In her 26 years of service to the community Cathy More’s career might be considered a bit unusual having been able to work for two different municipalities without ever having to leave the office.
Though starting in the Arthur Township, her role changed as a result of amalgamations which merged the town of Mount Forest, Arthur village, with the townships of Arthur and West Luther into the new municipality of Wellington North.
However, the location chosen for the new administration centre was in Kenilworth (the site of the Arthur Township offices).
On Feb. 9, More was recognized by Wellington North council for her contributions to the community and the municipality.
Mayor Andy Lennox thanked More for her years of service. “I’m sure you’ve seen many issues come and go as well as elected officials.”
He said More takes with her many years of knowledge and wisdom “and I hope you will be willing to continue sharing some of that with us from time to time. I wish you a happy retirement and all the joy you would hope for.”
More quipped that she too should have a firefighter helmet “I’ve put out a lot of fires (of a different sort).”
She said the over 26 years of her working career has been quite a journey with lots of hard work, fun times and a few potholes along the road. “I’ve worked with six mayors … mayor Lennox would have been number seven … and maybe we’ll call that a lucky number seven.”
She said “Things change over time. Staff changed. Council members changed. But there was one constant in the office [the friends she worked with]. In the first 11 years there were times we disagreed, in fact there were times we almost could have killed each other. But we always respected each other the whole time.”
She never forgot the desk she once shared with Paula Epoch and the friendship they had for those 11 years especially when there was only herself, Epoch, Lester Conrad and Donald Allen in the office. “I just think it was special we got along as well as we did.”
She added “I have lots of stories I could tell … but looking at the size of the agenda … you should get to work … and I can go home,” More joked. She also thanked for the support everyone has given her over the years.
