CHECkING IN
A salute to decades of loyalty Watching history unfold at Winnipeg Richardson International Airport
By Tania Moffat I
t’s rare nowadays to hear about peo- ple who have shown loyalty to the same company over the course of
their careers. According to Workopolis only 30 per cent of Canadians hold the same job for more than four years. Meet two ladies who have defied those odds. Helen Teszarek, has been working
at the airport here in Winnipeg for an amazing 37 years! Her colleague, Janice McConnell, has been employed here an impressive 19 years. While their posi- tions have changed, they have stayed devoted to their careers at the Winni- peg Richardson International Airport. Helen has come full circle and is back at duty free, her first position at the air- port. Duty free itself has gone through a major transformation in her time here. “We used to carry high-end items like Waterford Crystal, gold jewellery, Royal Doulton figurines and high-end watches. Nowadays we don’t carry all the high-end merchandise. We carry a lot more food items; that’s a change,” Helen says. Janice has always worked in retail, and has noticed a shift there as well. “Te stores themselves have gotten smaller and more spaced out. And most of the retail is now located on the departures side.”
transpired
But a lot more has over
the
course of their ca- reers. For one, they started in the original terminal, well before it was rebuilt and renamed to honour aviation pioneer James A. Richardson. “Tere have been all kinds of chang-
Helen and Janice enjoying a coffee break.
with their luggage).” Tey’ve seen airlines come and go –
transformations have occurred
“ Major
over the course of their careers.
”
es,” reminisces Helen. “When I first started Air Canada had their own de- parture gate while all the other airlines shared one. Back then you could smoke in the terminal and on the airplanes too. We had a barbershop, a shoe-shine guy and sky caps (porters to assist customers
The Hub
Wardair Canada, Canadian Pacific and Jetsgo; and major shifts in flight destinations and frequencies. Most significantly,
though,
has been the metamor- phosis of their work- place itself. “It was sad seeing them tear down the old building. I miss it, I feel like I should have kept
a brick or something,” confides Helen. “Tings have definitely changed for the better,” adds Janice, “but you can’t help missing the old times.” Both ladies were working at the same
store on one of the most portentous days in aviation history. “I remember a security guard coming into the store and saying that there had been an accident,
that a plane had crashed into one of the World Trade towers in New York. Ten he came back and said another one hit,” recalls Helen. “You just knew then what it was,” adds Janice. “All the traffic was grounded, and they closed the airport. Tey did a re- ally good job of getting everyone out.” Since that ill-fated day, they have seen massive increases in security. But 9/11 didn’t change the way they think about coming to work. So what, you may wonder, has kept them working here for so many years? “I like the airport atmosphere, the people are interesting,” explains Janice. Helen agrees, “Tere’s just something about this place that keeps me coming back.” It’s a good place to be and they can’t imagine working anywhere else, nor do they have plans to leave any time soon.
Fall 2014 • 65
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80