Volunteer Recognition Program

Vancouver's Sarah Tobun

Sarah Tobun has been a member of the Vancouver Chapter of fmi*igf for approximately 13 years. In addition to her full-time job at Environment Canada, she has also been actively involved with the Vancouver Chapter Board for many of those years taking on the role of Program Director, Vice-President, President, Past-President, Communications Director and currently Treasurer. During her tenure with the Board, Sarah was also the Chair of the "Passing the Torch - Going for Gold" two-day PD event in 2010 which was themed and planned around the Vancouver 2010 Olympics. This hugely successful event provided financial support for the Vancouver Chapter, allowing it to continue to promote free or low-cost professional development events for its members. The Chapter is very grateful for Sarah's participation and looks forward to her continued support in the future.

Ontario's Ian Provis

The Ontario Chapter is run exclusively by volunteers so it depends on the critical contribution of individual members like Ian Provis. Ian has been a strong supporter and member of the Ontario Chapter Board for only a few years, serving as Vice-President this past year. However, in that short time, Ian has become a pillar of the Ontario Chapter organization making significant contributions. His passion, enthusiasm, energy and leadership exemplify the best attributes of a FMI Volunteer. Ian holds a CPA, CA designation and brings to the Ontario Public Service significant private sector experience including gaming, manufacturing and entertainment.

There's never been a job too small, too big, too technical or too heavy for Ian to take on. Ian's done it all at one point or another. Whether it was finding speakers or presenting at an event himself, or taking lead for all of the audio/visual technical demands of this year's Public Sector Management Workshop (PSMW 2013) in Toronto, AS WELL AS, lining up all of the musical entertainment for the various events, or almost single-handedly taking responsibility for PSMW's first ever promotional CD featuring Ontario musicians, or just helping to share the transporting of seemingly endless carloads of supplies for each and every event.

Ian is always there to lend a hand or an ear, offer a smile or a suggestion and generally share the load. His will be a hard act to follow! Sadly, Ian's day-to-day job responsibilities necessitate that he leaves the Board this year and he will be sorely missed. As Manager of Accounting Policies in the Accounting Policy and Financial Reporting Branch, Office of Provincial Controller Division, Ontario Ministry of Finance, a new demanding project has him moving in different directions this year. The Ontario Chapter wishes him all of the best.

Victoria's Paul Brown

A successful volunteer organization like the FMI depends upon the critical contributions of its individual members. Board members and other volunteers contribute their enthusiasm, energy, leadership skills and capacity to making our organization a success. Paul Brown, a member of the Victoria Chapter's board since September 2004 exemplifies the best attributes of an FMI volunteer. As our Program Director, Paul assembled a strong Program Committee that has planned and delivered an exceptional educational program each year. As the Committee Chair, Paul ensures that each member has the opportunity to contribute to the program in line with their skills, interests and capacity. While it's always a team effort, Paul often takes personal responsibility in recruiting speakers, organizing venues and making sure the events run smoothly. After eight years on the Board, Paul has decided to step down and his shoes will indeed be hard to fill. Paul Cumberland, Chapter Past President adds, "Paul was a real mentor to me when I was Chapter President, providing advice and setting examples while allowing me to gain confidence and experience. He is a true friend to me and to FMI and, as his legacy, we are extremely fortunate to have his wisdom and enthusiasm infused into the board's strategic direction."

Paul is a partner in 3e Training Inc., a Victoria-based company specializing in providing training solutions to public sector clients. Since 1988, Paul has focused his efforts on the development and facilitation of workshops specific to how government is changing the way it conducts business, allocates resources, makes decisions, delivers services and infrastructure and defines accountabilities. These include workshops on contract, financial and risk management, transfer payments through conditional grants and contribution agreements, outcome-based business planning, performance measurement and reporting. His principal clients are the provincial governments and Crown agencies of Alberta, British Columbia, Saskatchewan; Yukon Government; and, Washington State Government. 3e Training has also been extremely generous in providing administration and IT support for FMI events over the years. Paul attended the University of Toronto, completing undergraduate and graduate studies in health sciences.

