Bonjour à tous, good day everyone!
Once again, a heartfelt congratulations to LCol (Ret’d) Shelley Gosselin for a very successful and impressive 10-year as President of the NSAC – Ottawa Unit. We owe a debt of gratitude to Shelley for all the positive changes made during her tenure and for leading with grace and compassion. Her level of personal engagement was truly extraordinary, setting the bar high for any successor coming in after her.
It is an immense pleasure and honour for me to follow in her footsteps and become President of this prestigious Association, and build on her important legacy. I have given some thought as to the direction I would like to take with the Association, and have identified some initial Lines of Efforts to use as a guide.
LINES OF EFFORT
Advocacy. Champion the interest of our members and raise the profile and awareness of the Association.
Comfort and Friendship. Bring comfort, care and friendship to those going through hardship, health problems or isolation.
Connection. Foster connections by increasing our membership and luncheon attendance, allowing more nurses to reconnect, rekindle friendships and support each other.
Communication. Inform members of our activities and of Veteran-related events, policies, resources, and services available to them, as well as explore various communication tools to improve our reach.
Partnership. Explore opportunities for partnerships with other Veteran organizations and other agencies that would benefit the NSAC and our members.
Remembrance. Champion our military nursing history and remember those before us, recognizing sacrifices and celebrating the extraordinary.
I look forward to hearing your perspectives and ideas on the way forward.
RECENT EVENTS
At the risk of repeating some info that was provided in Shelley’s Farewell email, here is a brief summary of the events that took place in the last two weeks, with pictures included below.
2024 Veteran Recipient of the City of Ottawa Street Naming Ceremony
On 6 Nov, Maj (Ret’d) Glenys Elliott, Capt (Ret’d) Nicole Lachance and I had the privilege of attending this special ceremony held at City Hall honouring the late LCol (Ret’d) Jessie Chenevert, a Korean War Veterran being recognized as a trailblazer for women and nurses in the Forces. Jessie’s street or more accurately her “Walk” will be located in Riverside South. We couldn’t be more pleased and proud of her.
Remembrance Day Luncheon and Farewell to our President
We gathered once again at the Algonquin College Restaurant International on 7 Nov to commemorate Remembrance Day and pay tribute to Nursing Sisters/ Officers for their service, courage and sacrifice.
As you know this luncheon was also our opportunity to celebrate retired LCol Gosselin and thank her for her outstanding leadership and dedication. I agree that the luncheon was a success, with enough time for a talk on Estate Planning, pause for commemoration, enjoying excellent food and conversation, getting an update on the Association, thanking our Outgoing Social Convenor Capt (Re’t) Diane Saxberg and welcoming her successor Linda Jackson, thanking our Outgoing President with special messages and gifts, and lastly the change in leadership. A very ambitious schedule of events, but we got through it! It was a team effort with the Exec Cttee working hard in preparation for this event and helping it run smoothly – thank you team!!! And it was so good to see everyone again!
The highlight for me was Shelley’s very inspiring and heartfelt speech at the end of the luncheon; I encourage you to watch her video if you can, it is a good reminder of why the Association was established and why it has stood the test of time, of wars, and even a pandemic. I have enclosed some of the messages that Shelley received that were read at the Farewell.
Remembrance Day – NSAC Wreath Laying
It was an honour for me to lay the Nursing Sisters’ Association of Canada wreath at the National War Memorial, paying tribute to all the nurses that have served and sacrificed so much for our nation. Thank you all for your service and dedication to Canada!
Lest We Forget – Souvenons-nous
Capt Kathleen Nguyen made us all very proud as this year’s Nursing Officer Sentry, selected and honoured for her dedication, professionalism and performance in service to Canada.
REMINDERS
For those that aren’t aware, there is a Canadian Forces Nursing Officer Facebook page that you can join to stay informed about what is happening within the Nursing Occupation in the CAF. The NSAC Ottawa Unit (and other Units across Canada) use this Fb page on occasion to post about our events, or sadly, the passing of a military nurse.
Please let us know of any member that might be going through hardship or is housebound and would benefit from our support.
We would love to see more nurses who wore or currently wear the uniform join our group, so please talk about us to others and let us know who might be interested, we will happily help them register with us.
If you know anyone that has the skills to create and maintain a web page, please refer them to me, I would love to have a chat!
Thank you for your continued membership, I look forward to working with you to promote and champion the NSAC, and to spending some memorable times together!
Warmest regards, à la prochaine!
Gisèle
Gisèle Fontaine MSC, CD, RN, CHE
Colonel (Retraitée / Retired)
Présidente / President
Association des infirmières et infirmiers militaires du Canada – Filiale Ottawa
Nursing Sisters’ Association of Canada -Ottawa Unit