After 10 years of working for the Airdrie and District Hospice Society (ADHS), executive director Lise Blanchette has decided to shift her priorities from work to family, announcing her retirement at the end of this month.
Making the call to retire wasn’t easy for Blanchette, but she said she’s leaving ADHS confident the board of directors is heading in the right direction for the society. ADHS, which provides support resources and programs for locals undergoing the end-of-life and bereavement process, recently underwent in-depth strategic planning and hosted some successful virtual events, Blanchette explained.
Retirement comes with time, she said, and what factored into her decision to call it a career at the end of December was the recent loss of her mother and worries over her sister's health.
“I think what pushed me to decide to retire was that I’d like to spend more time with my family and more time with my sister in Manitoba. I’d like to spend more time with my new great grandchild and my grandchildren that I have now,” Blanchette said.
Already, Blanchette has a big trip to New Zealand and Australia booked for 2022 and said she is gearing up for volunteer opportunities to fill her time.
“I’ve heard many retirees say that they don’t know how they fit work into their schedule,” she joked.
Blanchette first joined ADHS in 2010, shortly after the non-profit society was founded. She said her own experience with hospice care and personal loss inspired her to become involved with the fledgling organization. When she lost her sister and father within five weeks of each other, Blanchette said she witnessed the tremendous amount of end-of-life support provided through hospice care versus a hospital.
Prior to her joining ADHS, Blanchette worked in government for 27 years, as well as at women’s shelters, various non-profits, the YWCA of Canada, and the Airdrie Food bank. She then became involved with ADHS on a volunteer basis prior to joining the board and becoming the vice-president, president, and eventually the society’s executive director.
She said she quickly noticed how appreciative families are for any support they received, whether it be through ADHS’ respite program, their compassionate care fund, or their grief counselling services.
Blanchette said working with ADHS was often as educational as it was fulfilling.
“I think we sometimes go there with the mind that we’re there to help them, but they actually end up helping us,” she said.
The work Blanchette has enjoyed the most, she noted, was offering grief support programs for both adults and children, as well as meeting with local families and getting to know the community through them.
She hopes the society is able to eventually fulfill its long-term goal of finding a brick-and-mortar facility in Airdrie to host face-to-face grief support sessions with younger children who aren’t able to use platforms like Zoom for these services.
According to Daria Skibington-Roffel, president of ADHS, the society wouldn't be where it is today without Blanchette’s passion, knowledge, and experience over the last decade.
“You can really tell with all the work she's put in that she's put a lot of herself into the society,” she said. “It's hard to imagine the society without her.”
In terms of a succession plan, Skibington-Roffel added ADHS intends to hire a new executive director in the new year. The board will run things collectively until they can find someone to fill Blanchette’s shoes – something the president acknowledged is easier said than done.
“We want to make sure we get the right person who has the same passion, experience, and skillset,” she said.
Blanchette said her last day with ADHS will be Dec. 31.
