End of my career

Since many of you were not even born when I started here. A little history I first started as a summer student in Planning in the old city hall in 1976. I copied info from building permits onto coding sheets to be run through to create punch cards and then into a computer at the U of A. It turned out that the info was incorrectly set in to a database and was later dumped. I started full time as a planning assistant in 1978. I left the city and went to work for Alberta Transportation for 2 years and returned the City Transportation department in 1982 . In that year we got a 15% increase and another 10% increase for all planners and in the next year we got a 14% raise. Of course mortgage rates were between 10 and 18 % ( in 1984). In 1985, I moved to Edmonton Transit and that is where I got to use a pc computer, I started using Visicalc on a main frame and moved to Lotus 123 on the PC. The PC cost $14,000. In 1989 I moved in to Planning in the Boardwalk building. AND I am still here until today. Therefore I have worked for Planning in whole or part of 5 decades. I also have been working for 35 plus years. Obviously many of you who read this will not appreciate the time and the commitment to this job and the city of Edmonton. Many have heard me say that I love working here. And I do and did. Great people who ensured that the crap that was submitted by the development industry turned in the great neighbourhoods that we have today. I have processed more bylaws than anyone else in the Administration . When I started CastleDowns did not exist, the city southern border was 51 Ave, there was nothing west of 184 Street. There was no AHD Clareview, Lake District, Whitemud or Yellowhead. I have worked with many planners who have shaped molded a well organized urban environment. Many are still alive but many past away in the middle of their careers Howard Holfeld, Wayne Cameron, Lorne McMaster, Jim Guthrie, George DuCLuox and Andrew Day, to name a few. More to come !!!!!!!!!! Thousands of excellent people have worked for Planning making sure that the city you live into today is what it is today. The river valley was preserved from Transportation developing freeways, The transit system is effective and efficient. Many people have started here and gone on to improve and develop beautiful cities across Canada and across the world including all the aussies that worked here and returned home.