Friends, colleagues and family gathered together at a downtown restaurant on Friday the 18th November to celebrate and remember with wistfulness, nostalgia and pride the long and amazing career of my wonderful wife Marie. Now, as she now takes leave of her 35 years in the Canadian Federal Public Service to embark on the next voyage in her life, I will try to summarize what an amazing run it was in the service of the public! Graduating from the University of Ottawa in 1976 with a Bachelor of Science and not yet 20 she entered on her long journey with the Canadian Goverment, rising from a clerk to become an admired and dedicated director general. Marie's enthusiasm, ethics and concern for her staff will be her legacy.
Marie began her career as a Human Resources clerk as a CR 2 for the Department of National Defence, moving up to the position of Staffing Assistant in 1978.
Later, in 1981, she became an Administrative trainee in Materiel Management where she was involved in Treasury Board submissions for Capital equipment, procurement and inventory management. But this was just a stepping stone to the next level for in 1982 Marie became a Purchasing Officer PG 2, still with National Defence Headquarters in Ottawa, but now in the officer ranks!
As the new Repair and Overhaul Liaison Officer, Marie was now involved in the repair line of the CP140 Aurora aircraft,a Canadianized variant of the P-3 Orion aircraft used in the maritime surveillance role by Canada and many other countries. For the next two years she was employed as a National Inventory Procurement Officer in the Directorate of Procurement and Supply Common User, located in the old Constitution building on the corner of King Edward and Rideau Street, Ottawa. Marie also joined the Reserves in 1981, getting her Commission that year!
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| Logistics Officers Training Course 1981, Borden, Ontario |
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| Constitution Building, Ottawa |
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| CP 140 |
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| Commissioning Presentation, HMCS Carleton |
Marie wasn't going very far geographically but she was moving steadily up the ladder, her eye always fixed firmly on the next rung. This is when I met her for the first time and remember vividly that day in 1983 when she walked confidently through the section and into her new office, wearing a large hat and tailored suit. This was Marie's first experience as a supervisor and she was out to make an impression! That morning all eyes were on the new "boss" who was making her statement to the world that she had arrived! It seemed inevitable however that Marie and I should hit it off together professionally as well as personally and we soon became the talk of the 8th floor. My posting to Halifax followed in 1985 and it was with much soul searching that Marie followed me east, taking a position at Base Supply, Halifax as the Support Systems Manager-Procurement, managing the implementation of the new computer systems that would quickly change the way we did business.
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| Marie and children in Halifax |
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| CFB Halifax Dockyard, Nova Scotia |
In 1989 Marie moved across the harbour from Base Supply to become the Section Head of Supply Services at Defence Research Establishment (Atlantic) in Dartmouth. It was a welcome change from the Base and Marie eagerly returned to what she enjoyed the best, managing budgets and, most importantly for her, helping develop and mentor a small staff. Although she was only there for a year it proved yet another opportunity to advance, moving just up the road to the Department of Fisheries and Oceans.
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| Defense Research Establishment (Atlantic), Dartmouth, NS |
For the next two years, until 1990, Marie held the job of Section Head Science Procurement at the Bedford Institute of Technology as a PG 3 working closely with the Department of Supply and Services, implementing regional policies and meeting with client organizations. But as we had now moved to the beautiful Annapolis Valley and driving in from Paradise was becoming too much every day, Marie sought a position closer to home. During this time she took on an assignment as a Fish Plant Inspector and worked on Nova Scotia's French Shore in Meteghan and Digby for 6 months. She was issued a a uniform and a car complete with CB radio during that time and often came home in the evening smelling of the fish!
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| Off to the fish plant! |
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| Meteghan, Nova Scotia |
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Bedford Institute of Technology, Bedford, NS
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Marie then had the opportunity to participate in a competition being held in Kentville, less than an hour away, which ensured she would be closer to home permanently. S
o for the the next 5 years, until 1997, Marie was now the Aministrative Officer (AS 5) at the Atlantic Food and Horticultural Centre in the small town of Kentville, one of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada's national network of 19 research centres.
