Issue 33: December 2023

Contributor: Corporate Leadership Team

Last week, Council passed the Region of Waterloo’s 2024 Plan and Budget – a $2.1 billion investment to meet the growing needs of the community. This is an exciting step forward in implementing our new 2023-2027 Strategic Plan: Growing with Care.

As Waterloo Region quickly grows to one-million people, more and more residents are relying on the critical services we provide each and every day.

The 2024 Plan and Budget maintains our essential services, while making increased investments in affordable housing, the plan to end chronic homelessness, expanding transit and paramedic services, maintaining our facilities, and supporting our most valuable asset – our people.

This is the culmination of months and months of work by staff – to build a plan and budget that listens to community and reflects the incredible expertise of our staff team as we work to support the 650,000 residents who call our region home.

Take a look at the annual business plan summary booklet for more details on the investments and our collective plan for next year.

Thank you to each and every one of you for your contribution to the 2024 Plan and Budget. Your compassionate and caring service, and strong and collaborative leadership, have resulted in a great plan that will serve our community well in the coming year and beyond.

Contributor: Corporate Communications

As 2023 comes to a close we compiled some fun numbers, from cups of coffee had to the number of Teams messages sent. What number surprises you the most?

Thanks to all who helped us gather these.

• 12,251 cups of coffee consumed from Region cafeterias
• 2,628 RAVE e-cards sent (plus hundreds of printed cards!)
• 75% of emails flagged as spam and filtered out before they hit your inbox
• Most popular Region web page: Career Opportunities
• 213 delegates at Regional Council meetings
• 372 hoteling stations used by staff as part of space optimization
• 29,166 Teams chat messages sent per day, on average
• 343 Teams meetings per day across the organization, on average
• Fastest growing corporate social media channel: Instagram
• Most popular Around the Region story: Opening of the outdoor shelter
• Most popular In Focus story: GRT operator becomes Instagram star

Contributor: Corporate Communications

Another episode of Your Region Pod has dropped and this one focuses on YKF!

Aviation is a major contributor to climate change but the Region of Waterloo International Airport and its partners are working on a local level and a global scale to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

In this episode of Your Region Pod, we chat with the experts (who we discovered are all aviators, including Commissioner Rod Regier!) and explore how YKF and its partners can make an impact.

Get Your Region Pod anywhere you stream podcasts. 

Contributor: Scott Cressman

All our work across this organization is part of a bigger vision to help create a healthy, prosperous Waterloo Region. Our Strategic Plan, “Growing with Care,” is the vision for how we’ll create the kind of community residents have told us they want.

In Focus is exploring how different teams put our new Strategic Plan into action. This month, let’s hear from Engineering and Environmental Services (EES) about how they care for people and stewards the land for future generations. Take a few minutes to learn about how our EES colleagues are putting our four priorities into action:

• Housing for all
• Climate aligned growth
• Equitable services and opportunities
• Resilient and future ready organization

(Note: this video was created before the Facilities and Fleet Management division joined EES.)

Contributor: James Wood

Grand River Transit (GRT) is excited to announce the launch of their official mascot, Ryder.

Customers and the community can expect to see Ryder promoting transit.

He will also make appearances at community events, and special events held by GRT throughout the year. We tracked Ryder down for a quick Q&A session:

Q: Tell us about yourself.

Hi everyone! My name is Ryder. Sometimes I’m a small stuffed bunny, but when I go through the magic bus wash, I’m more than seven feet tall! I love a bunny pun, riding on buses and the ION, and spreading the joy of transit to everybunny I meet.

Q:Where do you live when you’re not riding the train or the bus?

When I’m not out and about, I’m getting into mischief at one of GRT’s three garages. My favourite is the Northfield Drive Maintenance Facility in Waterloo. There are so many places for a bunny like me to explore.

Q: Where will we be seeing you?

You will see me throughout Waterloo Region. I love to encourage people to use transit safely and teach others how to ride the bus and train, including helping them learn transit etiquette.

Q: How did this all start in the first place?

There is a wonderful story that explains where I came from and how I got this great gig. You can check it out here: Ryder and the Magic Bus Wash (youtube.com)

Contributor: James Wood

Leon Tipovski is a big fan of the holiday season.

