SMART work


Arborists do more than hug trees at Winnipeg Folk Festival


By Brenlee Coates


the free food served by La Cuisine, which is delicious. But the Tree Huggers crew, brand new this year, wanted


I


to make change. At the previous year’s festival, Robyn Holmes was


seated around a campfire with her friends, the majority of them arborists. “I was talking about how I hate every year listening to


people breaking branches in the campground. “I sit there and yell out: ‘You can’t do that. It’s actually


illegal. You’re on provincial property,’” says Holmes. “And so we started chatting about there needing to be a crew to go in and cut those branches for people.” Te idea was submitted to the Winnipeg Folk Festival,


and in no time, Holmes was heading the crew and assign- ing schedules to a group of 10. Te festival was extremely receptive to a new idea and


way of improving. “I thought I was going in there just to chat with them about possibly starting up, and I got there and they handed me a coordinator book and said, ‘Alright, so we’re going to make a crew,’” says Holmes. Most of the tree huggin’ team is comprised of certi-


fied arborists, though a few skilled labourers also lent a hand. Te crew operates outside of festival hours, which means, like other jobs that need to be done prior and/or after the festival, the volunteers need to do 50 hours of work to earn their perks. “It’s double the hours, but it’s nice to still have that


freedom and to go backstage. I’ve never been back there so I was pretty excited for that,” says Holmes. Te group got to be in full vacation-mode during the


fest, and they also get to spend more time at the festival campground than most, as their trips out to the festival grounds before and after Folk Fest often include camping. “It was a fantastic weekend when we went out in May


the ten of us and we camped out,” says Holmes. Tey weathered the cold together and enjoyed each other’s company so much that they decided to camp together for the entire festival. During festival week, Holmes was able to compare and


contrast a tree that they pruned versus one that was left untamed. Te festival is assuredly more safe and attrac- tive due to the dead brush and branches that the Tree Huggers clear out. “I feel much better knowing that the trees are hap-


The Tree Huggers crew for Folk Fest are a mix of arborists and skilled labourers who constantly get asked if they just go around hugging trees.


pier, and they’ll provide more shade that way too,” says Holmes. “Tere’s more spaces to set up tents and less eye poking and arm scraping and everything.” Because not all of the Tree Huggers are professional


arborists, Holmes paired each labourer with an arborist while they’re working, and due to interest, they’re going to hold a mentoring weekend so the labourers can develop good technique. Not a bad work experience opportunity for anyone wanting to become an arborist down the road. Looking ahead to next year, Holmes says, “I wouldn’t


hesitate to take more people ‘cause there is lots that needs to be done. “We have that big festival campground and the festival


site to work on. And then they’re always planting new trees, so we’re going to have to do a lot of maintenance on those, just to make sure that they grow up properly.” She says the opportunity to learn and work with pro-


fessional arborists could lead to real-world jobs, as most of the Tree Huggers either work for private landscaping companies or the city, and could put in a good word. Te name “Tree Huggers” was suggested by the Folk


Festival team, and the crew loves it even though it causes some confusion. “We have gotten a lot of questions. People are like,


‘What do you just go around and hug trees?’” laughs Holmes.


Trust the process when it comes to


your job search Job hunting can be like boxing; you don’t get straight into the ring but condition yourself first


L


Good Work Lisa Cefali


ast fall I, along with 13 other business- women, were asked to take part in a unique fundraiser for iDE Canada. We were asked to commit to a 12-week t rain- ing prog ram, cons i s t ing of three days of fitness training and three days of technical box- ing training per week. And while we were at it, we were each asked to raise $5,000. At the end of


the 12 weeks, we were paired up and we compet-


ed in a real Manitoba Boxing Association- sanctioned boxing match in front of a crowd of 300 people – music, lights, and even an official boxing name: Vegas Style! Lisa “Badda Boom” Cefali was in the building! We were promised one thing: if we commit


to the process, the ITC (In this Corner) boxing trainers roll out, that we would be ready for our bout – the longest three minutes of your life, I was told. Fight night arrived and the trainers were


right. Te bout was hard, exhilarating, and challenging, but I was prepared. Te journey getting there was just as hard, just as exhila- rating and just as challenging!


8 SMART TAB Process means progress Yes, they needed my commitment to this


event, but the ITC trainers had a process, step by step, adjusting as they saw me progress with the ultimate goal of having the best outcome within 12 weeks. Tank goodness for the process! As I reflect


back, I am most impressed in the manner with which it was all presented. As you can imagine, 14 Type A personalities, wanting to know as many details as possible, asking con- tinual questions in order to be best prepared, could be a bit much. I’m surprised the trainers didn’t simply pull their hair out every time we wanted to know the why and the how of every little direction they gave us! I am forever grateful that we were given


enough information to become our best selves, but not so many details that would overwhelm us. After all, they didn’t want to scare us or we might just quit! ITC outlined the process and took us


through each step – first conditioning, then the basic technical instruction to become familiar with what was required. Ten they tested our conditioning and, finally, intro- duced us to sparring. I recall naively how we all wanted to know


when we were going to start working in the ring early in the process, and realizing later that it did make the most sense to not place us into the ring until the last four weeks. We thought the first four weeks were tough!


Tey weren’t even close to the last four weeks and what it felt like to be punched, continu- ally; having good days and bad days; having


Lisa Cefali got into the boxing ring for a real match after proper preparation.


different, unexpected opponents – some you clicked with, and some who were simply big- ger, stronger, and better than you! Believe in your preparedness


We were challenged to believe in ourselves


and our skill set. We had to count on our preparedness of being at the gym six days a week, and believe that the process would get us ready for the big fight.


www.smartcareers.ca When you consider the role of executive


search and recruitment – whether you are the client or the candidate interested in the job, no matter what side you are on in the process, you have to believe in the process and each step that is involved, and fully participate in it if you want the best outcome. At Legacy Bowes, we follow a very diligent


12-week process in seeking out top-level tal- ent for top-level jobs. We listen first, ensuring we have all the


requirements the client is looking for, cast our net wide, and then begin searching, research- ing, and talking, and searching and research- ing and talking again to get us to a shortlist. We then focus on that shortlist of can-


didates and take them through a series of interviews, discussion and assessments, and have them answer detailed questions to ensure that the possible career step is right for the individual. We make sure they are as prepared as they


possibly can be to not only “get in the ring” to interview well and have the job offered to them, but be certain that they would accept and excel in the role. Lisa Cefali is the vice president of execu-


tive search with Legacy Bowes where she uses her many years of competitive intelligence, recruitment and assessment of emotional intel- ligence experience to uncover those attributes that provide for the best organizational fit for her candidates and clients. Please feel free to contact her at lisa@legacybowes.com for your executive search and recruitment need.


August 2014


f you ask any Folk Fest volunteers what drives them to contribute to the festival, most of the answers will rotate between the complimentary festival passes and


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