Posted by John Borst on Dec 09, 2019
All new members who join Rotary give what is called a vocational talk. Originally it was a way for members to get to know what your business was. Over the years it has morphed into more of a life story
Caroline Goulding gave us her talk at Wednesday’s luncheon. Caroline grew up in Southern Ontario living in a number of different locations as well as Michigan as her father was a General Motors employee.
 
She did a degree at Waterloo in Classical Studies followed by one in Business, but few jobs were available, so she returned and focused on a skill specific profession.  As a result, she took two years getting a library science degree at McGill focusing in records management.
 
She immediately landed a job in Bracebridge as the Children’s librarian where she stayed for two years. When she saw an ad for the CEO job at the Fort Frances library she applied and got the job.
 
Three years later, while visiting her brother in neighboring Dryden she met a young man who would become her boyfriend. Neighboring towns in Northwestern Ontario are not your typical distances apart. In this case it is a two-hour drive on a B class road (pavement with narrow shoulders at 80 km/hr speed limit). So, this past July, Goulding moved to Dryden where she got a job as the Executive Director of PACE (Patricia Area Community Endeavours).
 
PACE is a community futures program run by a board of directors.  They invest in local organizations and businesses with a special focus on businesses that cannot get funding from banks. PACE’s mandate is to make a community stronger, develop a diverse economy, and create jobs. Its standards are set by FEDNOR who provides the funding. Its strategies, however, are set by their board.
 
For example, they recently funded The City of Dryden for their re-branding effort and the development if its new strategic plan.  PACE can invest up to $150,000 on a venture. In certain situations, investments up to $300,000 can be approved.