Victoria’s Read

If someone knows how to wear many hats and manage them well, its Sherry St. Denis. Sherry’s roles include: wife, mother, friend, Chairman of the Board with the MFRC, estimator with Walkers’ Moving and Storage and representative with Primerica Financial Services, to name a few.

The St. Denis family moved to North Bay in 1985. Sherry’s married, has 2 children and helped raise a third, 2 now in University and 1 still in high school.

Sherry and her husband Claude were both members of the Canadian Military when they moved here. Since then, Sherry has resigned from the military life in one way and has become involved in another.

For the last 8 years, Sherry’s been with the Military Family Resource Center, the first year as a volunteer and then working her way up to being Chairman of the Board. Sherry really enjoys working with the MFRC as it makes her feel good to help other military families with issues that only military families have to deal with.
Sherry also works for Walkers Moving and Storage as an estimator and has worked with them for the last 4 years. This job involves travelling to peoples’ homes and giving them an estimate on what it would cost for them to have Walkers’ move them. Sherry is often surprised at how little people think a move will cost and advises people to err on the side of overestimating what they think it will cost rather than underestimate it.

This job varies in intensity with the seasons, spring and summers being the busiest, fall and winter being the slowest. This tapering off of business gives Sherry the opportunity to also to pursue a part-time career with Primerica Financial Services.

She is also very involved with her teenage son, often dropping him off and picking him up for football practice.

Sherry is very well organized – she has to be! – to manage her busy lifestyle. Sherry is down to earth with a great sense of humour. Anyone lucky enough to get to know Sherry is drawn to her and is fortunate to be a friend of hers.

By Michelle Lashbrock

Donna Stratton was born and raised in Sudbury, Ontario. “I am the last of seven children. I’m pretty sure that I’m an afterthought though since there are quite a few years between my sister and I.” Donna’s father died at a young age, leaving her oldest brother to fill the role. “My brother just knew what needed to be done and did it.”

After following her sister to North Bay, Donna met her future husband. “I was cooking at the Highwayman restaurant and Brian would always come by.”

Brian was from Redbridge and it is there that the couple began their life together. Donna and Brian have been married now for 20 years and have three children. “I love living in the country. It’s quiet and I have deer in my backyard. It is perfect.”

Donna was fortunate enough to be a stay-at-home mom to her son and twin girls. She was a continuous volunteer at the Phelps school while the children grew. “I was known as the lice lady.”

Donna felt that it was important to educate her children on the importance of volunteering in their community, as well. “My family supplies the blueberries every year to the Phelps Golden Age Club for their pancake breakfasts.” Donna chose to help this club because of their devotion to the community. “The Golden Age Club is always there for our community so we wanted to give back.”

A year ago, Donna Stratton decided to re-enter the work force. “Once all the kids left home, I needed something to do.” She gained employment at the Redbridge General Store. “Brian and Sigrun are great people to work for. We all fit well.” Donna admits that her past experiences working at Tim Horton’s and as a bartender was beneficial to her job at the General Store. “I learned to stand on my feet for a long period of time and how to deal with the public.” For a woman who likes change, this job was a good match.

Donna is also an avid gardener. “Besides taking care of my own flower and vegetable gardens, I also start tomato plants for other people.”

When Donna isn’t getting dirt under her fingernails, she also enjoys playing in her three fresh water aquariums.

Written by: Victoria Reed

Professional, experienced, friendly and community oriented.  These are only a few of the many words that can be used to describe Liz Brazeau, the new Area Coordinator for the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Ontario North Bay area office.

After many years as an Administrator in the mining sector, Liz worked her way up through the ranks to become an HR Generalist. A mother of two – Melissa and Micheal, she will celebrate her 28th Wedding Anniversary with her husband Renald Brazeau in July. They have called North Bay home since 1985 and it is a decision that they have never regretted.

After learning she had high blood pressure, Liz decided to make some changes in her life to become a healthier person. When asked about her motivation for these changes she responded, “I looked at my health as a whole and decided that it was time to get serious and make some changes. I lost weight and became more physically active. The offshoot of this has been that I no longer have high blood pressure, I’m healthier and happier.”

Liz was a volunteer with the Heart and Stroke Foundation of North Bay for a number of months prior to accepting the Area Coordinator position. She decided to volunteer with the Heart and Stroke Foundation because she wanted to volunteer somewhere her skills would be best utilized and felt Heart and Stroke was a good fit. As Area Coordinator, her personal mandate is to raise awareness about the importance of the prevention of Heart Disease and Stroke everywhere, but in particular here in North Bay. She plans on reaching the community by talking to everyone she meets, the written word, or by whatever forum is available to her to get the word out.

“The individuals within the Heart and Stroke Foundation are caring and supportive”, said Liz. “They do whatever they can to help individuals succeed in their role within the organization.  They are friendly and fun. This is “key” in any organization to get the most from the people you are working with. I look forward to being part of this wonderful group of people for some time to come.”

Written By
Marjorie Kelly
Volunteer Coordinator
The Heart and Stroke Foundation of North Bay

By Michelle Lashbrook

Stephanie Wilson is one dynamic woman. She’s 36 years old (she doesn’t look it!) and fills many different roles, as most women do.  She’s a wife, a mother of two beautiful daughters, a business owner, and a piano teacher. 

Stephanie moved to Corbeil in July of 2005 with her husband Richard and eldest daughter Gabrielle (now 3 years old).  A year later, her youngest daughter Alexandra was born (now 2 years old).

Stephanie’s husband Richard is with the Canadian Armed Forces, and at the end of August will finally be returning home from his second tour in Afghanistan. As Richard has been gone for extended periods, Stephanie needed to find ways to fill in the time, something to keep her busy.  This is very common with military spouses.

Stephanie bought Video Fever in the strip mall in Callander on Main Street in November 2007. She loves owning her own business and can be found greeting customers with a big smile.  She’s very helpful when it comes to recommending movies that one would enjoy and that would be great for the whole family versus great for adults only. 

Stephanie also teaches piano lessons in her home, her students ranging in age from young children to adults.  My son Michael is one of her students and I can say from first hand experience that Stephanie’s way of teaching is great: she always encourages in a positive way, is very patient, and even though she is very professional she never lose’s her sense of humour.  Recently, Stephanie held a recital in her home for 5 of her children students and it was great. The atmosphere that she fosters is one of relaxation, friendliness, and openness.  After all the children had played, Stephanie treated us to a song that she played, and I must say it was a joy to watch her play the piano: one can certainly tell that she loves what she is doing. 

So if you’re in the mood for a movie, wander over to Video Fever.  Ever thought about taking piano lessons? Give Stephanie a call at 752-3417.