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Tag: AGM

  • CNH staff celebrate 5 and 10-year milestones

    Collingwood Neighbourhood House (CNH) proudly recognizes its long-serving staff members. At the 2022 Annual General Meeting (AGM), CNH staff and contractors who have reached the milestones of 5, 10, 15, 20, and 25 years of service to the neighbourhood house were thanked by the Board of Directors.

    Last year, we recognize and celebrate the following staff for 10 and 5 years of service to Collingwood Neighbourhood House:

    Over 10 Years

    • Robert Allen
    • Alice Chow
    • Bobby Jo Moore
    • Nafisa Sultana

    Over 5 Years

    • Michelle Olvina
    • Zakia Saad
    • Chaturika Kotteduwa Jawarden
    • Cecilia Garcia
    • San Kyaing
    • Mitra Alahyarkhani
    • Donna Bondy
    • Terry So
    • Samuel Iwama
    • Sylvia Ma
    • Nikita Bhardwaj
    • Elizabeth Leon
    • Ry Forsythe
    • Irene Mella

    Congratulations and thank you for your service!

    For information about careers at CNH, visit www.cnh.bc.ca/about/careers.

  • Candice Li celebrates 15 years at CNH

    Candice Li celebrates 15 years at CNH

    Collingwood Neighbourhood House (CNH) proudly recognizes its long-serving staff members. At the 2022 Annual General Meeting (AGM), CNH staff and contractors who have reached the milestones of 5, 10, 15, 20, and 25 years of service to the neighbourhood house were thanked by the Board of Directors.

    Last year, we recognize and celebrate Candice Li for 15 years of service to Collingwood Neighbourhood House. Here’s what Candice’s supervisor, Jenny Eng-Chan, had to say about her:

    “Candice is one of our vibrant and boldest members of the Reception team. You can hear and feel her presence even before seeing her! I mean this in a positive way. She is confident and has that one-of-a-kind personality. This was first evident upon interviewing her. I recall that entire day was strange—the other interviewer had to cancel at the last minute and the room that I had booked to do the interview went into overtime. I was scrambling to find a place to conduct the job interview. There were limited choices: it was either the women’s changing room or the main kitchen! Obviously, I picked the kitchen. Candice was adaptable to the situation and continued to be unfazed at the noise and the interruptions. And this quality made her a perfect addition to the Reception Team.”

    “Along the way, I have learned that Candice had an aptitude for configuring programs and she loves to use her analytical CSI skills. When it was time for us to transition from our old-fashioned way of receiving and preparing payments received at the front desk to a more modern Point of Sales system, Candice was right there tackling the job. She was one of the key players involved in implementing our very first Point of Sales system, and if that wasn’t enough, she took part in building the second one, which we are using today. Candice constantly thanks me for her white hairs but I had promised Candice that there will not be a third time for at least another 10 years and by then, either we would have all retired or our hair would have naturally turned white, so I can’t be blamed for this.”

    “Besides her work, Candice has this talent of being able to transform almost any fruit into her “special juices,” also known as wine. She loves to test out the potency of her creations on her reception teammates and this is a part of the reason of why the Front Desk staff is always so pleasant. On that note, my wish for Candice is for her to continue perfecting her juice-making skills and testing them out on us. Cheers to many more years.”

    For information about careers at CNH, visit www.cnh.bc.ca/about/careers.

    ***

    Top image: Candice Li looking straight at the camera.

  • A key part of CNH: Sheri Parke celebrates 15 years at CNH

    A key part of CNH: Sheri Parke celebrates 15 years at CNH

    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, 20, and 25 years of service to the neighbourhood house were thanked by the Board of Directors.

    This year, we recognize and celebrate Sheri Parke for 15 years of service to Collingwood Neighbourhood House. Here’s what Sheri’s supervisors, Emily Rees and Irene Mella, had to say about her:

    “Sheri Parke is a key part of Collingwood Neighbourhood House. She started her work at CNH in 2007 as the Neighbourhood Small Grants Program Coordinator, helping residents apply for neighbourhood small grants for projects that build community. In 2016, she started working as a casual Office Assistant in the admin office at the Joyce St location and would eventually become regular administrative staff in 2018. Sheri is also a highly engaged member of CNH’s Joint Occupational Health & Safety Committee, and volunteers to pick up bread from COBS Bread for the Families Branching Out program on Fridays.

    “We are grateful that Sheri is hard working, creative and friendly with all staff. Sheri is always willing to lend a hand, steps up to take the lead, and has been a constant in the admin office, even during COVID while most staff were working remotely. Irene says, “I trust Sheri to hold down the fort, and I value her ability to problem solve and think on her feet.”

    “When asked why she stayed so long at CNH, Sheri says, “I really appreciate the super friendly working environment. It also matters to me that CNH is diverse, inclusive and cares about their staff. I also enjoy being in the building when it is alive with hustle and bustle, delicious smells coming from the kitchen and happy activity everywhere.”

