"It's been a great experience for me. I've have learned so much. I have grown to this opportunity to serve the community," said Jan Thue, who is stepping down from 27 years of working for the city as manager of the National Guard Armory and assisting at the Convention and Visitors Bureau.

An open house honoring her is slated for 1-2 p.m. Friday, Dec. 21 at the New Armory.

"I've worked with wonderful people. I've enjoyed especially working with Jeff (Altizer, CVB director)," Thue said.

A native of Carpio, N.D., Thue trained to be a dental assistant in Minneapolis, and moved to Williston in 1968. She began working with Dr. Gordon Hegge.

In January of 1981, Thue was hired by the city of Williston for its economic development department. She then split duties between managing the National Guard Armory and the economic development. In 1986, that evolved to working for the Convention and Visitors Bureau and managing the Armory on behalf of the city. "My duties are to make sure the Armory is in proper working condition, repairs on the building, rentals at the building, schedule use of the building, upkeep of the building - make sure we have everything in order, and day-to-day managing of the building," she said. "For the Convention and Visitors Bureau, I do the events calendar for the web site, I prepare a budget for the CVB Board."

She also helps coordinate special events such as Band Day, art shows and helps administer grants.

For those unaware, the Armory is a busy place as it is used for everything from blood drives to athletic practices.

"I handle the income for the organizations that use the building for scheduled events," she said. "The District 8 school system uses the building for basketball. Trinity Christian School once rented it before it had a gymnasium for its basketball programs. Williston High School has used this building for it for prom. It's been available for many, many events.

"We have basketball most every day," she continued. "The Williston Parks and Recreation has used it for volleyball in the past. Before Trinity built their gym, we could almost not schedule enough time between Trinity, District 8 and the District 1 high school. We have had Octoberfest here."

Her other duties have consisted a collage of activities that promote tourism to the Williston Basin.

"It's been interesting to see the CVB evolve," Thue said. "I have seen it go from where we serve our own city to serving North Dakota through the promotion of the city. It's been really fun to see the development of brochures grow from nothing to beautiful, full-colored brochures."

She said she also has enjoyed helping bring a number of conventions to Williston over the years.

"I have gotten to know a lot of people from around the state because of that. It's been a very interesting job," she said.

She believes the CVB has been an important element in helping grow tourism in the western part of the state.

"People love to Williston for conventions. They like how the conventions are run in an organized fashion. They enjoy coming once they get here, but they do not want to drive the distance. Williston has had to keep up with other cities in the state by providing extra services at conventions."

Thue said it's exciting the CVB Office is getting a new home in 2008 for the next generation of employees.

"I have mixed feelings because I am attached to the building here. I am a creature of habit," she said.

She said the city is still deciding how the Armory will be managed once she leaves.

Retirement will leave her more time for family, friends and volunteer work.

Her husband, Ron, is a retired teacher.

Her daughter, Rachel Thue, lives in Texas. Daughter Sarah Carlson lives in Bismarck with Thue's three grandchildren.

"My plans are to be home and make sure my house in order so if someone wants to see me, they can feel free to do that," she said. "I want to be active in my church with the Bible studies, and active, perhaps visiting Bethel Lutheran Home."