imprint-issue-12

OUTSTANDING OUTCAST
Submitted By: Clair Henderson
The 103 Search and Rescue (SAR) Squadron call themselves ‘The Outcasts’ because of their
remote location in Gander, Nfld. Once every 3 months, a member of the squadron is awarded
the ‘Outstanding Outcast’. For the last quarter, this prestigious recognition was awarded to IMP
employee Vince Hibbs, an Avionics (AVS) Tech on the CH149 Cormorant.
Vince received the award for his exemplary service as an AVS technician. He embodies the
strong work ethic, professionalism and the demeanor that make ‘The Outcasts’ stand out
amongst SAR Units. Of particular note was his expert installation, troubleshooting and
improvement of the Garmin 500, SATCOM and Hover Light Switch Modification projects.
The Outcast Award comes with a reserved parking spot for the quarter. As Vince walks to work,
he decided to raffle off the parking spot and by doing so raised $132 which will be donated to
the Diabetes Society.
Well done Vince.
HELENA’S VISIT TO IMP TUTOR MAINTENANCE OPERATIONS TRENTON, ONTARIO
Submitted By: René Petit
On Wednesday, August 8, IMP Aerospace CT114 Tutor Maintenance
Operations in Trenton Ont., was honoured by a visit from a very
special six-year-old girl. Helena Kirk captured the hearts of everyone
who met her that day. Helena was diagnosed with Acute
Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) on April 1, 2009. Although Helena has
endured 841 days of cancer treatments consisting of needles,
chemotherapy and many surgical procedures, she continues to smile,
laugh, dance and play with the passion of most six year olds.
July 22, 2011 was her last day of chemotherapy and if she remains in
remission for the next two years she will be considered cured. While
attending a sporting event in Toronto last year, Helena asked if she
could meet some of the military members present at the game and to
our good fortune she was introduced to some of the members from
our local base staff at 8 Wing Trenton. Helena has been in remission
for one year and to help celebrate this milestone, she and her family
were invited to spend a day at 8 Wing.
Helena’s passion for the Snowbirds spearheaded her visit to the IMP
CT114 maintenance facilities. The smile on this very special little girl’s
face was contagious. It grew bigger and bigger as she enjoyed
meeting her new friends at IMP and it covered her entire face when
she was given the opportunity to sit in the cockpit of both a CF18
Hornet fighter jet and a Snowbird CT114 Tutor aircraft. The lights
that shone from the CT114 that Helena was playing with were dull in
comparison to the twinkle in her eyes.
After the opportunity of having a picture taken, Helena shared her
Bravery Beads with us. This is a collection of six strands of over 500
beads. Helena’s mother, Sarah explained that Helena received one for
every procedure that she endured, as part of a program at Sick Kids
that helps the children get through some pretty trying times. Totally
remarkable, it brought a lump to the throat of everyone present.
Tina Fleming, g,
Team Leader
Bob White and Cindy y Hicks
Andrea An Bishop
and an Lorne Clark
Alyson Fromm with
daughters
Julie and Kaitlyn
Vince Hibbs, AVS Technician, MOB Gander, Major Clint Mowbray,
Commanding Officer Officer, 103 (SAR) Squadron Squadron, The Outcasts Outcasts.
Helena also adores fairies and with this in mind, René Petit, the site
manager, presented Helena with a gift of a little sterling silver
necklace, which had a pendant of a fairy sitting on the crest of the
moon, from all of her new friends here at IMP Trenton. Helena
announced that she would never take it off and was left speechless,
which is apparently quite rare for this brave little girl. Her Mom said
that each day is a victory for them; this particular day was an honour
for everyone here at IMP.
Written by Helen Gifford, IMP Trenton.
THE NS – NB CROSS BORDER CHALLENGE
Submitted By: Linda Carter
The T Cross Border Challenge is a 10k walk or run across the
World W Famous Tantramar Marsh. For those of you not
familiar fa with the marsh (formerly known as Beaubassin), it is
a National Wildlife area on the southern part of the Isthmus
of o Chignecto, which joins Nova Scotia to New Brunswick
and a the Canadian mainland. The 10k point-to-point course
starts st in Aulac, NB and finishes in Amherst, NS.
The T Cross Border challenge has been held annually since
2009 2 and continues to grow in size, with 280 registered
participants p for this year’s race. The net proceeds from the
challenge c go to the Cumberland YMCA for youth programs
and a this year’s run raised more than $20,000! It truly was a
fantastic fa fundraiser for the community. A big congratulations
goes out to the IMP Aerostructures volunteers and those
that participated in the 10k run/walk.