Sally Thomsen will be leaving her post as director of Island Rec at the beginning of June.

Island Rec officials announced Friday, April 24, that Thomsen, director of San Juan Island Park & Recreation District for the past 15 years, submitted her resignation and her last day will be June 5.

“Sally will be really missed in her role as director,” Island Rec Commission Chairman Bill Cumming said in a prepared statement. “Sally is directly responsible for our well run parks, excellent recreational programming and staffing, and for the administration these programs. We can’t thank her enough for her dedication to Island Rec as an organization and to the citizens of San Juan Island.”

Thomsen will be joining her husband, Tim Thomsen, owner of San Juan Kayak Expedetions, in operating the 35-year-old San Juan Island-based touring business following her departure from Island Rec, Cumming said.

Former San Juan County fairgrounds and events manager Maddie Overnell has been hired to lead the park and recreation district as interim director while the commission searches for a full-time director. The recruitment process is expected to progress through the summer with a hiring decision likely in early fall, Cumming said.

“We are extremely pleased that someone as qualified as Maddie was available to assume the role as interim director and are looking forward to working with her,” he said.

Prior to her appointment as fairgrounds manager in early 2013, Ovenell worked as a recreation specialist for community events for Lake Oswego Parks and Recreation District, a Portland, Ore., area suburb, and program director at Orcas Island’s Camp Orkila. She has a masters of science in recreation administration and a bacherlor of arts in environmental studies and communications.