    “Sheri’s favourite work-related memory includes working on special events with the Admin Team. Sheri says, “I believe it is really important to gather and celebrate together with the community. My favourite is always the Neighbourhood Small Grants (NSG) Celebration dinner held each year at CNH. I get to engage with so many new and returning participants who are genuinely excited to share the results of their NSG project. When we ask people to turn to someone new and introduce themselves and share their project success, the energy level immediately sparks with excited conversations and laughter. People meeting one another at gatherings like these is very rewarding for me.”

    “We are so grateful to work alongside you, Sheri! Congratulations!”

    For information about careers at CNH, visit www.cnh.bc.ca/about/careers.

    ***

    Top image: Sheri Parke smiling at the camera.

  • Putting smiles on children’s faces: Rosanna Costantini celebrates a milestone at CNH

    Putting smiles on children’s faces: Rosanna Costantini celebrates a milestone at CNH

    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, 20, and 25 years of service to the neighbourhood house were thanked by the Board of Directors.

    This year, we recognize and celebrate Rosanna Costantini for 15 years of service. Here’s what Sabrina Bantog, Child Care HR Manager, had to say about Rosanna:

    “Rosanna currently is a Grenfell School Age Childcare worker and she does Parents & Tots Gym time with our Recreation department.

    “Rosanna has been a participant, a volunteer and currently a staff. It all started over 20 years ago when she used to bring her children to Parents & Tots Gym Time and she participated in Family Place.

    “Rosanna has volunteered being an MC at many of CNH’s events, she has done senior’s friendly phone calls, volunteered & had a position in the Families Branching Out Program, and she facilitated the Mama & Papa Goose Program.

    “Rosanna’s supervisor, Donna says that Rosanna enjoys implementing a variety of activities with the children including cooking, art, music/dancing and playing tag. The children love her willingness to play along side them. She thinks Rosanna has stayed with CNH so long because she genuinely loves working with children, encouraging their individual growth and development.  

    “Donna’s favourite work-related memory involving Rosanna was when she made a pinata for Spring Break a couple of years ago. The children all took turns trying to break it open and… nothing. It was like the pinata had been made of concrete and not paper mache. So, Rosanna tried to break it, and ended up breaking the pinata stick in half, and the pinata remained unscathed. The running joke with her now is that she should explore a career of making houses with her paper mache mixture as they would stand up to almost anything and not fall apart!

    “When Rosanna was asked why she is still around, she said “It’s because I want to give back to our community, to families and children, to impact their lives… to put smiles on their faces, to lend them an ear when needed and also give them my heart but most of all to have them realize they are special, welcomed and that they belong and that they matter. We all have an important part to play in making changes and improving our society and the world and I can do this with my everyday interactions with the people who walk through the doors of CNH.

    “Congratulations and thank you, Rosanna!”

    For information about careers at CNH, visit www.cnh.bc.ca/about/careers.

    ***

    Top image: Rosanna Costantini smiling at the camera.

  • 20 years of ‘Addressing the needs and gaps for youth in the community’: Tanya Findlater celebrates a milestone at CNH

    20 years of ‘Addressing the needs and gaps for youth in the community’: Tanya Findlater celebrates a milestone at CNH

    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, 20, and 25 years of service to the neighbourhood house were thanked by the Board of Directors.

    This year, we recognize and celebrate Tanya Findlater for 20 years of service. Here’s what Sanjeev Karwal, Director of Youth Services, had to say about Tanya:

    “Tanya moved to Vancouver from St. Catherine’s Ontario in 2002. She started her work at CNH as the summer program leader for the Youth with A Purpose program. From there, Tanya started working at the Youth Centre on Friday and Saturday evenings, where she still spends the majority of her time.

    “Over the last 20 years, Tanya has had many roles at CNH, such as running the buddy program for newcomer youth at the local schools, leading adult recreation drop-ins, and working with the kids at the Families Branching Out program.

    “Two of Tanya’s greatest assets are, one, how well she connects to and supports the youth, and two, her unlimited supply of energy.

    “Over her span of work at CNH, Tanya has appreciated working, learning and unlearning from a diverse group of youth and staff, the upwards mobility in her positions and the opportunity to address the needs and gaps for youth in the community. Some of Tanya’s favorite memories include: Handing out hot chocolate and candies in front of CNH on Halloweens, the boys and girls sleep over events, competitive floor hockey games, and when former participants come back to visit as adults.

    Thank you, Tanya!”

    For information about careers at CNH, visit www.cnh.bc.ca/about/careers.

    ***

    Top image: Tanya Findlater.

  • Yoko Tomita celebrates 20 years at CNH

    Yoko Tomita celebrates 20 years at CNH

    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, 20, and 25 years of service to the neighbourhood house were thanked by the Board of Directors.

