Classification Talks

Frances is originally from Quebec and said that when she came to Ontario it was called God's country. She arrived in 1980, and it took four years to adjust to life in the big city of Toronto and she is now celebrating 27 years in Ontario.

Frances lived in a foster home between the ages of 2-12. To her, life was an adventure and she knew at a very young age that she wanted to help people. She moved to Montreal at the age of 30. Her parents own a hotel, one of the memorial moments was when Pierre Elliott Trudeau visited with Margaret and Justine whne he was but 2 weeks old..

In 1990 Frances met Leslie Vancer who changed her life. She inherited a ready-made family, three children and an ex-wife and now has five glorious grandchildren. Leslie is a CMA; he started his own business in 1982.

Frances is an artist; she paints portraits in her spare time. She loves gardening, loves to see things grow. Education became important to her at age 30 when she moved to Montreal and needed an education to excel .

At age 58 Frances went back to George Brown College and completed a Career and Work Counsellor Program and received her diploma in 1998. She is a life long learner and is still studying at Wilfred Laurier university towards a degree in psychology

Frances spent 30 years in human resources and most of the time coaching managers to recognize the talent in people they had on staff. She also teaches managers to recognize "stars in their midst" and use them as models for hiring other people. She uses psychometric tools for assessment such as the Myer Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) and EQ-i

Debbie grew up in Palgrave, Ontario. She graduated from the University of Toronto and her first job was with her father's newspaper. Debbie has a 12 yr old son who is looking into getting into Mayfield as an artist. She began working at the YMCA in 1983 as a riding camp instructor, then director of the camp. She became a Regional Program Director in 1990, in Brampton.

Debbie is now the General Manager of the Brampton YMCA and has been there since 1983. YMCA is among the most recognized brands in the world. YMCA means helping people. Their mission is a charity offering opportunities for personal growth. The YMCA has been in Brampton for over 40 yrs, the new Y is located at 20 Union St, Brampton and has been there for almost 10 yrs.

Rotary Club contributed the pool and over 1200 kids use it on a weekly basis; there are over 9000 members, 15% on assistance, 250 volunteers and over 600 donors.

Badar thanked Frances and Debbie for their very informative talks.