Rare is the employee, who, after 39 years, still loves her job, enjoys coming to work every day and still speaks highly of her co-workers and her clients. Pat Oakley was recently awarded the Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee medal honouring her dedication and commitment to serving the public in her position with Service Canada.
The commemorative medal was created to mark the 2012 celebrations of the 60th anniversary of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II ascension to the Throne as Queen of Canada and is being awarded to 60,000 Canadians as a tangible way for Canada to honour Her Majesty for her service to this country and at the same time to honour significant contributions and achievements of Canadians, in a wide variety of activities, to the public.
Oakley said it was co-workers who nominated her for this prestigious award and although she is deeply moved by the honour, earning the privilege has been a joy for this hard-working woman.
In 1974, Oakley, 19, had just graduated from high school and was looking for career direction from the local Canada Manpower office. Once business was determined to be her most probable direction, Oakley was sponsored by Canada Manpower for a business administration course at CNC in Prince George.
Once complete, she was back at the CM office registering for work. And she found it right in the Canada Manpower office.
“I remember the first day I had to be fingerprinted at the RCMP detachment, which was downstairs beside the post office,” she said.
“I was in line with everyone else and that was a little intimidating.”
She also remembers her boss excitedly telling her she could retire at 55.
“I hadn’t even put in a full day’s work at that point,” she said with a laugh.
But that milestone has passed, Oakley was eligible for retirement almost four years ago and chose to continue working because she still loved what she did.
“I’ve been blessed to work with great staff and I really enjoy helping people,” she added.
Oakley has always treated clients with respect and compassion, recognizing she often dealt with people at a very difficult time in their lives.
“I always knew I was one pay cheque away from being in the unemployment lineup myself,” she said.
A former co-worker, Jeannine Frank, attended the occasion of Oakley receiving her Diamond Jubilee award last Thursday and spoke of the service she provided.
“Pat has been on the forefront of change within this organization and has wholeheartedly grasped the concept of serving Canadians,” she said.
“She is certainly a familiar face, even to strangers who have heard about her in the community. She has served at least three generations of citizens in Quesnel and her reputation for providing excellent client service is unmatched.”
They worked side by side for 12 years in the Quesnel office and Frank counts Oakley as a friend as well as former co-worker.
Frank’s back in the office for a short time right now as the office transitions, once again, to a new staff member.
Oakley said at one time the Quesnel office employed 12 staff, but, over the years with changing technology and government policies, has recently been reduced to Oakley and one other stadd member, two in total.
She said with technology and centralized services, Service Canada operates primarily online.
“However, those who have difficulty with computers, especially seniors with their various government pensions, require personal assistance in filling out forms and understanding the various programs,” Oakley said.
“Our job is to educate the public on changes and how programs are accessed. Service Canada is no different from the rest of the world, everything changes much more quickly than it once did.”
When Oakley finally does retire, she’s looking forward to travelling, but always expects she’ll be involved with people in the community.
“I have a very short bucket list, travel and time with my grandchildren,” she said with a wide grin.
“I think when you love your job as I do, there aren’t so many things on your list. I’ve been privileged to talk to people from around the world, share with co-workers right across the country and every day is interesting.
“I get to talk to everyday people, they share a little of their life and hopefully I can help them, often at a difficult point in their life.”
As for the medal, Oakley is thrilled with the recognition but says it won’t change her life, she plans to continue doing her job as she has for almost four decades.
“Because I truly love my job.”