Current
Position:
I work for the City of Ottawa as a Senior Project Manager. I
supervise the mechanical works for all new buildings in the City
using local consultants. I have a special focus on energy
conservation. I also lead a team on the purchasing of natural gas for
the almost 300 buildings we own. That's almost $8,000,000 of gas. It
is an interesting and involved job. Most days, I still look forward
to work.
Previous Positions:
I spent over 13 years with Domtar as their engineering staff at
the research center in Senneville, on the western tip of the island
of Montreal. It was a great job and a consistent venue while my kids
were growing up. I got to see them every day and be involved in their
schooling and sporting endeavours. At Domtar I took care of all the
services, a machine shop, a computer network, engineering aspects of
various projects, graphics workshop, and just about everything else.
My staff was great and we had many good times. Domtar closed that
facility in 2000 and I work as an independent for a year and a half
until Ottawa came along in October of 2001. I started here in Jan
2002.
Prior to Domtar I had my own engineering consulting firm for 7 years until Quebec dried up for most consultants. This was due to the effect of the separatist government policies. Quebec is only now starting to get back on its feet.
My Family:
I married Joy Tardy, a native Montrealer and McGill graduate, in
June of 1974. We have three children. Jill, who turns 25 in January,
is an Honours English Major in Concordia in Montreal and is on the
Dean's List. She expects to graduate next spring with a double major
in Honours English and German. She intends to go on with her studies
and get a Doctorate in English and become a University Professor.
Our son Geoffrey is working full-time with Home Depot. This is a job well suited to his capabilities and aspirations. He is a great sales person and has a vast amount of knowledge, which surprises his associates and is much to their benefit. At 22, he helps run the lumber department and is being primed to manage it soon. Not gifted with the ability to re-present the knowledge he had gained through school, he had a difficult time completing a college program.
Our daughter Laura, who is 15, is in 11th year of high school, here in Ottawa. A bright child, but not destined to be an engineer!
My wife, Joy, manages a local used bookshop. As an avid reader, could she want a better place to spend her days?
We have two dogs, Bailey and Bubble, who take me out for a good walk every day, whether I want to go or not!
What I like to do:
I am quite involved with my local church. I am a consultant (pro
bono) on their expansion and building committee. I also play guitar
with their contemporary church music group. We play every Sunday and
practice Saturday mornings. (I played with a similar group during our
University days.) I also write new music for the group, do music
notation on my computer, and help out as I can.
I spend a lot of time on my computer. I am currently trying to figure out a way of analyzing lottery results for Super 7. I do better than average, but I have not struck it rich yet.
What I Remember the Most…There were a lot of good times at McGill. There were a lot of hard times too. We all shared in both and helped each other out. The camaraderie is unforgettable. We spent long nights studying and writing up answers to questions most of us have forgotten and have never used. But we did it together. We had to deal with difficult professors and difficult subjects, but we did it together. A professor remarked to me at our 30th reunion that he still remembers our class for the spirit it had. He said that there has been no class since that had our zeal, enthusiasm and class unity. That professor was Paul Zomber-Murray.
There were fun times too, like Boat Racing, Broomball and Beer. There was always beer. The Mansfield Tavern closed down shortly after we graduated! The Peel Pub became the place to go. Imagine that!
E-mail
paul_samborsky@yahoo.com