2014 Election Archive

I graduated from O'Gorman High School in Timmins in 1963. In high school, I was involved on the school council, choir, basketball team, track team, volleyball team and cheerleading squad. I entered St. …Mary's School of Nursing in 1963 and graduated in 1966. This was a Catholic school of nursing run by the Sisters of the Assumption. I entered the nursing profession because I wanted to help people. I have been involved in nursing for 45 years in many different capacities adn I love my chosen profession. My Catholic education provided me a sound basis for this career choice. Family Life: I have been married for 49 years to Michael Landers. I am the proud mother to three lovely children: Shelley McGee, Lisa Gazzola and David Landers. I am a grandmother to 6 beautiful grandchildren. In my spare time, I love to read, walk, go to the gym and volunteer my time. Community Involvement: I am active in my parish, St. Anthony of Padua, as a cantor, Eucharistic minister, lecturer, CWL member and a member of the choir. I further assist with bringing communion to elderly shut-ins. I am also a Past President of the CWL. I have been involved in Kidsport Timmins/Sports for Kids since 2000 and have served as President twice. This organization enables under- privileged children to participate in sport in Timmins. In the past, I have been involved with teh AAA hockey team, Junior A hockey team, major hockey tournaments, member of the Timmins Porcupine Figure Skating Club Executive for over 10 years and also on the Regional Figure Skating Executive. I have chaired several O'Gorman High school reunions adn contribute to the school fund raisers as a volunteer and alumnae. I was a member of the Cochrane Low Rental Housing Board for the years 2002 and 2003. For 5 years, I was a facilitator for the North Eastern Ontario Family Council assisting families to organize and advocate for long tem care for their loved ones at home. I am a past President of the Central Service Association of Ontario serving on the executive for 20 years. During that time, I won the Life Time Award, the Acart Award and the Isabel Campbell Award for my involvement. I have volunteered on the Canadian Standards for Health Care for 20 years adn in 2005, won the National Award for Contribution to Healthcare in Canada. I won the "Women of the Year" award for the City of Timmins, Ontario in June 2008 for volunteer work in the community. I was also the recipient of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Medal in December 2013 for my volunteer workin the same community. I love to be involved and give back to my community in any way I can. Career: As a nurse, I worked at Timmins adn District Hospital for 37 years. I now run my own consultign firm adn teach a Medical Device Reprocessing Course to ensure the small Northern communities have access to certification for their staff. My goal is to make a difference in improving health care in Canada. I work towards ensuring that all patients receive the best quality care possible. I was one of the authors of the first text book in Canada on Medical Device Reprocessing in an attempt to standardize education fo Medical Device Reprocessign Technicians in hospitals and have assisted with the updates each year it is published. All this was done as a volunteer. Catholic School Board Trustee: I ahve been a Catholic school board trustee for twenty-five years. My first few years as a trustee were with the Timmins Roman Catholic Separate School Board which was the minority section with our French Catholic counterparts. With amalgamation taking place in 1999, the remaining years have been as a trustee with the Northeastern Catholic District School Board running at large in Timmins. I have served as chair and vice-chair of the Northeastern Catholic School Board and have ben the Region 1 Director on OCSTA for 6 years, representing Nipissing Parry Sound, Sudbury, and Huron Superior adn Northeastern Catholic boards at the provincial table. I have also represented the Ontario Catholic School Trustees' Association on the Canadian Catholic School Trustees' Association for the past 6 years. As a member of the Board of Directors for OCSTA, I work towards promoting Catholic education provincially and strengthening the understandign of why Catholic education is different. I bring the voice of all the boards I represent in the Northeast to teh OCSTA board table. This strengthens the communication between the trustees in my region and OCSTA. I became a Catholic School Trustee because I believe that an education embedded in the Catholic faith is important and should be available for all Catholic children. All students are entitled to the same quality education no matter where they reside. I believe that Catholic education is a valuable gift that is worth fighting for and I continue to do that in my role as a trustee, OCSTA Regional Director and CCSTA Director. I attend all board meetings participating in policy, and budget as mandated by the government. I have participated on the following committees; Special Education, Catholic Faith, Audit Budget, Policy, O'Gorman building committee, and others. At teh provincial level I have chaired the Conference Committee at OCSTA and participated in the communication, political and legislative affairs. At the national level the conference and finance, I want to continue to represent the Catholic ratepayers as I feel my experience and committment will assist in providing excellent Catholic education to the children of the North Eastern District. More