Our Featured Celebration

Shakespeare had his sonnets, the Japanese their Haiku, and the Irish their limericks. Somewhat less famed but surely no less worthy was the late Edmund Clerihew Bentley, (the mustachioed gentlemen scowling above) justly revered and remembered each July 10th for the invention of the poetic form that bears his name. A “clerihew” is a four-line poem, always biographical, with the rhyme structure AABB and no particular meter. The first line must always contain the subject’s name. A few examples:

NEW BEGINNINGS

Stonecircle researcher Kory Goulais will have a welcome opportunity to do some work close to his old stomping grounds in Nipissing. After helping Wahnapitae First Nation successfully apply for funding from INAC, Kory and Alex Ker will be assisting the community as it develops new administrative and finance codes.

ONGOING PROJECTS

The Two T Team, Terry Rudden and Terry Forth, (not to be confused with the Tootoo Team) continued their work on the development of a Communication Plan for the NCC Investment Group. This project is part of an overall effort to provide a broad communication strategy to assist the Investment Group with their transition and expansion from primarily a construction firm to a property management company with a major development focus.

Greg Smith was in Iqaluit to attend a Steering Committee meeting for the Nunavut Community Wellness Project, and had to opportunity to visit with Aarluk partner Helen Klengenberg and friends. Pictured here at a somewhat chilly barbecue out at Helen’s tent are Kataisee Atagutsiak, Edna Elias, Agnes Ayalik, Helen Klengenberg, Greg Smith and Megan Klengenberg.

HAPPY ENDINGS

Jennifer David, Kory Goulais and Ron Ryan participated in the development of a report to ECO Canada, Canada’s environmental sector council. Through interviews and focus groups with Aboriginal employers, the team compiled feedback on ECO Canada’s suite of training programs under the BEAHR (Building Environmental Aboriginal Human Resources) initiative. The project was subcontracted to Stonecircle by AECOM, one of Canada’s leading environmental consulting companies.

The National Centre for First Nations Governance (NCFNG) is a national, independent not-for profit organization, mandated to support First Nations as they implement self-governance and develop day-to-day government operations. Jennifer David and Terry Rudden provided a Findings Report to the National Centre for First Nations governance as part of a Communications Review for that organization. NCFNG is looking at its communication policies, processes, messages and materials. Stonecircle conducted a survey, completed a number of interviews, and reviewed corporate documents, policies and procedures to prepare the report.

Founded in 1987 in Ottawa as a community-based counselling and resource centre, Tunngasuvvingat Inuit (TI) provides social support for Inuit living outside of Inuit Nunaat. TI helps Inuit adjust to southern urban culture, provides vocational and employment advice, assists with family and personal difficulties, counsels and makes referrals for those requesting assistance in dealing with substance abuse, provides personal financial management information and counselling, and sets up cultural and recreational programs. The team of Chuck Gilhuly, Galin Kora and Terry Rudden carried out an organizational audit to assist TI in identifying its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and challenges. Based on the recommendations in the organizational audit, Chuck facilitated a planning session with the Board of Directors where recommendations were prioritized and implementation plans were developed and approved.

Valerie Assinewe successfully facilitated a meeting back in March for our winner of the organization with the longest acronym, and submitted her final report this past week. The COSEWIC ATK SC (translated as the Committee on the Status of Wildlife in Canada, Aboriginal Traditional Knowledge Sub-committee—now you see why it needs the acronym) was looking at ways to better integrate Aboriginal traditional knowledge into the assessment of endangered wildlife species.

 

BIRTHDAYS

 

 

Chuck’s tenth annual 35th birthday will be marked this month by a day of feasting and fireworks in the new Consilium parking lot, and a three day holiday for all staff. Right, Chuck?

GOSSIP

Tungasuvvingat Inuit held its 8th Annual Charity Golf Classic on Friday, June 25th, 2010 and, once again, Consilium was there as a sponsor and enthusiastic supporter. As noted earlier in the newsletter, this is just one more area where TI has achieved growing success over the years; this year had a record 128 golfers registered. Not only was the weather spectacular but so was the golf (at least, so we were told by other teams). Our team of Victor Tootoo, Ron Ryan, Chuck Gilhuly and guest pro Peter Taptuna, had a very respectable result and a lot of fun.

