Each year at its annual Awards Gala, BC HRMA takes the opportunity to shine the spotlight on those individuals and organizations whose efforts speak to the excellence within the HR community.

On May 6, 2010 in the new Vancouver Convention Centre, BC HRMA awarded Rene McComber with the Rising Star Award, BC Hydro with the Award of Excellence – Innovation and Dianne Sullivan, CHRP with the Award of Excellence – HR Professional of the Year.  While interviews with the winners of these awards  appear in the fall issue of PeopleTalk, profiles for the finalists and winners in all categories – along with video testimonials – are online at BC HRMA’s YouTube channel (www.youtube.com/user/BCHRMA).

In addition to the trio of separate awards, BC HRMA CEO Simon Evans presented three other awards honouring Fellow CHRPS.  The FCHRP is a prestigious title that aims to recognize the most exceptional CHRPs in Canada who have made outstanding contributions to the human resources profession and their communities. Congratulations to the 2010 FCHRPs Joan Harrison, Catherine Richardson and Les Waldie.

Joan Harrison, FCHRP

A leader of leaders and a tireless promoter of the HR profession, Joan Harrison has embodied the professional standards of the HR profession throughout the entirety of her  career.  As a founding member of the group which developed the CHRP designation, Joan has gone to great lengths to ensure its standards, relevance and continuity.  Having served as both a past-president of BC HRMA, as well as the secretary of the CCHRA, her efforts to drive the national movement in the early 1990s went beyond any standard call of duty.

From handpicking a core of 50-plus dedicated volunteers to drive the CHRP’s progress countrywide to participating on the Professional Standards Committee and overseeing the Required Professional Capabilities review, her share of our collective success as HR professionals is as commendable as it is considerable.  In addition to serving as a crucial liaison between the provincial associations and the CCHRA, as well as successfully lobbying on HR issues at both provincial and federal levels, Joan has also served as a tireless HR proponent on the speaker circuit.

In regards to the ROI, for nine years she led the HR consulting practice at KPMG, Canada’s largest business advisory firm.  In growing the practice from $300K to $3 million, she received the firm’s national consulting award for business results.  Changing the lives of individuals and the bottom lines of businesses is what Joan Harrison has been doing so effectively for the past three decades.

Moreover, the HR acumen for which Joan is renown has served her employers and community as well.  Her active volunteerism has bolstered the Rapid Transit Project 2000, BCIT, YWCA and the Canadian Memorial Church.

Her legacy is very much a living one though and Joan continues to counsel, encourage and guide those who seek to define excellence within the HR profession.

Catherine Richardson, FCHRP

Catherine Richardson has committed the past three decades of her HR career to crafting a forward-thinking HR practices, leading by example and sharing knowledge.  As the founder of BC’s first non-profit roundtable and a keen mentor for BC HRMA and other organizations, her passion for people – and strong belief in their potential – has won her many accolades already.

It has also made a key difference in the lives of those who most need the positivity she so effortlessly exudes.  It has been nearly two decades since Catherine moved from the hospitality sector to join the Canadian Cancer Society, BC & Yukon Division as the sole HR practitioner.  She met the challenge this posed with positive action, facilitating key relationships with other HR professionals in the non-profit sector while promoting the strategic role of HR within her own organization.

Working directly with the CEO and executive to synchronize their vision and goals, Catherine’s impact upon the Canadian Cancer Society cannot be overstated. Developing programs linked directly to the strategic plan and embodying the CCS culture of care, courage and integrity, she helped triple employee growth, developed the first HR benchmarks for local and national implementation and in 2005 put CCS on the map as one of BC’s Top Employers.

As a strong believer in employee engagement and a certified yoga instructor, Catherine also created social responsibility and wellness initiatives within the society to keep the culture strong and healthy. First recognized by BC HRMA in 1997 with the Award of Merit for her accomplishments, she has twice since received Staff Awards of Excellence from the CCS.  Moreover, she has exemplified the potential of HR and led to the creation of an executive HR position as Leader of People Engagement.

Whether mentoring with BC HRMA or the YWCA, continuing to guide the non-profit roundtable or simply sitting down to counsel a friend, Catherine’s volunteer contributions are no less commendable. The pleasure of inspiring others is perhaps best explained by a quote she herself has used in the past, this by Margaret Mead: “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world.  Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”

Les Waldie, FCHRP

As a pioneer of professional people practices and a cornerstone of his community, Les Waldie has made an indelible mark upon both the field of HR and the northern reaches of British Columbia.  He has crafted a lifetime upon giving back: finding common ground, partnering with purpose and crafting innovative solutions grounded in a balanced ability to listen, assess and turn possibilities into functioning realties.

As a past president of BC HRMA, Les helped guide the Association through a period of strategic and membership growth.  Through his involvement with the CCHRA board, his political astuteness helped guide the CHRP standards through the trials of its emergence.  During his time with Northwood, he collaborated widely and wisely, developing a comprehensive HR approach for the company’s integration into the Canfor family.  Similarly, Northern Health has Les to thank for the design and implementation of an HR function to serve the needs of 7,000 employees, spread widely across Northern BC.  People solutions are his stock and trade; they are also his passion.

All the while, he has served tirelessly in his community of Prince George, contributing his energies and wisdoms to the city’s Airport Authority, Community Foundation, Regional Performing Arts Centre, 2008 Seniors Games, Symphony Orchestra and the BC Festival of the Arts.

Unsurprisingly, even in apparent retirement, Les remains an active leader of both his profession and Northern BC.  In 2009, he was selected to join the Eisenhower Foundation’s ‘People to People’ program, traveling to China with 12 others in a business exchange with a focus on human resources management.  Shortly thereafter, he was invited to participate in a similar program in Vietnam.

Those who know him best sum Les up in the words of Ralph Waldo Emerson: “What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.”

(PeopleTalk: Summer 2010)