Capital's Gail Somers

Gail Somers has become a familiar fixture at fmi*igf Capital Chapter events. Over the past seven years, she has worked tirelessly for the fmi*igf Capital Chapter and the fmi*igf National Board of Directors.

Gail Somers presently holds the position of Senior Manager, Corporate and Government Banking with Scotiabank. She has been with Scotiabank for over 25 years, twenty of which in the Ottawa area. Ms. Somers is a strong supporter and long-time volunteer of the Financial Management Institute of Canada, both at the Capital Chapter and National levels. For more than seven years, she has participated on the fmi*igf Capital Chapter Board in numerous positions from Program Chair to President, and presently serves as the Chapter's Past President. Prior to joining fmi*igf Capital Chapter, she was actively involved in numerous Board positions with the Treasury Management Association of Canada (Ottawa Chapter.)  Actively involved in the community, Ms. Somers has also served as a Community Guider and Contact Guider for the past 25+ years.

The fmi*igf Capital Chapter Board of Directors would like to thank Ms. Somers for her faithful dedication and recognize her as a pillar of our community. We are very grateful that Ms. Somers continues to support the Board and its activities.

Ontario's Richard Slee

The Ontario Chapter is a thriving and busy organization, with a very active Board of Directors and over 300 members. The Chapter also successfully delivers three highly interactive and stimulating professional workshops each year, well-attended by members on-site in Toronto and via web-cast to ten provincial cities. None of this would have been possible without Richard Slee, the founding President of FMI Ontario. It was Richard who lobbied for, and won approval, from the Ontario Provincial Controller to sponsor the Ontario Chapter. Through his enthusiasm and unflagging dedication, the Chapter has grown leaps and bounds since its inception in June 2006. The Ontario Auditor General is a strong supporter of our organization, and thanks to Richard we have been able to attract many well-known speakers, including Sheila Fraser (Auditor General of Canada), Richard Charlebois (CFO of the Public Service Commission), Clary Ottman (VP and Comptroller of Canada Post), and Charles-Antoine St-Jean (former Comptroller General of Canada.)

Richard Slee was born and raised in Toronto. He graduated from the University of Toronto with a Certificate in Public Administration, and a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics and political science, and awarded the general proficiency prize in public administration.

His career with the Ontario Public Service spanned 36 years and began with the Register General's Office. He has worked in the Ontario Labour Relations Board, Occupational Health and Safety, Internal Audit and the Finance areas of the Ministry of Labour. In February 2002, he moved to the Ministry of Finance, Office of the Provincial Controller as Senior Analyst, Controllership Policy and Practices. He retired in November 2008.

FMI Ontario is not the only organization to have benefited from his skills and support. He is past president of the Queens Park Public Speaking Club (a member since 1976), as well as, past area governor of the Toronto Downtown Area of Toastmasters International, a private non-profit organization dedicated to improving people's communications and leadership skills. He is also a member of the American Institute of Parliamentarians, and founding president of the Parliamentary Society of Toronto of which he is now Secretary. He is currently the Director of Communications for the Queen City Yacht Club. Somewhere he has managed to find the time to conduct courses in public speaking and common parliamentary law to public and private organizations.

Richard is married to Mary Harsant, an Accountant, and they have one son, Joshua aged 17. He is an avid sailor who, with his family, lives on his boat during the summer on Ward's Island. Richard has recently retired from the Ontario Public Service, and has indicated that he will retire from FMI Ontario as well. The members and Board of Directors of the FMI Ontario Chapter would like to acknowledge and thank Richard for his dedication over the past five years.

