with these great people that I will miss the most. I will truly miss those relationships.”