Anne was employed by IBM Canada Ltd., for 33 years, the last half of her career as a Business Process Re-Engineering Analyst, where responsibilities included re-engineering and documenting IBM’s administrative, accounting and financial processes. This involved facilitating cross-functional teams to define business processes, focusing on upstream and downstream activities to ensure that fixing a problem in one part of the process did not result in additional workload
(churn or re-work) or breakage in another part of the process. Having cross-functional representation ensured that all participants understood the process – what worked well, where the process was broken, or there were gaps. Anne served as Corporate Secretary on the OGS Board of Directors from 2015-2017. During that time, she facilitated the process flow charts and documentation of the administrative, accounting and membership processes which were used for the 2015 audit. In addition, she led the Office Relocation Team, which successfully negotiated the lease and moved The Society office from mid-town to its present location in Concord. Anne’s contributions to the Society continued in the year that she was off the Board, when she worked on special projects, including documenting the OGS Acquisition Policy and helping to revise the OGS Policies and Procedures.

Anne believes that the three most significant OGS strategic goals are volunteer recruitment and training, resource development, and advocacy. First, OGS must strive to maintain a balance between attracting new, younger members to The Society and retaining those members who have been active long-time supporters of OGS. OGS should maintain multiple methods of communication to our members: electronic as well as written communication for those who require it. We should not leave members behind because they do not have access to technology. Secondly, there are opportunities for OGS to streamline its business processes, which is most beneficial when it is done before IT solutions are implemented. Finally, there is a great deal of value in OGS’s holdings: the Vernon Directories, the Independent Order of Oddfellows Insurance Papers, the Huguenot Collection, and so on. OGS needs to continue the work that was started on digitizing those records so that they are available to current and future members.