For the past five years, Lesley Gaudry’s office at the RM of Ritchot has been a hub of activity. As Community Economic Development Officer (CEDO), she’s acted as communicator, networker, researcher, and facilitator of economic development for the municipality. She’s worked alongside council, the Chamber of Commerce, local business owners, and municipal staff.
On December 7, Gaudry spent her last day as an RM employee. Due to her hard work and dedication, the municipality benefited from government funding she’d spent hours poring over paperwork for and enjoyed amenities that came to the region as a result of her diligence. Without question, she will be missed.
Gaudry’s passion for economic development hasn’t diminished, though. She’s simply decided to broaden the scope of her reach by taking on the position of manager for the Economic Developers Association of Manitoba (EDAM). In this new role, Gaudry will be overseeing the non-profit organization’s mandate of being a resource for all economic development officers in the province. She’ll be busy with conferences, team-building, and training programs—just for starters.
“A lot of EDOs come from other sectors and industry and then come into the role…so [we’re here] to help people with very practical information and principals and case study examples to help them in their position,” says Gaudry.
She adds that EDAM is also there for municipal councils and staff who wish to learn more about community economic development. Gaudry will be replacing long-time manager Shelley Morris and she’ll have the advantage of working from her home office in St. Adolphe when she’s not travelling around Manitoba for board meetings and conferences.
But the EDAM position is only part-time, meaning Gaudry will have additional hours to pursue other passions, such as research and writing. Ohana Writing Services is the name of Gaudry’s new business. Her ambition is to garner contracts to write family historical books, keepsake books for new parents, and memorial and commemorative books for families who have lost loved ones.
Along with that, Gaudry wants to continue her work in community history, heritage and tourism projects, special interest projects, and compassionate writing which includes obituaries.
“An area that I’m really interested in… is compassionate writing, which is working with people who have been deemed end-of-life term or in palliative care,” Gaudry says. “There’s situations where families are so busy looking after their loved one that they don’t have the time or energy to capture some stories and memories and thoughts… or getting that down into some kind of booklet for the loved ones after the time of passing.”
And this is where Gaudry’s business name really says it all. Ohana means family in the Hawaiian language. But according to Gaudry, the term is also used more broadly to encompass friends, neighbours, and the greater human family.
“It’s all about trying to collect and keepsake those memories and stories,” she adds. “My hope is to grow [the business] slowly. I’m already pretty much booked up with contracts from January to June.”
But it’s not all nose-to-the-grindstone for Gaudry. She anticipates having more time for her own family during this next phase of her career. She’s already booked a winter holiday in Hawaii with her mother, working on creating lasting memories of her own.
“I’m super thankful to have been able to serve with the community of Ritchot for the last five years,” says Gaudry. “I’m very thankful to the staff that I’ve worked with [as well as] council and the CAO for the support that they’ve given community economic development. We’re very fortunate. Not all municipalities support economic development like Ritchot has chosen to. Being able to serve in that role has been awesome.”
She adds that she’ll especially miss sharing office space with Recreation Director Amber Mamchuk who she’s worked closely with during her years at the RM office. She’s thankful, too, for the support that staff and council have demonstrated in her decision to move on.
Gaudry concludes by adding that she’s leaving the RM of Ritchot with mixed emotions.
“It’s going to be very hard to leave here,” she says. “I’m very passionate about our communities, so it’s going to be very hard to say goodbye, but I’m not going to be too far away. You’ll probably still see me at the seniors’ dinner every Thursday.”
