The City of Knoxville held a retirement open house for City Economic Development Director Glenn Lyons and Community Development Director Marilyn Arber on Thursday.

The open house was held at the City Hall Community room and was an opportunity to celebrate Lyons and Arber before retirement. Lyons and Arber have had lengthy successful careers in the development field and spent their last several years before retirement as a dual position in the Knoxville community. Lyons has been a key piece and pioneer of the development and undertaking of developing the Knoxville VA campus to the residential and economic hub that it is now and Arber has been a key contributor to many community projects and initiatives. Arber tells KNIA/KRLS that she hopes her and Glenn have made a difference in the community.

“It’s bittersweet, put it that way. We’ve worked here for quite a while now, we’ve gotten to know a lot of people, we’ve gotten to like a lot of people and made a lot of friends. I hope we’ve made a difference in the city. We are looking forward to retirement and a little bit of a life of leisure.”

Also in attendance at the open house was Christopher Watkins who will take over the economic development role. Watkins has been serving as the interim economic development director for Marion County.