Kootenay Society for Community Living

I am a Certified General Accountant in public practice in Castlegar.  I first became involved with KSCL as a board member in the late 1990's.  I remained on the board for six years, during which KSCL evolved into the organization it is today.  The reason I returned to serve again is that there is a tremendous amount of satisfaction associated with being a part of an organization that provided such worthwhile services in a caring, safe, and professional manner.  I have first hand knowledge of this through an adult neice who has benefited from childhood to the present day from many of the programs KSCL offers.

When I was first approached to be on the Board of Directors for KSCL I was surprised but also honoured.  I was asked because of my Human Resources background, not because of my family connections.  My father was a long-time ago President of the Trail Handicap Society.

I have almost always been involved in some form of community volunteer work from being a Girl Guide Leader, to After School Care Program Chair, to Swim Coach, and a Transition House volunteer.  Since recently leaving my teaching position at Selkirk College I've experienced more free time and so have been searching for a place to volunteer and to give back to my community and I look forward to serving in any capacity the Board may require.

I am a self employed bookkeeper.  I became involved with Special Needs when my two daughters were born.  Both girls have varying degrees of autism and through trying to obtain appropriate services for them I have become involved in several organizations to try and help the advancement and maintenance of services to our special residents.  I was currently on a Provincial Boar with Family Support Institute when I was approached by KSCL to sit on the Board as a parent.  I was honoured to be invited and thought this would be an opportunity to contribute within my own community.

 

I consider myself very lucky to have the children I do, because without them I would never have become the person I am and I wouldn't have had the opportunity to meet the wonderful people I have.

As a teenager babysitting a child with down syndrome, volunteering at day programs, and working in an institutionalized facility lead to my interest and career in special education.  I started working in the 1980's in Castlegar when some of the current KSCL clients were being transitioned from segregated school settings to integrated settings.  This is my third term serving on the board.  It is exciting to be part of an organization that makes a difference for clients and communities.

I am the mother of three adult children, with the middle daughter having been born with Down Syndrome.  She first became involved with KSCL as a youth and now at the age of 24 still participates in several programs it offers including Community Options and the Supported Employment Program.  I have always found a great deal of personal fulfillment being involved in all of our children's activities.  Due to this, and the fact that KSCL gives so much support and encouragement to their participants, I feel it is definitely time for me to become more involved to show my appreciation for all they have done.

 

Over the years I have had the opportunity to get to know many of the staff at KSCL and have heard what a professional, progressive-thinking and compassionate board it has.  I am honored to be a director and look forward to making positive contributions.

I first became involved with KSCL in 1973 when my daughter attended Silver Birch School.  At that time the school was run by the KSCL with financial support from the local school board.  I became a Director of KSCL in the late 1970's serving for six years, the maximum time allowed by the KSCL bylaws.  At that time I was involved in the transfer of the school to the school board with an agreement providing for KSCL input into it's operation.  Since then I have served as a Director for two subsequent periods for a total of eighteen years by June 2009.  While a Director of KSCL I have held the positions of secretary, vice president, and president.  I was elected again to the Board and President in June 2011.