Alberta's Roberta Luk and Gisele Dansereau

Roberta Luk and Gisele Dansereau have been pillars on the Board of the FMI Alberta Chapter since the mid 1990's. When reminiscing about the past, they talk about the growth of the Chapter from a three-member Board of Directors (including Past President, Patrick Stewart) organizing Treasury Board speakers to days of a larger Board of Directors putting on full PD days with multiple speakers from different areas. If you were to ask them, they would tell you that being part of the Board of Directors was a great experience that has opened up opportunities for meeting many people within the public sector and other financial communities. The experience gained has provided them with skills and contacts that have helped them in their public service careers. As well, they have made friendships that will last for many years to come.

Roberta Luk has recently retired from the public service after 15 years with Justice Canada as Regional Director, Finance & Administration. Prior to this Roberta worked in several government departments, as well as in the private sector, receiving her CGA designation in 1982. Now that she is retired, Roberta hopes to spend time travelling with her husband.

Gisele Dansereau is with Western Economic Diversification as Manager of Resource Management & Reporting. She has been with WD since 1998. Prior to this, she worked with the Public Service Commission in Winnipeg and Edmonton, in a number of different positions, including Finance Clerk; Pay & Benefits Specialist; Finance Officer; and, Manager, Finance and Corporate Services.

The Board of Directors of the FMI Alberta Chapter would like to thank Roberta and Gisele for their tremendous contribution and many years of service to fmi*igf. Despite being formally retired from the Board, both Roberta and Gisele continue to provide support to the current Board members in many capacities. We wish them both all the best in their future endeavours.

St. John's Terry Paddon

In 2010, the St. John's Chapter recognized Terry Paddon, Deputy Minister of Finance, Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, with a Lifetime Membership in recognition of his continuous support with the Chapter. Mr. Paddon supported the PSMW held in St. John's in 2006 and served as Honorary Co-Chair. He was instrumental in ensuring an excellent turnout from the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador and, in particular, from the Department of Finance.

As part of his continued support of the Chapter, Mr. Paddon has been a frequent presenter at the St. John's Chapter sessions. Typically, his presentation on "Economic and Financial Overview of the Province" attracts the highest number of attendees of all the Chapter's professional development events, including record participation by employees of the Department of Finance.

Terry Paddon began his career in the financial industry as Manager of Assurance Services for Clarkson Gordon/Ernst & Young (1978-1986). From there he worked as a controller with Murray and Co. and later as corporate controller with the Hart Group of Companies (1986 - 1990). He joined the provincial public service as a Manager of Tax Audit, with the Tax Administration Branch of the Department of Finance in 1990. His career in the public service continued with the Taxation and Fiscal Policy Branch, where he worked as Director of Tax Policy from 1995 to 1998 and Assistant Deputy Minister from June 1998 to January 2004. Terry Paddon was appointed Deputy Minister of Finance for Newfoundland and Labrador in January 2004, and Secretary to Treasury Board in May 2005.

In addition to his public service experience, Mr. Paddon had held positions in the private sector including the public accounting industry. Mr Paddon holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from Memorial University of Newfoundland and was admitted to the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Newfoundland in 1980. She also worked with the Department of Transportation, as Manager of Consulting and Audit, and is currently the Director of Corporate Finance for the Departments of Local Government and Environment.

Fredericton's Yvonne Samson

Yvonne Samson has been a member of the Fredericton Chapter since 1998 and has held many positions at both the regional and the national level, including the position of Chapter President for three consecutive years. To recognize her continued dedication, Yvonne recently received the FMI Fredericton "Member of the Year" award for 2009-2010.

In addition to representing the Fredericton Chapter at many events and meetings at both the Atlantic and the national level, Yvonne currently serves as the Atlantic Liaison Director on the fmi*igf National Board of Directors. Yvonne played a key role on the PSMW 2002 Organizing Committee, held in Fredericton, and a decade later, has accepted the role of one of the local co-chairs for PSMW 2012, the 25th Annual Public Sector Management Workshop, to be held at the Fredericton Convention Centre in May 2012.

