City colleagues honor Dan Medina after 37 years in parks and recreation

At a Sandy City meeting, colleagues and staff honored Dan Medina on the occasion of his retirement after 37 years with the city’s parks and recreation department.

Speakers credited Medina with stabilizing the parks budget early in his career and later managing major projects, including the Bell Canyon Preservation Trailhead and the rebuilding of the city recreation center. "Our parks are greener, healthier, our open space is more beautiful because of Dan's dedication and leadership," said Speaker 1.

Colleagues offered personal recollections and thanks. Speaker 2 said Medina "brought a lot of stability to their budget" when he began and became "a really great project manager through the years," recounting one episode in which a project reached construction before the planning process was complete and Medina then took it back through planning to correct the oversight. "If you needed to get a project done quickly, you just pull to Dan," Speaker 2 said.

Other speakers emphasized Medina's mentorship and upbeat manner. Speaker 3 thanked him for "believing in me," and Speaker 8 recalled a staff photo that, year after year, reminded them of Medina's consistent positivity: "Dan is in the photo, and he is smiling from ear to ear with thumbs up signs," Speaker 8 said.

Representatives from Mount Canyon also spoke: Speaker 6, on behalf of the center, thanked Medina for years of program support and for his frequent, personal engagement with center activities.

The meeting's remarks were purely ceremonial; no motions or votes related to Medina's retirement were recorded in the transcript. Attendees closed the remarks by wishing Medina a happy retirement and thanking him for his service to Sandy and its residents.

The tribute highlights Medina's long service and the personal regard of co-workers; the city meeting provided colleagues an opportunity to publicly recognize his contributions and wish him well in retirement.