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| First day on the job! |
Here she was involved in everything from real property management, vehicle repairs and maintenance, health and safety, procurement, financial management and operations, human resources staffing and pay, meetings with town officials, downsizing and reorganizing to French language interviews on Radio Canada. Surrounded by the 188 hectares of flowers, trees and 10 kilometres of trails that lead to two look-off points over the Valley, ponds, waterfalls and many streams, as well as the masses of rhododendrum and azalea bushes and the blue sky framed in the floor to roof windows of the Centre, it was a relaxing place to work.
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| Kentville Agricultural Station, Kentville, NS |
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| Rhododendrons, Kentville Agricultural Station |
In 1997 Marie went back to Ottawa, on secondment for a year as an Integrated Management System Analyst, to assist in the configuration, implementation and training related to the SAP ERP, especially the CO Module. During that time Marie was travelling back and forth, every month or so, between home and Ottawa and managed to take up ballroom and latin dancing and to compete successfully in a few competitions. In collaboration with her team, she enjoyed ensuring the system was well implemented and suited the needs of the many users nationwide across the Department.
In 1998 we all moved back to Ottawa as Marie had then been reclassified to AS 6 and was implementing the Federal Government's Financial Information Strategy or FIS and continuing to assist departmental SAP users. This lasted until 2000 when she transferred to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police as their Client Services Coordinator for Central Region, acting as a mediator between clients and managers of corporate services. After six months, Marie took a leave of absence from the Federal Public Service and went to work for DMR Consulting as a Senior Consultant. During that time her contract was for the implementation of FIS for the Department for Foreign Affairs and International Trade. But it was to be onward and upward for the new century was only just a year old when Marie was back with the RCMP as an AS 7 and the Regional Manager for Business Systems. From there it was a short jump to the Executive level and in 2003 Marie, still with the RCMP, became the Director of Business Improvement, Corporate Management and Comptrollership, Finance Branch.
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| Presentation of EX1 Certificate |
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| 25 year service award |
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| Senior Consultant, DMR Consulting (DFAIT) |
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Marie began her
acting career in January 2005, moving on as an EX 2 to Social Development Canada in the Vanier Towers to become the A/Senior Director Financial Management and Control (Deputy Controller). When the newly formed Department was merged back to it's former Department - Human Resources and Skills Development Canada in February 2006, Marie headed back to Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada as the A/Executive Director, Results-Based Management, Strategic Management, Corporate Service Branch with a staff of 25. This time shes was in the Sir John Carling Building, one of the more pleasant locations of the hundreds of government buildings scattered across the National Capital region, on Carling Ave at the Central Experimental Farm.
She would be there until December 2007
before moving on to Public Safety Canada in the new BMO Building downtown on Laurier Ave
as the Director of Financial Planning, Analysis and Reporting
, Comptroller Division, Corporate Management Branch first as an EX 1 and then an EX 2. Phew...staying there for 3 years and taking on the responsibility
of Acting Comptroller (EX 3) position for 6 months.
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| CMA Designation, Toronto, 2007 |
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| Vanier Towers, Ottawa |
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| Sir John Carling building |
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| BMO Building, 269 Laurier, Ottawa |
In March 2010 Marie was able to transfer to Montreal, principally to be closer to Phil and Fernanda who were expecting their first child, our first grandchild, Patrick. It was here at the Complexe Guy-Favreau on Rene Levesque Blvd, she took on the challenge of her last position as Director General Finance and Administration for the Quebec Region of Human Resources and Skills Development Canada.
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| Guy Favreau Building, Montreal |
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| Retirement Seminar, Ottawa 2010 |
In this last position Marie was responsible for approximately 150 employees, providing a variety of services to support the organization and directly to Canadians. It was a position she was extremely happy in and a fitting environment to bring to a close her career. But all good things must come to an end and, after 35 years of service to the country, Marie was now ready to move up to the last rung of the ladder, to look back for a short time on all her accomplishments, and then to step away, soaring into the horizon where sunny days of retirement beckoned...but first:
The Retirement Dinner! This was held at the Papillon Bleu restaurant in the old financial district of Montreal and Marie was honoured by her boss and some surprise guests who had come down from Ottawa. We didn't have alot of time afterwards to prepare for the next exciting event - our western Caribbean cruise the following week! I will update as we visit for a week with the family in Florida before embarking on the cruise ship Navigator of the Seas from Fort Lauderdale! See you then!
gws
