Finding your true calling seems to be what Dave Kenny (pictured second from the right), maintenance technician at the Inn has done.

The former land title office clerk and supervisor left his job in Victoria after thirteen years because the office was expected to consolidate and move to Vancouver. It didn’t end up happening, but a true Vancouver Islander, David had already decided to relocate to Parksville to be closer to his family. In 2005, his uncle from Parksville, a longtime contractor for the Wickaninnish Inn, asked if he wanted to join him in Tofino to help with the annual maintenance closure at the Inn. The self-taught handyman said “sure” to the five-week work project.

His first impression of life in Tofino was that “it was a lot of work” because closure at the Inn is - as Charles McDiarmid has coined - the “maintenance Olympics”, where large projects and renovations are completed in record time. After his first closure, Dave was offered and accepted a permanent position with the Wick maintenance team and soon got to see the “quaint, social place” that Tofino is to him today. Now, Dave has the greatest longevity working in the maintenance department, which he is very proud of.

One of David’s most memorable moments at the Wick was when a guest was visiting the Inn with his girlfriend and father. Unfortunately, the guest had a flat tire in the parking lot on a rainy night and had never changed a tire before, so Dave offered to assist. The father held an umbrella over Dave while he changed the tire and provided a tutorial for the group. The guests thanked Dave profusely and stated it was “a magical experience to learn how to change a tire on their vacation”.

Dave is known as the ever-helpful jack of all trades and “Yoda” for remembering where items are stored from around the Inn – sometimes going back years in memory to find a lost object. It is no wonder Dave was recognized with a Special Mention for Outstanding Work at the annual staff Gala in 2015. If Dave’s not helping someone fix something he’s probably on his 24’ sailboat with his wife Lucy, who he met while both were working at the Inn, or he’s visiting family in Parksville.