Preparation, Neighbours, Community – How one night’s experience opened my eyes and changed my perspective

by Lisa Seppala, True North Implementation

This year I put my name forward to run for the Strata Council for our building. My husband and I have lived in our building for over two decades and it was time. Last year I chaired the strata complex’s Emergency Preparedness Committee and this year I decided it was time to up my game. I’m now council president.

Many years ago, a former colleague had warned me of the perils of serving on strata council and I heeded his words. Our very busy lives kept us active outside of our home for many hours each day, so it wasn’t too hard to avoid the responsibility.

I’ve now been in the role for two months and have been learning a lot. For me, a seasoned leader whose strength is working with people and building teams, I’ve found this volunteer role to be quite different than leading a team at work.

Last week we had an incident. An owner of one of the suites accidentally knocked and activated a sprinkler head. When a sprinkler activates, the water shoots out of the wall with some force. Thankfully the neighbour, Vance*, is chair of our Water Shut-Off Committee and he knew exactly what to do. He immediately shut the water off for sprinklers on the floor. That act alone saved our strata and owners of neighbouring units, countless dollars and headaches. Most of the damage was contained within the one unit with a little bit of water finding its way into the common area hallway, a neighbour’s laundry room across the hall and to a utility room on the floor below. Vance, who had the wherewithal to shut the water off, deserves to be commended in some way. But then…Vance has been an active member of our condo community for decades. How do you thank someone like that, someone who gives so much of his time to the strata and his neighbours? I slipped a thank you card under his door, but he deserves more recognition. What he did that evening was a fraction of the effort he puts into ensuring our building is well maintained.

On that same evening, his wife Stella took the owner of the flooded unit under her wing. The owner was distraught. Her unit was soaked. She was soaked. She didn’t know what to do. Fortunately for her, Stella took the woman into her own home while the Fire Department did its job. Then, when the Fire Department left the scene, Stella escorted the woman back to her home and helped her sort through the belongings she would take with her to her daughter’s home located an hour away. Stella provided much-needed support and the owner of the flooded unit was very grateful. I’m grateful that Stella was there.

I watched this unfold. I watched the Fire Department crew deal with the flood. I watched the RCMP member, trained to deal with traumatic situations, talk with the owner and her daughter. I watched Vance and Stella, each in their eighties, provide the support that many people would not. I watched other active volunteers come forward. Throughout the entire incident I felt admiration and appreciation for the people, the neighbours, who make up our community. The kindness and support overflowed that evening.

So…to any of you who’ve been told to avoid serving on councils, give it a second thought. Had I not been on council I would not have had the privilege to witness people acting with utmost kindness and support with their neighbours. Instead, I would have carried on with my day and life like always. I would have missed out on the opportunity to be blown away. What I thought was ‘just’ a volunteer job has proven to be a source of great learning…about life, kindness, my neighbours and my community. It’s shown me that age has nothing to do with making a difference. It’s also shown how being prepared for emergencies is critical, especially for a large multi-unit complex like ours.

*Vance and Stella are real people. They felt this story was important to share to build emergency preparedness awareness and to let people know that no matter your age, you can make a difference.