Rebecca Harris is the General Manager

It's a Rave - not a Rant!

In the hours after the event of early morning September 4, my mind raced with thoughts of where to start and what to do next. When I confirmed all was OK at home, I had to focus on the office… every possible scenario went through my head.

Subsequently a back-up plan was put in place in the event we got a notice other than green. Turns out we didn’t need the back-up plan, the notice was green with superficial damage, clean-up and minor repairs around the building that needed attention. This experience has — without a doubt — turned my rant into a rave.

As I listed the work that needed doing, contacted the contractors and decided on services required to get ourselves back up and running as quickly and smoothly as possible, the thought crossed my mind… here we go, they’ll charge through the nose. We had all heard stories about people pulling down chimneys for more than $1400 and for a fleeting moment I thought we’d be stung.

I was wrong. I’m so proud to be a Cantabrian and extremely grateful for the relationships we have with service providers and associates, many of who were facing similar situations. Not one of their accounts has been accelerated — normal charges have applied with no excessive call-out fees. In fact, many seem to be doing it for a pat on the back or a chocolate fish from my now not-so-secret stash! Here’s the people I need to rave about:

• Ollie and the team at SNAP for assisting with the back-up plan
• Server Technology Ltd and Magnum Mac for getting the network back up and going and putting the server back where it should be
• Jared from ElectraCraft, Pete from Enviroplumb, the team at Williams Hickman Electrical and Richard Harris Property Maintenance — all for your prompt, accommodating and efficient service — along with Compliance Fire Protection. I can’t count how many times you’ve been in the building these past few weeks
• JustWater for dealing with the water coolers
• Our printers around the country — Kalamazoo WyattWilson, APN, Guardian Print and PMP for flexibility with print schedules and more.

And last but not least the staff, managers and their sales teams, contractors and everyone in our Academy family, for taking the stairs when the lift was out of action, for taking the lift when there was no access to the stairs, for working around the workmen and their paint brushes and glue guns, for putting up with the after shocks, for all your hard work and determination to get our schedules back on track.

A number of Academy family members have had their worlds turned upside down, yet bravely kept smiles on their faces and positive attitudes — you are an inspiration to the rest of us!

I feel better for raving with nothing at all to rant about. In the grand scheme of things Rebecca’s Rant would be worthless in a region that has nothing but praise for its volunteers, friends, family, neighbours, service men and women and leaders who have guided us through these past weeks. Go Canterbury!