Over the past few years, Yvonne has served on both fmi*igf National and Fredericton Chapter Nominating Committees, the fmi*igf National Chapter Working Group, and helped with the fmi*igf National Policy Review project. In addition she has been providing assistance towards the development of a new FMI Chapter in Moncton, New Brunswick.

Yvonne received her BBA from the University of New Brunswick in 1996 and her chartered accountancy designation in 2000. She began her career in the public sector in 1997 with the Office of the Auditor General where she was in charge of various audits including the financial statements for the Province of New Brunswick.

Yvonne has greatly contributed to fmi*igf at both the Chapter and the National level, and FMI Fredericton takes this excellent opportunity to recognize all the hard work of Yvonne and our many volunteers.

Halifax's Jim Wentzell

Jim Wentzell has been a member of the Halifax Chapter since 2002. He became the chapter's treasurer in 2004 and has been on the executive ever since. Jim has been a member of the Organizing Committee for PSMW 2010 since the chapter began preparing for the conference over three years ago. As Operations Manager, Jim managed everything "behind the scenes" that ensured PSMW 2010 ran smoothly in Halifax.

In his everyday life Jim is the Chief Administrative Officer for the Town of Mahone Bay on Nova Scotia's beautiful south shore. The town has a population of 904 and operates its own electric light and water utilities. Jim manages these and all aspects of the town's business along with a staff of 10. Some of the challenges currently facing the town include the declining rural population, aging population, tourism dependent commercial sector, the tax base, affordable housing, infrastructure renewal and implementation of the new PSAB guidelines regarding municipal capital assets.

Jim has over 37 years experience in both municipal and school board financial administration. He was one of several School Board employees to work on the team that designed and implemented SAP as the accounting system for all School Boards in Nova Scotia. He has served on the executive of the Association of Nova Scotia Administrators and currently is a representative on the Union of Nova Scotia Municipalities CAP Assessment Review Committee.

Responsibility and accountability are two things Jim feels strongly about and he operates by example in managing his staff, working for his Council, dealing with all levels of government and in performing his duties for PSMW 2010. He is a hard worker and can be seen sitting at his desk many evenings always looking for ways to better serve the citizens of Mahone Bay. Always thinking, one of Jim's quotes is "Weeks never end - they always recycle."

SouthShoreNow.ca

CAO Recognized

Victoria's Gordon Gunn

When the fmi*igf Victoria Chapter reflects on the value of our volunteers, our thoughts are often of Gordon Gunn standing above all.

Although Gordon is a very successful associate partner at KPMG, he has no qualms  about rolling up his sleeves for work that is so often required of fmi*igf board  members. He has served in many pivotal roles, including Secretary, Treasurer,  Vice-President, President and Past President and just about anything else in between including supporting national endeavours such as his recent participation on the Working Group that developed Social Networking (Web 2.0) Guidelines for the fmi*igf.

The icing on the cake is his willingness to pass on his knowledge as a valued speaker at national and local events. Informally, and of equal importance, he has been a key advisor to new fmi*igf directors. Through his consistent example, Gordon exemplifies professional, effective governance.

Gordon's tireless volunteerism isn't limited to fmi*igf. He has participated on the boards of the Information System Audit and Control Association, the Vancouver Island Chapter of the Canadian Association of Management Consultants, and Ballet Victoria amongst others. A special commitment of Gordon's is serving as a Secretary-Treasurer on the Greater Victoria Coalition to End Homelessness. Gordon's social commitments aren't a recent epiphany. In 1989, Gordon conceived the Great Canadian Family Picnic, and then rallied volunteers to organize the Canada Day event that for 10 years, attracted tens of thousands of people to Victoria's beautiful Beacon Hill Park.

Gordon is unique in his level of dedication. He's a strategic thinker, a pragmatic leader and a reliable team player who exudes credibility and is respected by Board members and Chapter membership alike. He is an ambassador for the fmi*igf organization. His commitment is pure, and his fellow Directors are keenly aware that his involvement is not about personal aspirations or accomplishments, it's truly about "giving back."