Consulting is busy! Consultants are often jumping from one project to another, working with different clients, and most times, traveling to different geographic regions. Given the demands that come along with consulting, it can often be difficult to find time to set aside to volunteer. If you Google why volunteering is important, pages upon pages of articles, facts, health journals, and mental health websites all say, ultimately, it’s because it makes us happy! Studies show, happy people live longer and are more fulfilled in life!
Professional Organizations
The executives at North Shore take the time to volunteer within the professional organizations of our industry, as well as with post-secondary institutions that have graduate programs in our fields. Volunteering allows us to better our industry, and to be connected and network with our clients, peers, and students.
Our President, Darren Cherniak, is currently the Vice President of the Environmental Service Association of Alberta (ESAA) and has been volunteering his time with this organization since 2018. Prior to this, Darren spent almost a decade volunteering his time to the Alberta Institute of Agrologists (AIA) on various committees. Kelly Zadko, our Vice President of Business Development, is currently the President of the Alberta Chapter of the Canadian Land Reclamation Association (CLRA) and the Vice President for the National CLRA Board; Kelly has been volunteering with CLRA since 2016. Prior to this, she also volunteered her time to the AIA for several years and helped start Calgary AIA Environmental Network.
Several of our executives, including Dan Novecosky, our Vice President of Internal Operations, and Tyler Martin, our Vice President of External Operations, are on advisory boards for local Colleges. Dan is on the NAIT Environmental Monitoring & Assessment program advisory board and Tyler is on the NorQuest College Program Advisory board. Both Dan and Tyler, as well as volunteers from Industry and government, support and advise theses colleges on what is relevant and upcoming in the environmental profession.
Daniel Engel, our Vice President of Finance, has volunteered for the Chartered Professional Accountants of Alberta and has supported the mentoring and growth of upcoming professionals. As a company, North Shore believes that by volunteering our time to these organizations we are bettering our professional community and supporting the growth of our profession.
Community
At our last corporate pillar day in October, we recently asked how many of our Sherwood Park staff volunteered for our community. We were overwhelmingly surprised by the stories of how many of our North Shore Family members volunteer for their kids sports teams, community events, and associations. One example of this is Justin Lehoux, who has been with North Shore for 15 years. Justin is the Manager of our Operational Compliance and Spills Group. Over the past 3 years, he has been a board member with Beaumont Minor Baseball serving as the U11 Director. He is also one of the founding committee members for the Black Gold Competitive Baseball program, which combined the AA programs from Beaumont and Leduc into one association, allowing for the introduction of AAA level baseball to the region starting at the U13 level in 2022. Justin’s coaching and volunteering paid off in 2021, where as the head coach of his son’s U13 AA Baseball team they won the Tier 2 AA provincials, and his U9 team moved up to U11 and won the Tier 3 A Provincials. He also helps run development camps through Beaumont Minor Ball and Black Gold Competitive ball throughout the winter months for the past 2 years and volunteers as a Goalie/Assistant Coach for both of his sons’ minor hockey teams for the past 6 years.
Charity
From the Mustard Seed Church to the River Valley Clean-up, to Kids Help phone, to Bell Let’s Talk Mental Health, North Shore and our staff have been volunteering our time over the past two decades to many charitable organizations.
Recently, Mandy Reitze, who has been with North Shore for the past 12 years, volunteered her time to the MS Society of Alberta. Mandy is one of our Intermediate Consultants supporting our project teams who, this year, volunteered for the MS Bike Airdrie to Olds Ride. Since their founding in 1948, the MS Society has provided services to people impacted by multiple sclerosis and has funded research to find the cause and cure for this disease. Their goal of creating “a world free of multiple sclerosis” is truly a worthy one. Mandy graciously volunteered her time and energy to help contribute to the success of the weekend. She has also been involved in other charitable events including Kids Help Phone, where she spearheaded her peers into volunteering their time for the event.
North Shore Family
There are many more instances of community and charity volunteering within the North Shore Family, but these are just a few people who volunteer their time to the community, charities, and our profession. As a company, North Shore supports many community programs and charities, but most near and dear to our hearts is the Alberta Cancer Foundation. Our month of September fundraiser this year raised $10,000 to most urgent cancer needs in the province of Alberta.
Volunteering, fundraising, and giving time gives people a sense of purpose and community. It helps build friendships and bonds, and brings fun into your life. Volunteerism is an important facet of our company philosophy and North Shore believes in providing a flexible workspace so that our staff can actively share their time in worthwhile causes. Helping others by volunteering, kindles happiness – a big thank you to all our North Shore Family volunteers!
