THE AMPERSAND 
Dear Friends and Colleagues,
It was an extremely hectic September at Pekarsky Stein. It started with the nuptials of our very own Associate, Brendan Wade, on September 6th to his lovely bride, Meaghan Hammond.
Over the course of Brendan’s nearly two years with us, we have all grown accustom to the patter emanating from his office. Typically it’s along the lines of: “I’d like to tell you about a great opportunity in Vancouver.” “Do you have a few minutes to chat? I’d like to run something past you.” “How soon do you think you’d be available to meet?” Yet, as the wedding approached, he was more frequently overheard to say “Sure, let’s go with the Alabaster centerpiece but please make sure the collar of pleated ribbon sets off the pink scabiosa flower. Or do you think we should go with the magenta cockscomb adorned with velvet leaves and a locket?” “I don’t know. I’m torn between the velveteen leaves emerging from behind the snowberries and the guinea-hen-wing quills.” This was a far cry indeed from his usual distractions from work—LeBron James and civic politics—but well worth the effort as the wedding, officiated by long time friend of the firm and aspiring federal Liberal from Calgary centre, Kent Hehr, went off without a hitch.
On the Monday after the wedding weekend we gave Brendan the day off for his honeymoon (I know, we’re getting soft) and welcomed to our Edmonton office Rick’s newest team member, Jane Voloboeva. Prior to joining Pekarsky Stein, Jane
held the position of Community Engagement and Fund Development Coordinator at Meals on Wheels. After finishing her undergraduate thesis on Russian Theatre at the University of Alberta, Jane, fluent in three languages, also received her TESOL certification to help facilitate her involvement and instruction practices with the InterScience Association of Alberta, where she currently serves as President. I know, another Pekarsky Stein under-achiever. No doubt Jane’s knowledge of Russian theatre will come in handy now that she has joined the Flying Karamazov Brothers otherwise known as Pekarsky Stein.
It didn’t take long for Jane to make an immediate impact. Here she is with Edmonton Principal and partner-in-crime, Marie Iwanow, at the Italia with Gusto fundraising gala in support of Edmonton Meals on Wheels.
A week into her tenure with Pekarsky Stein, we invited Jane, along with her Edmonton cohorts Marie and Rick, to Calgary for the firm’s annual strategic planning retreat held up at WinSport. A quick shout out to the amazing folks at Canada’s leading winter sports institute. It is a superb venue for an in-the-city-yet-out-of-the-core planning retreat. We mixed in two days of meetings with an inspiring tour around Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame, a couple runs down the Skyline luge and a behind the scenes tour of what is truly one of the world’s leading athletic facilities. You learn a lot about your colleagues based on how they tear down the side of a mountain in a souped up go-kart…
With our September snowstorm in Calgary, the already crammed corporate golf tournament schedule got even more compressed and we found ourselves on the links in support of client and cause alike. We were particularly pleased to support the Enbridge United Way golf event as a Platinum Sponsor and play our small part to help raise huge dollars for the United Way.
As though a wedding, a new hire, client golf, community, work and the usual insanity of back to school weren’t enough, we continued our office renovations in both Edmonton and Calgary. The new Edmonton space on the corner of Jasper Ave and 104th Street and the Calgary office, where it has always lived (above the Cellar wine store on Stephen Avenue Mall), are simultaneously undergoing very exciting yet hugely distracting renovations. It is my solemn hope to be in a position to show you completed photos of both spaces for the November edition of this newsletter. November 2014, that is.
Finally, our website received a subtle refresh. Some new team photos, updated text and enhanced usability are a few of the highlights. Have a look and let us know what you think. Here is the latest and greatest group shot (Jane gets added upon successfully being shot from a a cannon).
Oh, and did we mention that we even managed to get some work done in September? Successfully completed searches for the Executive Director of the Women In Need Society, a Director of Government Relations for ASET in Edmonton, an in-house counsel with a global E&P company and a Manager, Financial Analysis and Corporate Development for an independent power producer based in Calgary highlight just a few of the projects we closed in the course of actually doing our day job.
Enjoy October and have a very happy Thanksgiving.
Regards,
Adam
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