Tipovski is a 15-year operator with Grand River Transit, and came to the service after 26 years of work in Ontario’s manufacturing sector.

On top of his day job, Tipovski has been a driving force in leading GRT’s operator carolling group since its inception in 2013.

Tipovski said it is a tradition for the GRT operators to perform at the market on the first Saturday of December, in GRT uniform, and sing carols to the shoppers.

The current group is a mix of singing operators and musicians on various instruments.

“Our drivers, they want to get involved, and we’re doing this on our own time. We want to spread joy and wish everybody happy holidays, in the region and to our customers.”

Tipovski thanked Unifor Local 4304 for supporting the group, and looks forward to seeing more staff join in the future. 

“Making people happy. That’s what it’s all about,” said Tipovski. “We’re not doing it for ourselves. We like seeing people come together.” 

Carollers, from left to right: Angelo Neziri, Stephen Huebner, Anthony Nuic, Doug Chase, Michael Prashad, Nick Tomlin, Nick Jr Tomlin, Myron Ruby, Leon Tipovski, Erik Nojd, Paul Wagler, Mark Seifert, Simon Ramiah, Bev Young, Errol Young and Angie Wagler. Photo by Wayne Fulford. 

Contributor: Mistie Brown

While primary schools close for a winter break, Schneider Haus will opens its doors for children to make the most of their downtime at a winter camp program. The camp promotes exploration, play, learning and fosters curiosity around how people lived historically so children can understand the importance of the site’s historic buildings and help protect them for future generations to enjoy.  

Clara Mitchell, Education Coordinator at the site, personally knows just how impactful these opportunities can be for a child. 

“I developed my love of history when I was a kid by visiting local museums, including Schneider Haus, and now here I am 20 years later working at a site that left a lasting impact on me and ultimately paved the way for where I am today! It is a huge honour to be able to pass that passion for history on to the next generation and encourage them to keep curious about the world around them. I hope I'm able to inspire my campers like past museum staff have inspired me, and they end up back here 20 years from now teaching future generations of students.”   

The campers often create strong bonds with Schneider Haus and its staff because of the sense of community they feel while at camp. Campers often return for other special events, birthday parties, or to take their family on a tour of the historic house. This is their way of sharing the warmth and fun that they first experienced at camp with those closest to them. 

Clara notes the incredible experiences of past campers coming back and touring her around the historic house with amazing accuracy. “It blows me away,” explains Clara. “We also often have campers forming close friendships with each other while they are here because of our smaller cohort sizes, and they often end up extending outside of camp and becoming friends in their personal lives.” 

Contributor: Mary Jo Milhomens

Grand River Conservation Authority (GRCA) recently awarded the Region of Waterloo with a Gold Recognition award for taking care of the Grand River through outstanding performance of the Preston wastewater treatment plant.

Significant investments made in wastewater infrastructure and process upgrades over the past 10-15 years have contributed to our high standard of effluent quality, which in turn, has dramatically improved the health of the Grand River.

Each year, the GRCA celebrates those wastewater treatment plants in the watershed that meet performance-based criteria, including voluntary targets for phosphorus and ammonia, through a formal recognition program. 

Preston is one of only two treatment facilities, out of the 30 treatment facilities in the watershed, to receive this highest level of recognition for meeting and exceeding the criteria. Ayr, Heidelberg, Kitchener and St. Jacob’s Wastewater Treatment Plants received Silver recognition, and the Waterloo Wastewater Treatment Plant received Bronze recognition.

Each day, our 13 wastewater plants treat enough wastewater to fill about 3,600 backyard swimming pools. As Waterloo Region grows, this amount continues to increase. The Region is continuously planning, expanding and upgrading our wastewater treatment infrastructure to meet that growing demand while protecting our natural resources.

The Corporate Recognition Team surprised another Regional team with a pop-up RAVE event on December 9. CRT celebrated the ITS team for keeping our organization running smoothly and for helping us become future ready! Thank you ITS for your partnership in all we do!

Meet the 2023 corporate recognition team.

Share your story here or at a town hall

We are looking for stories that show how we serve people in different ways, and how staff are working together to achieve our vision. Email us with yours!