Over the past five years, I have had the good fortune to watch Victoria Slany as she worked in a community of seniors who had different, and evolving, personal and mental needs and abilities. My family member was in that community. His life was enriched over those five years by Victoria’s manner of working and being. Victoria is exceptionally well-suited to working with people who are negotiating the losses that go along with aging and health set-backs. Her values, character traits and professional abilities combine in her to create a woman who typifies what we should be providing, as a country, to meet the basic support needs of elders and physically-diminished persons. Some of the qualities I appreciated most about Victoria are: • Genuine kindness - There is no substitute for kindness of heart, for the ability to empathize, to imagine what another person is feeling and to respond in sincerity to that. She is compassionate. • Respect - Victoria sees the humanity of each person, regardless of their appearance or behaviour; regardless of external conditions. Importantly, she does not “infantilize” elders as do so many people in the care field. She does not speak condescendingly or assume they are deaf or try to “jolly” them along. She treats each one as a valuable individual who deserves to have as much self-determination as possible. • Sensitivity/Intuition - her years of experience in supporting elders has given her a strong sense of when to reach out, what to say, and when just to be present. • Reliability/Dependabilty - Victoria is hard working; she identifies what needs to be done and the develops the plans for getting that done. She has good judgment and the maturity to be self-directed and self-disciplined. And, she has great “common sense”. • Discretion - She honours the privacy and the right to dignity of those she is caring for and she is a good partner with their family members. • Good humour/Personability - Victoria is very good natured, she is a good collaborator, she is a lot of fun and interesting to be around. This is extremely valuable to people whose worlds are diminishing. • Knowledgeable/Quick Minded/Creative - Her experience in working with seniors has allowed her to develop an ability to recognize changes, she can react quickly when that is required and she is imaginative in considering alternative courses of action. Victoria was extremely well-liked, and respected, by residents, their families and her staff team members. I believe she will uplift whoever she serves and works with. I am grateful for all she brought to our family and I am confident she will continue to be a gift to those she works with in the future. I wish her the very best.