Howdy, Neighbour

Renfrew

Let’s welcome our neighbour, Dennis Jenkins.

Hi, Dennis! Tell us a bit about yourself.

My wife, Kim, and I live in Renfrew for most of the year and in beautiful Brackley Beach, PEI, for the summer months. We are excited that our daughter and son-in-law recently moved from BC to Pembroke, where our first grandchild was born this summer.

I took early retirement from my job as Superintendent of Employee Services with the Renfrew County District School Board at the beginning of 2017 to start an independent consulting business as a conflict and dispute resolution specialist. Advantage Consulting has been busy with workplace investigations and mediations for the past decade and has recently added arbitration to the list of services offered. I normally work in Eastern Ontario and primarily in school boards and hospitals, but have also done work for municipalities, retirement homes, emergency services, and the Ontario Principals’ Council.

What is your least favourite household chore?

One of my least favorite chores is cleaning the leaves from the eavestrough, as I do not like heights and my house is a two-storey. I probably should be supporting another small business in that regard!

If you could start a whole new career path, what would you be?

I did start a new career path after decades in school boards! I transitioned from being an HR executive on the leadership team at the Renfrew County District School Board to having a private practice in conflict resolution. For the past decade, I have been doing independent workplace investigations and mediations mainly in Eastern Ontario. I have always been interested in law, and a year ago, I received the arbitrator’s designation and added arbitration to the services I offer. For anyone not familiar, arbitration is often defined as private court. This is as close as I will get to law at this point in my life adventure!

What three adjectives do you think your family and friends would use to describe you?

Friends and past co-workers always describe me as honest to a fault. One’s strength is always one’s weakness if left unchecked. I am also regularly described as fair and reliable.

What is the weirdest thing you have ever eaten?

The weirdest thing I have ever eaten is alligator. While it sounds exotic, it is actually not much different than chicken.

Have you ever been told you look like a famous person? Who was it? Do you agree?

When I was still an employee wearing dressy clothes, I was sometimes mistaken for Stephen Harper. I eventually shared that story with Mrs. Harper, who responded that she saw the resemblance but that the Prime Minister was greyer and heavier than me.

How many pairs of shoes do you own?

I probably own about a dozen pairs of shoes, including running shoes. It is a combination of needing good, soft soles and not wanting to part with those that no longer offer the support. It is likely a dormant trait from growing up poor and not throwing anything away!

Would you rather be a bird or a fish? Why?

It would be better to be a bird than a fish. Both would allow you to travel around the world, but the bird does not have to worry about great white sharks!

If you had a yacht, what name would you choose for it?

In a fantasy world, I would name my yacht “Freedom.” In reality, a yacht probably brings a lot of responsibility.

If you could only shop at one store for the rest of your life, which one would you choose?

If I could only shop at one store for the rest of my life, it might be Costco because they have most of what you would need to get by. It is fun to browse there, and the food selection is great. In the meantime, I mostly like shopping locally and especially in the summer and fall when we have farmers’ markets.

If you could use a time machine to travel to any time, past or future, what era would you visit? Why?

I would probably travel 50 years into the future so I could see where things are going with technology and especially AI. We might collectively be doing things differently now if we could see the long-term impact of today’s choices on humanity.

Thanks for sharing with us, neighbour Dennis.

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Next week, we will welcome Shauna Kathnelson.