Virtual Shout-Outs Inbox Flooded this Spring

April 2021 – Defence Stories

Do you know of a co-worker who deserves a special shout-out or are you looking for a way to recognize someone who has made an impact, big or small? Virtual Shout-Outs are a quick and easy way for you to publicly recognize a colleague, or team of colleagues, for a job well done.

Here’s how to submit a Virtual Shout-out:

• Email your shout-outs to the Corporate Awards and Recognition Secretariat and
• Provide the email(s) of the person(s) being recognized.
• Shout-outs are collected on an ongoing basis.

Note that shout-out recipients will be given the option to “opt out” of having their message displayed on the Bulletin Board (accessible only on the National Defence network) on the Maple Leaf and the Defence Team intranet, and submissions can remain anonymous.

Don’t delay! Virtually shout-out your hard-working colleagues today!

April 25, 2022

Bravo to Vanessa Parent for her dedication to the Civilian Human Resources team of the Canadian Forces Leadership and Recruit School (CFLRS). Thank you for agreeing to take on the new assistant duties! You are a definite asset to the CFLRS and Civilian HR. Keep up the good work! – Nathalie Barile

My team would like to submit the following message as a shout-out to DDFP Team member, Estelle Scantland:

The DDFP Team would like to recognize one of our own for her outstanding contributions and tireless efforts, to provide excellent support to ever-increasing change management requirements to enable the Defence Team, in her as DND/CAF Organization and Establishment Coordinator, executing duties at the L1/L0.5 and L0.

Throughout the professional and personal challenges of the COVID environment, Estelle consistently rose to meet and surpass all  expectations, delivering impressive results to support key strategic initiatives such as the establishment of the new CPCC, the Annual Master Data Review, and the proactive identification and clean-up of the Defence Team Guardian organization structure. Extremely knowledgeable, well researched, and reliable, her impressive abilities have positively impacted not only our DDFP team, but the VCDS group, and institution writ large. Keen to contribute, Estelle’s professional drive and curiosity combined with her very specialized skill-set within the Organization and Establishment Community, and very personable nature, have cemented her tremendous value to the Defence Team. Insatiable, she continuously looks for additional responsibilities, or ways to further support her colleagues, to better the defence community.

As an example of her continued positive impact, Estelle leaned forward in advance of CAF Reconstitution effort to personally review the entirety of the Guardian organizational structure data, which included all active 1390 Departmental Identifiers, corrected Invalid data across the DND/CAF establishment, representing over 4170 lines of entry. This foundational work will set proper conditions within the system of record to support further Reconstitution efforts as part of the Establishment review process. 

On behalf of the entire Defence Team, we thank you Estelle for your continued positive and meaningful contributions to DND/CAF. Bravo Zulu! – Melanie Boileau

To the Pools & Inventories team: Allison Hynes, Rajneet Sanghera, Devin Carrothers, Gisele Conway. Ever since this new team has been stood up 6 months ago, you all contributed in your own way to make it what it is now: a success! You keep amazing me every day with your strong work ethics, willingness to improve, collaboration, and innovative ideas. I am so proud to be leading such a great team. Thank you! - Ève Tellier-Bonnier

I would like to send a virtual shout out to LCol Paul King.  I began working with Paul virtually about a year or so ago.  We were both involved in HR and then were tasked with putting a contract together.  Neither of us was5very confident in what we were doing as we had never done contracting before. We persevered, step by step, email by email, and one hurdle after another.  He was always so helpful and kind. We are still dealing with the same contract today, but it has almost been completed! Paul’s ongoing support with this has been very much appreciated.  It has been a such a pleasure to work with him!  We have yet to meet in person (Thank you COVID), but hopefully, one day, we will. – Carolyn Campbell

I would like to recognize Becca Goodwin for all the extra activities that she has arranged to keep our moral up during this trying time. Your hard work is truly appreciated here at RPOU Det Wainwright .Keep up the good work. – Corrie Barkley

I would love to Shout Out Cpl Michelle Eddy. Michelle is someone who has never hesitated to help a co-worker in need or volunteer her time.  Whether at work or after, from making cakes or treats to helping events run smoothly.  She is always cheerful and approachable, a truly uplifting person to be around and have on your team.  Thank you for your hard work and dedication to your job and fellow teammates. – Jamey Hayden

I would like to send a Virtual Shout Out to the Cadets and Junior Canadian Rangers (CJCR) – Acquisitions and Contracts Section staff, whom I have the pleasure of being the Manager since the beginning of the pandemic. Humberto Martinez-Torres, Svitlana (Lana) Vynnyk and Christopher (Chris) Finnigan, are civilian employees whom are continuously going above and beyond their daily duties as Procurement Officers and they demonstrate outstanding flexibility during these unprecedented times. Their professionalism, dedication to their work and ongoing support to our clients has an invaluable effect on our section workload and a very positive impact within the CJCR. A HUGE THANK YOU Humberto, Lana and Chris for taking such pride in your work, as I always say, I have the Best Team a Manager can ask for and you all make me a better Leader, great work! – Mélanie Larocque, Acquisitions & Contracts Manager / Cadets and Junior Canadian Rangers.

