That made Wednesday even more remarkable. Friends and coworkers organized a retirement parade in her honor.

Char was shocked.

“I have no idea how they did that without me knowing on it. I was so surprised,” she said.

For the better part of 10 minutes, vehicle after vehicle, decorated with signs wishing Char the best in retirement, paraded along Broad Street in front of Noah Insurance, where Char has continued to work since selling her Prescott Insurance Agency to the Noah group.

“Oh my gosh, I was gobsmacked,” she said. “I don’t know how that secret got by me. Everyone was just giddy that they got one over on me.”

Despite the social distancing recommendations, there were some hugs to go along with all the memories.

“I’m going to miss all these people so much,” she said. “I love Prescott.”

Char’s family moved to Prescott when she was a sophomore in high school.

“I fell in love right away,” she recalled. “After high school everyone else couldn’t wait to leave, and I couldn’t wait to stay. My mom started an insurance agency after being a nurse for years and years. Her business started growing – that was in the late 70s. I graduated in 1979. I was never going to do what my mother did!”

The agency grew with the community and the community grew because of the guiding influence of people like Char. She put her heart and soul into Prescott, and her hope is to see more people get involved. Prescott needs it!

“Don’t wait,” she said. “It pays back double what you put in.”

“I find in Prescott there are a lot of people who want to help but not a lot of people who want to lead. I don’t care if you’re 20. I don’t care if you’re 30. Just get out there. You’re invested in the community, and the community is invested in you.” And now is the time.

“Prescott is on the verge of something pretty big. People need to get involved and harness it. It can be what they want it to be,” she said. “There’s so many things to get involved in. Pick something. Whatever your passion is, get involved in that.”

One of Char’s loves is the Great River Road Learning Center at Freedom Park, which she described as the community’s gem. She’s been on the park’s Board of Directors since 2014. (If you haven’t sat in the Freedom Park amphitheater and watched the sun set, Char highly recommends it.

As a going away gift, her coworkers and friends at Noah Insurance made a $500 donation to Freedom park in her honor.

“That $500 means more to me than anything,” she said. “Freedom Park is such an incredible place. It’s underappreciated. People think it’s so well-funded, but it needs the community’s help. The people at Noah in Prescott are such a great group of people for them to do that for me and the community was just incredible.”

Char’s husband, John, retired a few years back, and she’s been commuting to their home on a small lake in Sarona on the weekends.

“We’re looking forward to hanging out together, traveling, fishing,” she said. “I spend a lot of time on the pontoon.”

She’s going to live elsewhere, but Char Magee’s heart will always be in Prescott.

“I’m going to miss the people, all of the people, so much,” she said.

Photo from Freedom Park Facebook page.