Tell us a little bit about yourself.
I was born and grew up in Regina, Sask. I got married in 1988, then moved to Calgary and lived there for a short four months before moving to Lethbridge. I have a wonderful husband and three lovely adult children, two have graduated from the U of L and one is finishing up her history degree here. Back in the day in Grade 12, graduating students did testing to see what career path would be most suited to them. I always dreamed of being a vet, but alas, my results pointed me in the direction of bookkeeping and accounting. So, after graduation, I was off to the Wascana Institute of Applied Arts and Sciences to take . . . of course, accounting. I graduated in 1985, got a job with Co-operators Insurance that summer and stayed there until my husband and I and our great Dane moved to Calgary. In Calgary, I worked for my husband’s family business until we were offered an opportunity to move to Lethbridge to operate an expansion store here. After my husband’s parents retired and sold their stores, we bought AAMCO transmission and I, of course, did the bookkeeping while also being at home with our children. After my youngest was born, we got out of the transmission business and I did a few part-time jobs while being a stay-at-home mom. Then, when my youngest entered kindergarten, I went to work as the business manager for Derochie Painting. After eight years, I took a position with Lethbridge School District 51 in the finance department.
How long have you been at the U of L and what do you do here?
My latest move was to the University in 2017 where I currently work in the finance department as an accounting clerk. I do lots of stuff in financial services, but most of my time is occupied with administering the Procurement Card (P-Card) Program. I have 106 wonderful P-Card holders who make my job very easy and they are such a delight to work with. I also do invoicing, reconcile accounts, and help with special projects, which I love because they are always something different and I get a chance to engage with the University community, my fellow finance team members and learn so much new stuff.
What’s the best part of your job?
The best part of my job is, well, everything really.
What do you enjoy doing outside of work?
Outside of work, I enjoy spending time outdoors. When the nice weather arrives (and the occasional nice day in the other seasons), we take as many weekend trips around southern Alberta as we can manage, and now that my youngest and his fiancée live in Airdrie, I know a lot of drives will take us that way. I love plants and have a household full of them: orchids, pothos, bromeliads, cacti and succulents and even a pine bonsai I hope will survive the winter. I enjoy writing fiction and, with five manuscripts sitting on my desktop and many more rolling around in my head, I hope to publish at some point in the future. I also work on miniatures and am making plans to create a turn-of-the-century Victorian 1:24 scale house from the foundation up. A wonderful puppy joined our household in 2021 and I also have a fish tank of tropical fish. I used to have seven, but, well, you know mollies — I now have an extra 15 baby fish. So, if anyone wants fish, shoot me an email!