Emotions were high as dozens of people crammed into the Envision Counselling And Support Centre to celebrate their executive director's retirement.
Patt Lenover-Adams, who held that post for the past 19 years, was on the receiving end of hugs, heart-felt speeches and best wishes as she stepped down from the position she held since the Violence Intervention Program, now known as Envision, was established in Estevan in 1994. Though she wasn't there right from the start - the first executive director at the VIP lasted a few months - counselling supervisor Christa Daku said Lenover-Adams' legacy is undeniable and will be maintained for years to come.
"Although she's leaving, we're excited to have a new ED," she said. "We've restructured the organization over the last year, and we're confident moving forward without her."
This is a big reason why Lenover-Adams made the decision to move on.
"I told myself I'd retire when Envision became stable and was in a good place. I never wanted to leave people with any concerns," she said. "We have an amazing staff, a dedicated board and awesome volunteers."
Vice-chairman, Vic Wiebe, was the first to congratulate Lenover-Adams on her retirement during the ceremony. Wiebe, who was in close contact with Lenover-Adams and VIP during its early days, stressed the magnitude of her work in developing a prevention program.
"Family violence is a serious issue that we can never forget about, but rather than focus on developing a shelter, which is the direction things seemed to be going initially, the agency under Patt's direction in fact, focused on what can we do to prevent that violence," he said. "That's been the hallmark of a lot of the work she's done."
Wiebe went on to list a number of the services Envision offers as a result of Lenover-Adams' leadership, which have strengthened that ultimate goal of violence prevention. Alongside the 24-hour telephone support service, various support and intervention services have been created over the past several years, and to combat the ever-expanding reach of cyber violence, a new project dedicated to this goal emerged earlier this year.
Juli Dzuba, cyber violence project co-ordinator, who started working with Envision in April, said cyber violence is something that many people don't exactly know how to deal with yet.
"Cyber violence is very big right now, and I think it's really important we deal with the situation now, before it grows into something we can't handle," she explained.
Dzuba also said Lenover-Adams has allowed her to feel comfortable and motivated at work.
Gail Stepp and Thereasa Fernandez, who have volunteered at Envision for 12 years now, strongly agreed with Dzuba's statement.
"She pushed us out of our comfort zones," Fernandez said. "She really inspires us."
Lenover-Adams said she would like to see more full-time employees working on prevention work, but is very proud of the progress Envision has made during its 20 years in existence.
"I think we've helped victims come forward," she said.
Lenover-Adams is unsure what the future holds but said she looks forward to retirement. Rod McKendrick from the Ministry of Justice, who gave a little speech during the ceremony, said to retire means, "to disappear," which is something he said Lenover-Adams will have difficulty doing.
"I don't see her disappearing for very long," he said with a smile.
When asked what advice she has for the new executive director, who hasn't been selected yet, she was swift with her answer.
"Take calculated risks, listen to the community and think outside the box."
