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The Westmounter
What changes have you seen in your 15 years? Hospice. And, before that, I volunteered monthly at Ray
of Hope —planning and setting up dinners. Recently,
There have been a lot of changes, mostly for the good. I took up sewing masks. Since I can’t volunteer right
For example, we have automated many processes. now, instead I’ve made masks for my cousin and her
When I took over payroll, it was mostly a manual whole family since her daughter just had a double lung
process. Over the years, I’ve automated quite a bit of it. transplant.
What took us a week to complete before, we now do in
less than two days. Outside of Westmount, what do you enjoy doing in
your leisure time?
What do you love the most about working here?
I love to travel. I did a driving trip to the East Coast of
It’s a calm place to come in the mornings. It’s such Canada a few years ago. That was really memorable. A
a lovely drive. And, to be honest, the accounting friends’ daughter was starring in Anne of Green Gables,
get to know department has the best office and the best view and we saw the play in Charlottetown, PEI. Before the
in the Club. Our customers/members come here
monica burrows for enjoyment and relaxation, so it’s not like other coronavirus hit, I had planned to travel to Kelowna, BC
this summer to visit my son.
businesses where customers have a purpose. They
are mainly here to socialize, so the Club always has a Baking is also one of your passions, no?
ACCOUNTING ASSISTANT AND LONG-TIME STAFF MEMBER very relaxed feel, which leads to you feeling less stress.
Working for David White is also great. He is one of best I love to bake and often bring treats (cakes, cookies,
bosses I’ve ever had. cinnamon rolls) to share with co-workers. My
The Westmounter recently sat were all given nine months notice. It took me the full grandmother was a little girl in Northern Ontario in
down with Monica Burrows, nine months to find another job. I had one interview What are some of the challenges of the job? 1918 during the Spanish Flu pandemic. She spent a
couple years in a convent with the rest of the healthy
Accounting Assistant, to learn at an insurance company in Cambridge, but after the All the procedural changes due to COVID-19 have girls from the town. During that time, the nuns taught
interview at Westmount, I knew this was the place for
more about this long-time staff me. I loved what the opportunity offered. The Club was added to the usual challenges that are constantly the girls how to bake pets de soeur, small cinnamon
unfolding. Change itself is a challenge. There have been
member, who just celebrated 15 10 minutes from my house and my kids’ school at the a lot of changes over the last five or six years that have rolls made with pie pastry. Loosely translated, it means
years with the Club in 2020. time. I’m so glad I made this decision. made the club busier, causing an increase in members, “nun’s farts!” My grandmother taught her daughters.
My mother showed my sisters and me how to make
What did you know about the Club before taking an increase in services, an increase in staff and an
How did you end up at Westmount? them, and we spent every Saturday morning baking
the position here? increase in productivity. pies and cinnamon rolls. I know I made some terrible
I was working at the Canadian Automobile Association I didn’t even know where Westmount was before I had You are an active volunteer, correct? concoctions my dad would eat and say were great. I
(CAA) in town and the not-for-profit moved its head my interview. I’m glad you don’t have to be a golfer to still feel bad about that. When my children were small, I
operations to Thornhill, ON. I had worked there for 23 work here. I’m not a sports person, but I would love to Yes; I love giving back to my community. Before showed both of them how to bake. Their favourites are
years. When CAA closed operations in Kitchener, we COVID-19, I was cooking and baking for Innisfree still the nun’s farts!
learn to curl and/or play pickleball down the road.
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