The Valcartier Research Centre would like to acknowledge Melanie Dean’s invaluable contribution in setting up the new DRDC Official Languages Training Program.

In addition to making a huge contribution to its development and presenting it to the people in charge of each Research Centre, Melanie also took the time to

• personally respond to a large number of enquiries about the Program, in addition to her regular workload;
• create and present an explanatory document in French about the Program, specifically for all employees of the Valcartier Research Centre; and
• sit down with the people responsible for implementing the Valcartier Research Centre’s Program to clarify, revise and reformulate some aspects of the Program that they had trouble grasping.

All of this went far beyond her mandate, and she did it with refreshing willingness and cheerfulness.

Thanks to Melanie and her outstanding commitment, the new DRDC Official Languages Training Program has been thoroughly understood and will be implemented efficiently. - Fanny Graham

I would like to send a virtual shout out to Cpl Patrick Gonzales (soon to be MCpl Gonzales, I hope!) We have been experiencing trying times at the Yukon Galley with sorely inadequate infrastructure and lake of safe work environment.  Throughout the ongoing renovations, Cpl Gonzales (or Gonzo as he is informally referred to) has maintained a professional and positive attitude and worked to help ensure the smooth operation to the unit.  His moustache also defies gravity although one would not know since we are wearing masks! – Colin Williams

In recognition for her hard work and dedication to the HR Connect RH Team, I would like to say thank you to Caroline Beaulieu! Caroline has shown tremendous dedication to the team, has overseen 100% completion of PMAs under her responsibility, and continues to go above and beyond to ensure that the team is set up for success. – April Ryan

 I would like to send a BIG Shout Out to the Privacy Incident Management Team at the Directorate Access to Information and Privacy (DAIP). I am honoured to work with a such fine group of professionals. Bev Grant, Christine Marshall and Lori Ann Russett routinely demonstrate their commitment to excellence and dedication to duty. They consistently work to resolve allegations of privacy breaches on behalf of individuals who express concern for the proper management of their personal information. Bev provides guidance and oversight for the privacy incident management process from the point of receipt to the drafting of the final determination report. She consistently ensures a high standard of client service and strives to ensure everyone understands their legal obligations under the Privacy Act. The team demonstrates professionalism in their interactions with colleagues and clients alike; and they possess a genuine desire to help people to resolve the key concern at hand. This year they have worked hard to close an amazing number of complaint files. For the first year ever, the team successfully closed more complaint files than were received. This includes a number of complex complaint files originating from the Office of the Privacy Commissioner. Their due diligence in their research and strong analytical skills has resulted in the successful resolution of privacy breach complaints. A job well done team! Please keep up the excellent work! – Lisa Carozza

A massive virtual shout-out to the DGMPD/DMPS Comptroller, Nadine Racine for her steady, candid and stellar support to the PFMs of Army projects throughout the last FY 21-22. Nadine’s positive attitude and her team’s expertise and accessibility go a long way in helping to ensure PFMs have the necessary support to be effective in their roles.

The respect and dedication you have shown to your clients speak volumes about yourself, both as Section Head of the FI team, but also as an individual. I want to highlight especially the excellent work done by your team for the long standing Medium Support Vehicle System (MSVS) project.

You have been instrumental in helping the PFM team achieve both financial close-out of all the project completed activities, and the transition to the EMT, as of April FY 22-23. This has been an exceptional team effort, a huge amount of financial work, to arrive at the end.

Nadine, I thank you very much for your expert guidance throughout the Transition/close out phase of the MSVS project. We are incredibly lucky to have you as Comptroller, and we wish you continued success in your role!” – Fausta Delbeau and Team

DIAP would like to nominate Scott Liang. Scott has been instrumental in maintaining a great relationship with the Office of the Information Commissioner (OIC), and in managing the priorities of Access to Information Complaint files. Maintaining regular, open communication with his counterparts in the OIC have put DND in a good position. His efforts have been recognized by management and the OIC, and are greatly appreciated!  Well done, and thank you Scott!

DGMS would like to nominate the Governance team for rethinking the delivery of L0 committee meetings in a virtual environment. The team worked together using an iterative approach to explore new ways of planning and supporting senior governance meetings. Leveraging research, technology and concepts from in-person event management, they tested and developed a process to adapt to changing circumstances and meet new needs in a virtual environment. A great example of collaborative problem solving in action to achieve results. Bravo!

A virtual shout out to Tristan Keyes for coming into DAO during a very crazy, quick and demanding time. He has taken the security, accommodations and IT portfolio by the reigns and has already implemented various processes to improve efficiencies. He has done this by developing positive relationships with his peers to establish a collaborative approach to support the Minister’s office. He was also recognized by the VVIP team for implementing a travel planning template which assists them with being proactive and ensuring all steps are done in a timely fashion.