Downtown Penticton Association executive director Lynn Allin has announced she is retiring.

“Time has come for me to devote my energy to other things and enjoy time with my family and friends,” said Allin in a letter to members of the DPA.

“My years with the DPA have been a wonderful, fulfilling experience. I want to thank everyone for your support and kindness and primarily for what I have learned from you.”

She said working together with the membership during these unprecedented times demonstrated to her that the entrepreneurial spirit of the downtown property owners, business owners, and their teams is ‘unbeatable.’

Allin will now spend the next few months working with the hiring committee to find her replacement and with the chosen individual to ensure a smooth transition, she said in the letter.

The DPA chose Lynn Allin to replace Kerri Milton in 2016 when Milton said she was leaving to take a job on Vancouver Island. (Milton was later charged was fraud over $5,000 in her role with the DPA. Her trial is slated for October 2022.)

Allin arrived at the DPA from the Penticton Arts Council, where she also filled the role of executive director there for three years, according to a press release at the time of her hiring.

A 30-year resident of Penticton, Allin once owned and ran a variety of Okanagan businesses before starting her work with the arts council, said the release at the time.

In the past years, she has worked with the board and executive to move the responsibility for events like B.C. Day and Canada Day over to the city.

The DPA does still organize the summer community market on Saturdays but that has been cancelled for the past two years due to COVID.

She has spoken out on the DPA’s behalf against the bike lanes down Martin Street and the uptick in crime. The DPA just recently installed surveillance cameras in hot spots downtown to discourage crime.

READ MORE: DPA moves away from hosting events

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