BARRY’S BAY – From her office perched above the Madawaska Valley District High School (MVDHS) gymnasium, teacher Germaine Parcher’s eyes well up when asked what she is going to miss most about her career.
She points toward the window, where a group of students were enjoying a friendly game of volleyball in the gym below.
“The kids,” she said as she wipes away her tears.
The phys-ed and mathematics teacher became an educator later in life. She and her family moved to Combermere when she was in Grade 10. Her parents, who lived in Windsor, purchased the Opeongo Trail Resort in Combermere. It was on their bucket-list to own and operate a resort.
After graduating from MVDHS, she headed to Wilfred Laurier University for economics, and then to Ottawa University for business. She worked in Ottawa as a chartered accountant part time, and had her first three daughters there with her husband Bob.
After eight years, Germaine’s parents asked if they wanted to purchase Opeongo Trail Resort.
“It was always a thing that we wanted to do,” she said.
See more photos in the June 26, 2019 paper or subscribe online.