The Women Behind the Work: A Thank You From Me
As GOABC reflects on 60 years, I keep coming back to the work that doesn’t always make it into the photos or the speeches.
The office work. The admin work. The behind-the-scenes work that keeps everything standing.
But it’s also the communications work—often constant, often invisible, and always important. The letters that need the right tone. The member updates that need to be clear and timely. The newsletters. The info-sharing, the minutes. The edits that make a story accurate and readable. The magazine layout, publishing deadlines, and the quiet pressure of “this has to go out today.”
It’s the letters, phone calls and emails with members who need an answer, the a variety of questions, the invoices, the last-minute changes—especially around convention season when everything feels urgent all at once. It’s the calm voice on the other end of the line. The “I’ll handle it” moments. The care taken with details most people will never notice… except when they aren’t done.
For decades, GOABC has been supported by women who carried that day-to-day load with professionalism and heart—supporting boards and Executive Directors through constant change, and keeping the association connected to its members through steady, reliable communication.
I’m proud to be one of them—and I want to say something that deserves to be said out loud:
Thank you!
Thank you to the women who showed up, year after year, and did the work that makes everything else possible. Thank you for the patience, the humour, the calm under pressure, and the loyalty to the members and the mission. Thank you for the writing, editing, publishing, and information-sharing that kept members informed and GOABC’s voice consistent. Thank you for being the person someone could count on when plans shifted, when deadlines tightened, and when a hundred little tasks needed to become one seamless outcome.
And thank you for the kind of teamwork only “office people” really understand—the unspoken handoffs, the quick checks, the shared context, and the pride in doing it right.
The names we have on record (and want to honour)
Our list is incomplete, but I want to recognize the women we do know—because they are part of GOABC’s foundation and story:
Brenda Gibson (2017–present)
Jennifer Jonson (2009–present)
Amanda Sawyer (2014-2015)
Jeana Schuurman (2010–2014)
Lesley Higgins (2009)
Moira Milligan (1998-2011)
Susan Eastham (1998–2008)
Kathy Razutis (1995–1998)
Shirley Dickerson (1994–1995)
Shirley Copping (term unknown — we’d love help confirming!)
- Leslie Boot (term unknown — we’d love help confirming!)
Help me complete the record
If your name is missing—or if you know someone who should be included—please reach out. Dates, titles, photos, and stories are all welcome. We want to honour the full team, not just the parts that were easiest to document.
Because GOABC wasn’t built only in meetings.
It was built in the work—done quietly, done consistently, and done well.
With appreciation,
Jennifer Johnson
