First of all my condolences Gail's family and close friends, I am sure it is difficult to have Gail out of your life when she was close. I find it hard, even though our paths don't cross much now.
I first met Gail as the HR representative for the Oklahoma City plant when we were doing the due diligence prior to making the acquisition. She made an immediate impression, a combination of energy, enthusiasm and competence. It was at a difficult time in the industry and Celestica really did not need more manufacturing plants, as everything was shrinking, but she and the rest of the team helped to convince us of the quality of the workers, so we went ahead. Gail represented them well, and continued to right up to when unfortunately, the Lucent business dried up and we had to close the site. To this day, I can say that the level of pride and professionalism of Gail and her team through those times was the highest that I can remember. Due to the fact that she was really really good at what she did, we got to the chance to work together for many of other projects, some good, and some bad.
She handled all of them so well, gave me great counsel and support and did difficult things without anyone having a bad word to say about her.
Throughout all of this time, I got to know Gail as a person too, and her infectious enthusiasm, sense of humour, and unmatched charades skills made her really a treat to be around. Our paths crossed less as time went and we both left the company, but I will tell you that the message from the Celestica extended family was that Gail was Gail, and as you would expect, a cancer diagnosis wasn't going to change that. The outpouring of grief rom this group is something to behold, and I have seen it rarely.
It is a tribute to Gail that she is remembered for who she is, regardless of the situation she was in.
Many of us can be good, and be ourselves, when times are good. Others can be tough and make the hard decisions, but not keep the human connection. Gail was able to do difficult things under difficult circumstances without losing the respect of the people involved and without losing her singular humanity. I am glad that I saw that it was possible, it has made me better, but even with lots of practice it has not gotten me to her level. Thanks Gail for being you and being an example.