    This year, we recognize and celebrate Yoko Tomita for 20 years of service. Here’s what Emily Rees, Director of Community Development, had to say about Yoko:

    “Congratulations Yoko Tomita, Arts and Culture Manager. Yoko came to CNH as a Community member, volunteer, and mural art contractor. Over the past 20 years Yoko has contributed to and led projects to create murals, banners, mosaics, and shared her visual art skills with the community.

    “Renfrew-Collingwood neighbours and CNH staff have become extended family to her, and that is why she loves working here. Yoko expressed, that it has always felt like a privilege to work at CNH and she has learned so much about serving community in order to create a better place to live. In fact, it is CNH’s privilege to have Yoko as part of the community and we have all learned so much from her.

    “Yoko would like to thank January Wolodarsky, Andrea Berneckas, Paula Carr, Jennifer Gray-Grant and everyone in the Community Development Department, past and present for the endless support, friendship, and learnings.

    Thank you, Yoko for all you have shared and taught us!”

    For information about careers at CNH, visit www.cnh.bc.ca/about/careers.

    ***

    Top image: Yoko Tomita and her dog, Ginger.

  • Long-time staff Maria Nombrado shares her inspiration for spending 25 years at CNH

    Long-time staff Maria Nombrado shares her inspiration for spending 25 years at CNH

    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, 20, and 25 years of service to the neighbourhood house were thanked by the Board of Directors.

    This year, we recognize and celebrate Maria Nombrado for 25 years of service. Here’s what Flamingo Xie, Financial Controller, had to say about Maria:

    “25 years is a quarter of a century, half of Maria’s lifetime. Her glasses are getting thick and she might need anti-wrinkle cream in the future, but she still looks great in her colleagues’ eyes.

    “Maria started work as an office volunteer and a paid computer lab volunteer at CNH. After working in our administration and accounting office, she landed her current role as Accounting Manager. I asked her the reason she has worked at CNH for 25 years. This is what she said:

    1. 1. Commendations for her hard work. Maria said she used to be very emotional when her former supervisor verbally appreciated her work. Other Directors at CNH also appreciated Maria’s dedication. Those recognitions boost Maria’s self-esteem and confidence.
    2. 2. Her family. Secondly, Maria’s said the love and support of her husband and her two sons, Skye and Edrick, are what keep her going.
    3. 3. What CNH stands for. The last one is because of our organization. Maria feels we offer excellent services in the community and excellent recreation programs for all ages. She also appreciates the environment at CNH which she describes as multicultural and family-oriented. As a staff member, she also feels CNH fosters positive employer-employee relationships.

    “Maria said she is happy to say that CNH is where she would like to work until her hair turns gray. Thank you, Maria, for 25 years of hard work and dedication. Thank you for making each day of work something we can all be proud of.”

    For information about careers at CNH, visit www.cnh.bc.ca/about/careers.

    ***

    Top image: Maria Nombrado at CNH’s AGM on Sept. 28, 2022.

  • An ‘asset’ to CNH operations: Qasim Ahmadi celebrates 25-year milestone

    An ‘asset’ to CNH operations: Qasim Ahmadi celebrates 25-year milestone

    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, 20, and 25 years of service to the neighbourhood house were thanked by the Board of Directors.

    This year, we recognize and celebrate Qasim Ahmadi for 25 years of service. Here’s what Kulwant Kaur, Director of Operations, had to say about Qasim:

    “Qasim started working at CNH as a Building Services Worker in 1997. After only a couple of months, he was promoted to the position of Facility Coordinator. His electrical engineering education, previous work experience and extensive experience in facility management has helped him in overseeing CNH’s buildings – five stand-alone sites and six child care programs at local schools. Qasim has many skills! His attention to detail, meeting all deadlines and ensuring all work requests are completed in a timely manner, are much appreciated.

    “Qasim has also always tried his best to save CNH money by doing a lot of the minor repairs and maintenance work himself. He only calls an external contractor for major repairs. Qasim oversees 11 custodians and he is a very generous and compassionate supervisor. Further, every year without fail, he handwrites Christmas cards for the CNH staff. And when we were able to hold potlucks before COVID, he brought the most delicious rice, Kabuli pulao, to staff meetings. He also enjoys running around Central Park and having BBQs with family and friends. He also loves to go sightseeing with his wife Lilah of 30 years.

    “Qasim is a dedicated and hardworking staff member, and is truly an asset to the Operations team and CNH. It’s been a pleasure to work with him! Congratulations and thank you, Qasim.”

    For information about careers at CNH, visit www.cnh.bc.ca/about/careers.

    ***

    Top image: Qasim Ahmadi at CNH’s AGM on Sept. 28, 2022.

