Careers are funny
things. Mine has been at least. Never a plan; more a wandering exploration
of things of interest to me. And gosh, I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.
I’ve been so lucky and done so many different things.
I graduated with an
Honours Bachelor of Arts (from the University of Toronto, of course) in History
and International Relations. But my first gigs were with municipalities. I was a
hired gun (read: municipal project manager) brought in to oversee
the construction and start-up of leisure centres: arguing with contractors and
architects to ensure the client’s interests were being met;
purchasing equipment to fill them with (gosh that was always fun … I love
shopping); hiring and orienting staff; programming classes & lessons; and
organizing the public grand opening.
Honours Bachelor of Arts (from the University of Toronto, of course) in History
and International Relations. But my first gigs were with municipalities. I was a
hired gun (read: municipal project manager) brought in to oversee
the construction and start-up of leisure centres: arguing with contractors and
architects to ensure the client’s interests were being met;
purchasing equipment to fill them with (gosh that was always fun … I love
shopping); hiring and orienting staff; programming classes & lessons; and
organizing the public grand opening.
I oversaw two: the
Milton Leisure Centre is one of my products; Valley Park Community Centre in
Stoney Creek is another. It was a lot of fun but gosh, stressful and too much
damn work!
Milton Leisure Centre is one of my products; Valley Park Community Centre in
Stoney Creek is another. It was a lot of fun but gosh, stressful and too much
damn work!
So it was out with the old, in with the new.
I left that crazy
world and joined another. The world (read: big business) of international
humanitarian aid. I started that gig in 1993 with THE most recognized
organization in the entire world.
world and joined another. The world (read: big business) of international
humanitarian aid. I started that gig in 1993 with THE most recognized
organization in the entire world.
But that was then,
this is now. So, it’s out with the old, in with the new
(again).
this is now. So, it’s out with the old, in with the new
(again).
For some weeks I’ve
been maneuvering and shepherding and negotiating a new gig with a new
organization.
been maneuvering and shepherding and negotiating a new gig with a new
organization.
As of last Thursday,
success! Yay me!
success! Yay me!
So it’s goodbye to
thirteen years of successes, which I do want to pay homage to. Eprops to me
for:
thirteen years of successes, which I do want to pay homage to. Eprops to me
for:
- editing three
books for National publication. Ah, 1994-95, what a blur of time working at
National Office and those jaunts to St. Louis with Ironwoman Judy to hang with
the gurus at Times Mirror Professional Publishing. Oh, not to mention, the
purolator boxes that arrived every day, day-after-day, with new galleys to be
proofed. How I survived that gawd knows. - revising one National program from scratch and successfully
relaunching it in 1996. Ah, the coast-to-coast trips collecting input from
field-test and pilot-sites, the great trainers and instructors I met, the
supportive programmers that stayed true to the brand despite the growth in
competition. - centralizing an
entire department from a regional to provincial service delivery model. Tough on
folks for sure, especially those who were eliminated as a result of the move,
but in the end the best thing for consumers. - launching a
thorough, detailed, cutting edge quality management program in one region that
became the touchstone for all quality work within the
organization. - surviving the nightmare, and workload, associated with
9/11. - surviving a worse
nightmare, and workload, associated with the Tsunami in
2004.
So, it’s on to a
new adventure. I’m happy with the deal we settled on. Downside: more travel
(gugh!), and less vacation (gugh!). Upside: gobs and gobs more money (20%
more/year); flexibility to work from home (okay, granted always done that but nice to have it in writing up front); waiving of hurdles vis-a-vis
benefits/pension; and responsibility for:
new adventure. I’m happy with the deal we settled on. Downside: more travel
(gugh!), and less vacation (gugh!). Upside: gobs and gobs more money (20%
more/year); flexibility to work from home (okay, granted always done that but nice to have it in writing up front); waiving of hurdles vis-a-vis
benefits/pension; and responsibility for:
- overseeing a
groundbreaking program on the cusp of growth; - maneuvering that
program to be coast-to-coast-to-coast within Canada; - lobbying with
Ministries of Health to ensure costs associated with the program can be covered
under provincial plans; - using my quality
management expertise to nurture the conductor trainers to make it the best
program for consumers going; - adding
a Canadian university to the list of accrediting institutions offering
this innovative degree, alongside the four that currently exist (one each in
Israel, UK, Hungary and the USA); - drawing the best
of recent graduates to Canada by making their transition through the hoops and
ladders of Citizenship and Immigration easier; and, - in the end,
helping individuals live their lives to their full
potential.
Noble, isn’t it?! Aquarians are always after the noble cause and I’m no exception.
You must be logged in to post a comment.