Collingwood Neighbourhood House (CNH) proudly recognizes its long-serving staff members. At this year’s Annual General Meeting (AGM), CNH staff and contractors who have reached the milestones of 5, 10, 15, and 25 years of service to the neighbourhood house were thanked by the Board of Directors.
Here’s what Information and Referral/Reception Coordinator Jenny Eng-Chan has to say about Teresa:
An interesting fact that I learned about Teresa over the years is that you can grab her attention by saying any one of the following 3 words—“party room, gym space, or meeting room.” As you may have guessed, she is in charge of our facility rentals. How was she conditioned this way? The story begins with Teresa, moving from Toronto to Vancouver to make her home in the Collingwood community. As she was walking by CNH, she was curious about this centre. Soon after, she enquired whether she could volunteer and was placed in Reception. She had started with volunteering one day a week and then it grew to 5 days a week! When a position opened up, she applied, and here we are 25 years later.
Teresa has a knack for business as she has a background in Commerce. She is the perfect team member to be looking after our facility rentals for CNH. Throughout the years, she has been occupying rooms with bookings at CNH and at the Annex. We have hosted many joyous birthdays, weddings, and baptisms that those people have returned to book again with Teresa for other celebrations. One time, I overheard Teresa say to a potential renter that was booking a bridal shower that they should have her wedding celebration at the Annex, and from a wedding celebration, that they should return for a baby shower, and yet again for baby’s 1st birthday! And some of them do!
Aside from her role as the Rental Clerk at CNH, she is a long-time member of the Health & Safety Committee, now known as the JOHS Committee. Members of this group ensure that CNH staff have a healthy and safe working environment. This past year has really stretched and tested this group as they work diligently to develop new protocols and guidelines to keep us safe.
Her service and dedication to her work over these years has continued to inspire growth and learning from those around her. Aside from the role and responsibilities at CNH, equally important is her individual qualities that she brings forth, which is her faith in people, her patience, her spirituality, and her forgiving nature. Some of those that work closely with her have mentioned that she is a pleasure to work with, devoted to helping people who are less fortunate, a really good listener, and like a sister that they never had.
Teresa has other interesting attributes that make her unique. She loves ketchup on almost EVERYTHING, and has a fondness for dogs.
There are many wonderful things that come to mind about Teresa, but the one that ties it up nicely is her philosophy of how to end the workday. She refers to the comic strip character Snoopy where he is laying on the rooftop of his dog house, gazing up at the fluffy clouds and happily reflecting, relaxing, and getting ready for the next day to do it all over again. We wish her many more of these moments.
Congratulations, Teresa, on 25 years with Collingwood!