After 3 decades wearing many hats, Margo Yates is retiring
Staff writer
For more than three decades, Margo Yates has helped shape Marion not through a single title but through a willingness to do whatever the community needed.
Now, after 33 years with the city, Yates will retire Friday as community enrichment director, leaving behind a legacy rooted in adaptability, local investment, and community pride.
“It’s basically been 33 years in different capacities,” Yates said. “I’ve been everything from the chamber of commerce secretary to the recreation director to the community enrichment director to zoning administrator, just kind of whatever. I’ve moved around over the years.”
The mindset of stepping in where needed defined her career.
“I’ve just kind of done what was needed over the years,” she said.
Among her proudest accomplishments was building a regional basketball league that turned recreation into economic development.
After noticing residents leaving town for games elsewhere, Yates created a program that brought people, and their spending, back to Marion.
“I knew they would shop and eat and put gas in their car,” she said. “This people leaving has got to stop. We need people to come here.”
At its height, the league drew more than 60 teams from 15 towns, filling gyms and local businesses each weekend.
“To me, that’s economic development,” Yates said. “That’s not just recreation.”
She also played a key role in sustaining events like Art in the Park and Community Christmas. Those traditions continue to bring people together and support families in need.
“Art in the Park showcases our town and brings a lot of people in,” she said.
Still, Yates is quick to credit others.
“It takes a lot of people to make things happen,” she said.
That collective effort, she said, remains Marion’s greatest strength.
“When something happens, people step up, and people show up,” Yates said. “This is a good place to live. It’s a good place to raise your family.”
At the same time, she offered a clear-eyed message about what it will take for the community to continue thriving.
Yates emphasized the importance of supporting local businesses, even when it may cost more.
“I would rather pay more locally,” she said. “You can’t appreciate how people go above and beyond for you until you call a number and get put on hold.”
She also stressed that maintaining strong public amenities, from recreation to schools and health care, was essential to Marion’s future.
“The things people ask about are the schools, the health care, and the recreation,” Yates said. “You cannot let those things slip.”
Her message extends to both residents and local leadership: investment and participation are necessary to keep the community moving forward.
“You get creative, you carry on, you do what you can,” she said of working with limited resources.
Yates also acknowledged the challenges facing small towns, particularly shifting economic patterns and changes after COVID-19 that require communities to “think outside the box even more than you did before.”
Even as she steps away, Yates won’t be far from the work she helped build. She plans to continue assisting with Art in the Park and Community Christmas to support transition to new leadership.
Megan Jones, the city’s new economic development director, will take over many of Yates’ responsibilities, while zoning duties will shift to other staff.
Flexibility will be key for those stepping into her role, Yates said.
“You’ve just got to be flexible,” she said. “You’re dealing with human beings.”
As she prepares to leave city hall, Yates said the people she worked alongside and their sense of shared purpose were what she would miss most.
“I’ve had the pleasure of working with a lot of good people,” she said. “It’s been a great ride.”
A public farewell is scheduled for 3 p.m. Friday in the basement of Marion Community Center.