Long live the Chair(s)!

Those of you who attended the last HG meeting (or read the minutes) will know that three of our old (should I say former?) executive (Chair, Vice-Chair, and Secretary) have been retired. On behalf of the entire membership, I would like to extend an effusive thank you to all three. Leslie Walsh, our outgoing Chair (I’ll attest to that) proved so capable and energetic over the last six years that she has been replaced by two Co-Chairs, Nancy Wheatley (whose bio follows below) and Liz Omeniuk (who’s promises to send her bio shortly). They will likely make the Vice-Chair position, formerly so ably filled by the uber-energetic Gail Shimonek, redundant. A glutton for punishment, Leslie has agreed to act as Secretary until someone steps up to replace our 17-year (yes, 17!) stalwart, Mary Hayes. Everyone will be most pleased to hear that Karen Wall will remain as Chair of the Social Committee.

Nancy Wheatley, in her own words

Many of you know me from one of my various roles over the 16 plus years since my first position as a math and science instructor/coordinator in Trades and Technology: Chair of Civil Engineering Technology, employee representative on the Board of Governors, Chair of College Council, student in the CMU Masters program, or five years as Dean of Construction and Engineering Technologies.

I retired in 2017 at the youthful age of sixty-six to enter the next exciting phase of life! Well, the last five years have been full of activity and milestones despite the disruption and change that COVID has brought to our lives.

Since my retirement, our family has celebrated the marriages of two more sons, welcomed five new grandchildren – one girl and four boys, two of them COVID babies. Added to our sweet Alice (now six-and-three-quarters-years-old), the six are evenly distributed amongst our three boys and their wives! We see them often as they all live within 10 minutes of us (a blessing during COVID).

We enjoyed several post-retirement, pre-COVID trips. Some were driving: to Florida, the Grand Canyon, Las Vegas and the Black Hills. Others were cruises: one from Tampa to Mexico, Los Angeles and San Francisco; a couple of transatlantic cruises that included stops in England, Ireland, Scotland, France, the Netherlands, Germany, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Monaco, Greece, Montenegro and Croatia, and one to New York to celebrate our 45th anniversary. Our last two cruises have been closer to home, in the Caribbean.

We have now resumed our driving trips with one to visit family in southern Ontario last fall, and one to Florida this spring to see a niece and take a little cruise.

Sadly, I lost a brother since retiring, and my mother-in -law just last summer. Although I love to travel, family is most important, and we try to schedule our trips to take that into account.

Also, since retiring I have become involved with Volunteer Manitoba as a board member, with the Forever Young Club (I love to dance), and now with the Heritage Group, as Co-Chair.

I look forward to seeing you all at our gatherings and social events.

Nancy