It is a sad day in the Cariboo with the passing of Robin Sharpe who did a lot for the District of Wells and Barkerville, and the region.
Current Wells Mayor Ed Coleman knew him well.
“He was one of the kindest people I’ve ever met, just dedicated to respect and solving problems. And he did that throughout his life and his career. He was just such a consistent person, always have a bowl of soup and a coffee with you to see how you were doing. Robin has a presence, he’s a bigger man and big smile, and just somebody you want to meet every day if you could because he just lit up your day with his smile and his sense of humour.”
Coleman says Sharpe cared a lot about the area.
“He was paramount about educating people on Barkerville and Cottonwood House and the Regional District itself as it grew over time. His piece on the leadership was to encourage everybody to work together, to solve some of the bigger problems together, and connect with the Indigenous Nations and move forward cooperatively, and that was always really important because there were some pretty challenging meetings, whether it was with cities or some of the areas of Regional District. He was always the voice of reason and calm, and say we can get through this. We have a beautiful area and we need to celebrate it, and we’ve got to solve these problems and make this place better, this whole Cariboo region, so that was really a huge leadership piece for him>’
Sharpe moved to the Cariboo in 1986 to begin a career at Barkerville Historic Town.
He held a number of positions over the years and eventually became the first CEO for the Barkerville Heritage Trust in 2005.
Sharpe became Mayor of Wells in 2011 and was re-elected in 2014.
He was also one of the original Councillors when Wells was incorporated in 1997, and he served on numerous boards over the years.
Those included the Cariboo Regional District, Cariboo Chilcotin Beetle Action Coalition, and the Cariboo-Chilcotin Regional Advisory Committee for the Northern Development Initiative Trust.
He was also the Committee Chair for the Wells/Barkerville chapter of Ducks Unlimited Canada, he was President and Treasurer of the Wells Curling Club, a Director/Treasurer with the Cariboo Chilcotin Coast Tourism Association, and the Gold Rush Trail Marketing Board.
Ironically, that event is happening this weekend.
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