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Team Nonni is ready to walk the Walk
ents” and Team Nonni is named in honour of Herrington’s Nonna (grandmother) and Nonno (grandfather), who have both been diagnosed with the early stages of Alzheim- er’s disease. Draper and McGaughey are daughters to Nonna and Nonno. The degenerative neurological condi- tion is one of the most common forms of dementia in seniors. It results in gradual memory loss, starting with the short-term memory but progressing through the lon- ger-term permanent memory. The advance stages of the disease result in confusion for the person afflicted and also the chance of mood swings and chang- es in personality. Herrington’s nonna developed Alzheim- er’s five years ago. Nonna realized some- thing was wrong when she went for her usual visit with her dressmaker and then realized that she had forgotten who the person was. “She (nonna) still recognizes us,” said Her- rington, regarding her grandmother’s con- dition now five years later. “It’s her imme- diate memory that suffers. Her long-term memory is okay.” Because of Nonna’s condition, the family was better able to recognize the signs of Alzheimer’s setting in for their Nonno when he was diagnosed with the disease last year. He also is in the early-onset stage when his short-term memory is not as perfect as it once was but he knows all of his children and grandchildren and is able to handle day-to-day affairs much as before. The family, with the support and agree- ment of their nonni, have a part-time home caregiver in place to assist the two seniors. Family members are also ready and avail- able as much as possible to help their Non- na and Nonno and spend time with them. But they all want to do more. Which is how Team Nonni was born. “We started out small,” said Herrington, regarding the pledge goal when the team began to form. “We looked at raising $500. But we got that quickly, so then we decided on $1500, and as of now we have about $1300 in pledges, so nowwe’re shooting for a $2000 goal.” Most of the pledges are coming through the Team Nonni Facebook page and emails to Herrington and the other teammembers. Team Nonni is also listed on the Alzheimer’s Society’s Walk for Memories website. The focus now for the trio is divided be- tween spending time with Nonna and Nonno, collecting more pledges, and train- ing for theWalk of Memories rally weekend. “After I had my second child, my goal was to start running,” Herrington said. “I would like to run as much as I can of this walk.” She’s already tested out her stamina by taking part in one of the 5K Army Runs in Ottawa. “It was crazy. Unreal. It was so much fun” “I did a five-kilometre run a few years ago,” said McGaughey.“I ampretty active, do a lot of walking.” “I do mostly walking,” said Draper, adding that she is one of the regular mall-walkers at the St. Laurent Mall in Ottawa. “We’re all looking forward to doing this as a team.” Pledge sheets for Team Nonni are at Clar- ence-Rockland Arena. Look them up on Facebook and on the Walk for Memories website. The Rockland Walk for Memories for Alzheimer’s is Jan. 25, 9 to 11 a.m. at the arena’s mezzanine.
GREGGCHAMBERLAIN gregg.chamberlain@eap.on.ca
ROCKLAND | This trio of ladies have a spe- cial way to remind their nonna and nonno how much they are loved. The core of Team Nonni is Melissa Her- rington, Patricia Draper, and Luciana Mc- Gaughey. The Rockland ladies along with several other family members and friends are taking part in the Alzheimer’s Society’s annual Walk for Memories pledge drive Jan. 25 in the Clarence-Rockland Arena’s mezza- nine area. “It’s all family and friends for us,” said Her- rington, adding that right now the team complement is close to a dozen. “So far,” she added, with a grin. Nonni is the Italian word for “grandpar-
Team Nonni: Luciana McGaughey (left), Melissa Harrington, and Patricia Draper.
As President of the Board of Directors of Valoris for Children and Adults of Prescott-Russell, I am pleased to announce the appointment of Ms. Hélène Fournier to the role of Executive Director. Ms. Fournier will succeed to Mr. Raymond Lemay whose term as Executive Director comes to an end on July 31, 2014. Mr. Lemay will continue his work as director of our related agencies Solution-s and Valor Institute and will also remain active in the field through various managerial projects. He will officially be retiring on December 31, 2014. V ALORIS ANNOUNCES THE APPOINTMENT OF ITS NEW E XECUTIVE D IRECTOR
Ms. Fournier has over 25 years of cumulative experience with the Children’s Aid Society of Ottawa and with Prescott-Russell CAS, now part of our multiservice agency. Throughout her career in human services, she occupied many roles in the field, including: educator, social worker, supervisor, director of Services and, since 2010, director of Operations. She has extensive experience in the functioning of a social work agency, and has played a key role in the creation and development of the Valoris service model.
Ms. Fournier holds a Bachelor of Social Sciences with a concentration in Criminology from the University of Ottawa, a Bachelor of Social Work from Université du Québec en Outaouais and a Master of Social Work from Laval University. Over the years, Ms. Fournier participated in many executive education andmanagement training events, including at Massachusetts Institute of Technology Sloan School of Management with Dr. Peter Senge, at Queen’s School of Business, at HEC Montréal which is affiliated with l’Université de Montréal and at Schulich School of Business at York University. Upon her arrival in the United Counties of Prescott-Russell in 1998, she was hired as a supervisor at the CAS and, since then, she has worked on several major projects. t She was temporarily seconded to the Ministry of Community and Social Services for the province of Ontario and was responsible of the review and adaptation of child welfare training manuals. t She was the Ontario representative in the Ontario-Quebec-New-Brunswick project to adapt and translate “The Field Guides to ChildWelfare”, a four volume manual that was instrumental in the child welfare service reforms in the three provinces. t She contributed to the development of the evaluation tool “Quality of Life Conditions and Experiences (QLCE)”, published by Valor Press in 2009. t She established a leadership college program in order to contribute to the professional development of Valoris’ employees and to insure succession within the organization. t She developed and provided, on many occasions, training on governance issues for a project funded by the Ontario Ministry of Finance. t She played a major role in the development of an integrated approach system at Valoris, particularly for the first integrated intake program. t She actively took part in many projects managed by the Ontario directors of Service, including the revision of standards for children in care. t She was President and Past-President of the Board of Directors for Valor Institute and, up to recently, she was responsible for the Crown Ward Education Championship Team and first generation projects. The nomination of Ms. Fournier comes after a lengthy selection process and a succession plan that was approved in 2006. She has been preparing for this role for a number of years. Ms. Fournier will officially take office as Executive Director on August 1 st , 2014. The members of the Board of Directors would like to sincerely thank Mr. Lemay for his significant contributions to Valoris and to the community of Prescott-Russell over his fruitful career. We are very pleased to welcome Ms. Fournier in her new role and we wish her all the best. We are confident that with her vast experience, training and leadership skills, she will be able to address the challenges ahead.
Jean-Yves Léonard President
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