  • 25 years of ‘Tetris:’ Nelly Yep celebrates a milestone at CNH

    25 years of ‘Tetris:’ Nelly Yep celebrates a milestone at CNH

    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, 20, and 25 years of service to the neighbourhood house were thanked by the Board of Directors.

    This year, we recognize and celebrate Nelly Yep for 25 years of service. Here’s what Jenny Eng-Chan, Reception Manager, had to say about Nelly:

    “Nelly is our internal booking clerk who keeps CNH’s Main House and Annex running smoothly by scheduling programs and events in their correct timeslot. It is similar to playing Tetris on the computer. What a fun job you would think but this wasn’t always the case as the internal booking process has come a long way over the last 25 years. Back in the ‘old’ days, booking was comprised of a stack of photocopied pages bound together by metal prongs and protected by a plastic blue cover page. Hence, we named it the blue book or our CNH bible. It felt like Nelly was book-binding every six months. Nelly would enter the bookings manually into each day; on each page and sometimes this required a lot of cutting and pasting. Fast forward to today and thank goodness for technology, the blue book has retired.

    “Over the years, Reception has gone through changes. Our furniture has been replaced and the blue book is gone but there is always one constant: Nelly’s attitude toward her work and her co-workers. She has continued to be a helpful and kind person who will always greet you by name. As I haven’t seen her grumpy or negative, I often wondered what the underlying secret to her being so happy and pleasant is. So, I decided to do some detective work and look for clues in her daily rituals. The first thing that I noticed was that she doesn’t eat breakfast and that she loves her veggies but I didn’t think this was ‘the secret.’ There must be something that she does that other people don’t! Then the ‘aha’ moment struck. It must be the two shots of concentrated lemon juice that she always requests at the tea shop when she orders her drink (and she requests this with no sugar). The saying ‘you are what you eat’ doesn’t apply here because Nelly definitely does not exhibit sourness. Rather, she has a sweet and bright disposition.

    “So that’s her secret I suppose? If that is the case, the morning coffee may have to switch out for Nelly’s lemon elixir. Congratulations, Nelly, on your 25th anniversary of playing room-booking Tetris at CNH!”

    For information about careers at CNH, visit www.cnh.bc.ca/about/careers.

    ***

    Top image: Nelly Yep at CNH’s AGM on Sept. 28, 2022.

  • CNH: A place of family and home for long-time staff member Sabrina Bantog

    CNH: A place of family and home for long-time staff member Sabrina Bantog

    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, 20, and 25 years of service to the neighbourhood house were thanked by the Board of Directors.

    This year, we recognize and celebrate Sabrina Bantog for 25 years of service. Here’s what Alison Merton, Director of the Early Years, had to say about Sabrina:

    “I have been fortunate to work with Sabrina since 1996. 

    “Sabrina grew up in Vancouver. She attended Langara College to study Early Childhood Education. In 1996, Sabrina began working in Family Place at CNH and did casual work in child care before securing a position in the infant and toddler program.  She then quickly moved into management roles within the child care department first in Kindercare, Collingwood Early Learning and Care Centre, and then she became the manager that opened the Terry Tayler Early Learning and Care Centre in the fall of 2012.

    “Sabrina’s current role is as a Child Care Manager which requires her to deal with all human resources (HR)-related tasks for the child care staff team, which is quite the task given the amount of staff we have.

    “We are so extremely fortunate to have Sabrina’s expertise in HR at CNH. She is kind, compassionate, and always goes above and beyond. She is very well respected by everyone. Sabrina puts the ‘human’ in human resources! She has represented CNH at CUPE and also at many Early Childhood Educator events. She continuously seeks out professional development opportunities and is currently doing courses in HR at BCIT. 

    “Sabrina says CNH is her home.  She felt like she grew up at Collingwood, making many relationships. She has always felt supported and has had many opportunities to learn, grow and advance. She says CNH feels like family. This is likely because her husband Jaime also once worked at CNH and both her children, Alissa and Kyle, attended our child care programs! It’s not unusual to see Kyle here in Friday’s youth program or to see Sabrina’s mom hanging out in the seniors’ programs.

    “Sabrina says there are many memories that make her smile, reflecting back.  What stands out the most is the trip to Italy to visit the Reggio Emilia programs at their source with her peers and the management team. She will be forever grateful for that opportunity, definitely not something she would have been able to do on her own and it was most meaningful to be able to do this with colleagues.

    “She would like to acknowledge all of the wonderful people she has had the pleasure of getting to know over the years. Her continued commitment to CNH, the Early Years department and the Early Childhood Education profession is outstanding. Thank you, Sabrina, for your many years of service and congratulations.”

    For information about careers at CNH, visit www.cnh.bc.ca/about/careers. Learn more about family and child care programs at www.cnh.bc.ca/family.

    ***

    Top image: Sabrina Bantog at this year’s AGM at the CNH Annex.