And, speaking of spectacular, the evening’s guest speaker, Susan Aglukark, performed several of her hits and gave her own personal thanks to TI and Executive Director Morgan Hare, who she credited with being critically important to her successful transition from a small community in Nunavut to a big city in the south. Susan is volunteering her time as Chair of the Arctic Children and Youth Foundation and one of their main sponsors TIM HORTON’s not only sent a representative, but lots of donuts and coffee. A great day for everyone and a lot of money raised for some very important programs.

CCG now has four employees on the track to become Certified Management Consultants, a designation with the Canadian Association of Management Consultants. Christian Cloutier took a gruelling four month, online Introduction to Consulting course that caused him some sleepless nights. Jennifer David and Galin Kora opted for the somewhat less gruelling three-day, intensive course instead, and will be following up with a Project Management course later this month. Chuck Gilhuly, attempting to remain completely ungruelled, is awaiting a review by the Association’s Accreditation Committee on his application to the Executive Stream based on his many years of consulting experience.

 

“What I did on my summer vacation, by Chris Grosset”.  For a change of pace from the typical camping or lakeside holiday, this year Chris decided to learn how to operate a mini excavator on his holidays.  In just one week he progressed from whip-lash inducing, spasmodic digging to a virtuoso of the backhoe.  Flush with success, he undertook an extreme garden makeover in my backyard, digging ditches, holes, and sculpting new garden beds. Although he admits that he was, in fact, excavating a former creek in his backyard the day the earthquake shook Eastern Ontario, he wants you all to know that he emphatically disavows any responsibility.  

THE CLOSER

Recent changes to the Ontario Occupational Health and Safety Act prompted our Workplace Safety Committee to review our management practices in several key areas. As you read last month, our Cobra-Repelling protocols are in place, and our Earthquake Management Procedures were tested this week and proved most efficacious. However, Ontario’s new regulations draw attention to one area in which many small corporations are woefully deficient: the critical question of Zombie Security.

As a service to our clients and friends, we are pleased to present some of the key considerations that should be part of any well considered Ontario Workplace Zombie Prevention Policy.

A) Know Your Reserves.

We all know that a Zombie infestation can involve extended periods barricaded into offices. Be aware of which of your fellow employees has a stash of granola bars, Hawkins Cheezies, or those disgusting little one-serving yogurt packages. Consilium Tip: Do your best to get barricaded in Jennifer David’s office, home of the Junk Food Drawer.

B) Know Your Weaponry.

We will assume most of our readers are familiar with the basics of Zombie incapacitation (one word hint – “brains”.) Since most offices do not stock heavy calibre weapons, a prudent manager will inventory common workplace materiel that can contribute to effective Zombie defense – snow shovels, bricks, Grosset’s backhoe. Consilium Tip: Many Zombie Defence specialists recommend golf clubs, with a strong preference for a good, solid number three wood. So if you’re going to get trapped, get trapped with Ron Ryan. (Above: Ron and Chuck discuss the finer points of a 3-wood Zombie defence.)

C) Know your Zombies

There are a number of key variables in any zombie scenario, as we all know – means of contagion, proximity of shopping malls, number of pump action shotguns concealed in desks, etc. But it’s essential to identify the specific type of Zombie infesting your workplace before taking action. The slow-moving shamblers are clumsy, stupid, and relatively easy to avoid; simply leave the building (don’t forget your laptop – no reason that half hour waiting for the police should go to waste!) Somewhat more dangerous are the newer, faster Zombies, which can actually move fairly quickly and display signs of rudimentary intelligence; best to take shelter. Consilium Tip: Fortunately it’s easy to distinguish between the two different categories: the slower, more primitive zombies tend to be in black and white, while the newer ones are in colour. (above: Jennifer Bradshaw conducts the essential monthly inspection of the Consilium Zombie Shelter).

 

CHECK BACK EVERY MONTH FOR MORE CONSILIUM, STONECIRCLE AND AARLUK NEWS, TOOLS, AND GOSSIP.

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