Longtime Grandma’s Marathon Employee Retires

DULUTH, Minn. — A Grandma’s Marathon Director retires after an illustrious 40-year career.

When Linda Hanson announced her retirement from Grandma’s Marathon, Executive Director Shane Bauer knew it would be difficult to fill her shoes.

She officially served as the Finance and Operations Director, but Bauer says she did much more. She planned and organized the Michelina’s Spaghetti Dinner, which feeds over 7,000 people each year, as well as all of the Bayfront entertainment.

Bauer says she was an institution and a huge part of Grandma’s success. Even though she gave an entire year’s notice, her shoes will be difficult to fill.

“It is definitely a transition that needs to take place. There may be changes that take place, but you can’t replace someone like Linda. Whether we hire different people for those operations roles or different people for the finance roles you could say we are in our discovery phase right now,” said Shane Bauer, Executive Director of Grandma’s Marathon.

Bauer says both Hanson and her husband retired simultaneously and are looking forward to spending lots of time with their grandchildren.